Roachdale PD seeks donations for radar trailer

Monday, August 14, 2017

ROACHDALE -- With State Road 236 slicing a latitudinal path through the northernmost reaches of Putnam County, and with little-to-no reduced speed limits for nearly its entirety, authorities in Roachdale are speculating the benefits of an automated radar trailer to slow the rising number of speeding vehicles throughout its 30-mph zone on Forest Home Street.

Though SR 236 lies near Russellville on its western portion, it only sees residential streets through the incorporated town of Roachdale and a 45-mph zone through Barnard, which sits near the Putnam-Hendricks county line. Otherwise, the state highway is largely left alone with its 55-mph stretches.

Furthermore, Roachdale forms a sort of cross-hairs, longitudinally speaking, with a 20-mph Indiana Street passing in front of Roachdale Elementary School on the community’s south side. Whether traveling north or south, one will regularly encounter downward-sloping hills on either end of the elementary school’s block, prompting motorists to ride the brakes while watching for wandering children.

With these issues in mind, Roachdale Marshal Mike Mahoy requested permission to seek donations for the radar trailer at a town hall session last week, citing several agencies which have already expressed interest, such as Tri-County Bank and Trust, Utilities Management and Control (UMAC) and the Roachdale Community Watch.

“(Clerk-treasurer Debbie Sillery) has been helping me get donations for the radar trailer,” he said Tuesday, “and we’re moving right along with it.”

Mahoy also took the time to explain to the board exactly how the trailer would function, citing yet another area of town which could benefit from a radar-controlled zone.

“What is does is: You set your speed and you can (input) 20-mph down there in front of the school and (input) 25 as too fast,” he explained. “If somebody is reaching 25-mph, there are lights that will start flashing red and blue ... but it doesn’t have a camera to take pictures of cars.

“On Aug. 17 I’m also going to the (North Putnam) school board and approach them with this idea,” Mahoy continued. “Our goal is really for the school system -- to help slow down cars in front of the school because we all know (officers) can’t sit there 24/7, and then in the fall I can move the trailer to North Indiana Street to help control the speed of the grain trucks going up and down from the grain elevator.”

Clerk-treasurer Sillery also noted its potential use on Forest Home Street, to which Mahoy replied “we can move it wherever we need it.”

“(Sillery) and I looked at the ones you put on a post, but you can’t take them down,” Mahoy explained. “You’re looking at $5,000 for two of those that you can’t move around ... I know this is $3,000 more but we can move this wherever we’re having problems or complaints, and the (accumulated) data will tell you things like how many cars go up and down your streets, and what time of day is the busiest.”

The Stalker Radar Trailer requested comes with a price tag of $8,583, upwards of $4,000 more than the post-based radars. However, it is the trailer’s mobility, its ability to collect long-term data and the sheer number of problem areas that has Mahoy and others interested in the system. Sillery and Mahoy contacted two companies for pricing with Stalker as the only one that produces trailers.

“Stalker radars are actually what we have in our cars,” Mahoy added. “I don’t have any complaints about them.”

Mahoy said he hopes to reapproach the board in September with good news concerning the donation process.

For more information, those interested may contact Roachdale Town Hall at 522-1532.

In other business:

• Board President Zach Bowers gave a brief update of the Wastewater System Rehabilitation Project, noting that workers have now completed the project and the work has been approved by officials.

• President Bowers also gave an update on the Storm Water Project, citing some minor landscaping, curb and grate work that needs to be done before the project can be completed.

• Eight dumpsters have been ordered for Clean Up Day on Monday, Sept. 23. The dumpsters are set to arrive on Friday, Sept. 20 and will remain in place in the lot adjacent to the Roachdale Fire Department until Sept. 23. Officials will be monitoring to ensure no toxic waste is placed in the dumpsters and signs will be present with instructions as to exactly what ways the dumpsters are to be used.

• A building permit was approved for a metal building to be erected on the property of 204 S. Indiana St.

• Marshal Mahoy gave his monthly Marshal’s Report, saying the RPD’s participation in National Night Out was a big success. Approximately 650 snow cones were served by the department in 90 minutes. Also, several gun locks were distributed free of charge. Mahoy went on to advise the board that Qualification Day at the Indianapolis Fall Conference is forthcoming and officer training is ongoing.

• Clerk-treasurer Sillery said she and Bowers have met with architects to design the interior of the new Community Center. A grant application in the range of $500,000 for the Community Center is in the works, though Sillery said at this time it is “strictly preliminary.” The grant must be applied for by April 2018 with results coming in June of the same year.

• President Bowers said the application for the Community Crossings Grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation was submitted by its deadline of July 14. Bowers and other officials hope to see favorable results concerning the grant, which is a heavily sought after grant by many communities for street paving.

• Pay raises for Mahoy (who also serves as a part-time utility worker) and Utility Worker Michael Arnold were approved at five percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

• The next regularly-scheduled public session for the town of Roachdale will be on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. inside Roachdale Town Hall, located at 205 N. Indiana St.

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