County Commissioners approve appraising Jones School property
Continuing a 2013 discussion that has yet to be acted upon, the Putnam County Commissioners voted Monday to move forward with exploring a possible sale of the Jones School property.
Greencastle/Putnam County Economic Development Center Director Bill Dory brought the issue back before the commissioners this week, saying the next step would be to appraise the property at 208 W. Liberty St., Greencastle.
The likely end game for the county would be to sell the former site of the Putnam County Courthouse Annex to a developer, possibly for senior housing.
The formerly city-owned Miller School is currently going through such a conversion.
Dory told the commissioners that the developer in the Miller project, Milestone Ventures of Indianapolis, would possibly have an interest on the Jones site.
He added that any possible suitors for the project would first apply for tax credits in the fall, followed by a bid process next spring.
However, the first step is to have the building appraised. Dory said the cost of two appraisals would be between $4,000 and $6,000.
While the commissioners are not completely committed to the idea of selling the building, Max Watts made the motion, with David Berry making it a 2-0 vote.
Commissioner President Don Walton was again not in attendance, as he continues to fight a health issue.
Jones School served as the courthouse annex from 2002 through 2011, during which time it housed a number of county offices, as well as the commissioners courtroom.
The expense of upkeep forced the county to move the offices and close the building in November 2011. Since then, the county has used only the gymnasium area for storage.
The building served as an elementary school for the Greencastle Community School Corporation until the 2001 opening of Deer Meadow Primary School.
The county purchased the building and land from GCSC for $1 and began moving offices into the building in 2002.
The upkeep of the building was again discussed on Monday, as commissioners approved a $3,400 plan to patch approximately 5,500 square feet of the roof. The money will cover materials, and county workers will perform the work.
In other business:
* Dory presented the annual contract for the development center. The commissioners approved funding $37,500, the same figure as the last several years. The amount was already allotted from the 2014 EDIT plan.
* The county's Americans with Disabilities Act handbook is complete and was presented to the commissioners for approval. Berry and Watts agreed to wait for final approval until Walton's return.
* County Highway supervisor Mike Ricketts reported the federal aid project on County Road 725 East south of Groveland is set to begin June 1.
The work on Bridge 15 north of Morton will begin the same day. The bridge closure should last three weeks.
* The county will again be splitting the cost of applying oil in front of interested residents' properties on gravel roads. Loren Hoopengarner will again perform the work at a cost of $330 for 300 feet of road, leaving residents with a bill of $165.
The cost to the county will be capped at $15,000, which allows for the split to be applied to 91 residences.