County may build tower to address Roachdale dispatch issue

ROACHDALE -- Putnam County may ultimately address issues of dispatching fire tones to the Roachdale area by building its own tower, having found other solutions either unfeasible or too expensive.

Representatives of the Roachdale Volunteer Fire Department approached the commissioners last summer about the problems of not always receiving dispatch tones, thus delaying or preventing them from responding to emergencies in a timely fashion.

911 Dispatch Director Dave Costin looked into solutions, with the possibility of renting space on a couple of northern Putnam County towers.

However, the first possible solution fell through late last year and the second tower was going to be $1,750 monthly rent.

Costin was advised that construction of a 180-foot tower could be financed at a similar monthly price, with the difference being that payments would stop after 10 years and the county would simply own the tower.

He discussed the issue with North Putnam Community Schools Director of Operations Terry Tippin, who expressed interest in constructing the tower on corporation property.

For its part, the school could use space on the tower for dispatching to school buses. Costin is hoping to work out an agreement that is beneficial to the school and to the county.

During a recent meeting, Costin told the commissioners the tower would take up minimal space, as it would not be tall enough to require guy wires.

Dispatch already utilizes North Putnam for its calls to Roachdale. However, the current relay on top of the North Putnam Middle School gym is not tall enough to always broadcast over the tree line, thus the missed dispatches.

The new proposal would get the relay well above the tree line, as well getting the county away from having to pay costly rent on someone else's tower.

No action was during the meeting as Costin continues to explore the subject further.

In other business:

* The commissioners received an update on possible rentals of Houck Bridge for parties and receptions.

County Attorney Jim Ensley has been in contact with both Bliss McKnight and HBG, both of which said such arrangements would be possible under the county's insurance.

Questions remain over who would approve such reservations and the exact paperwork required.

The commissioners gave their approval to continue moving forward with the process.

* Brett Wagoner was approved as the new Putnam County Planner from among the four applicants interviewed recently.

Already a county employee, Wagoner previously worked in the assessor's office.

* The commissioners officially approved the county's amended agreement with the Humane Society of Putnam County regarding reopening the animal shelter.

While bugs remain to be worked out in the process, Sheriff Scott Stockton reported that the shelter should be opening soon.

"We're taking (animal) calls if someone has an issue," Stockton said.

On a related note, the Putnam County Council also gave approval to a $55,000 appropriation from the EDIT warchest for animal shelter issues.

The commissioners had previously approved the expenditure, much of which will go toward delinquent payments to vendors from 2014.

The funds were withdrawn but the vendors were never paid. A joint investigation between the Indiana State Police and the State Board of Accounts is ongoing.