County could take over maintenance of section of road

A request by residents of County Road 600 South in Jefferson Township could have county officials looking into adding a stretch of the road to the county inventory.

Tim and Janet Weatherman appeared before the Putnam County Commissioners on Monday, saying that the stretch of 600 South they live on between 400 and 500 East has not been maintained by the county in the time they’ve lived there.

“We’ve lived there 19 years and they’ve never maintained the road,” Tim Weatherman said, “but they maintain the west end.”

The road in question runs from County Road 250 East in Warren Township, east through Belle Union and ending at 1000 East in eastern Jefferson Township.

However, two different stretches of the road between 300 and 500 east are denoted on county maps by dotted lines, rather than solid. This seems to indicate stretches of the road that are not officially considered roads either by Putnam County or the State of Indiana.

These stretches of road have previously been maintained by residents, with the Weathermans saying that about 20 triaxle truck loads of stone were put on the road between 10 and 12 years ago.

However, residents may now like to see the county take over such responsibilities.

“We’re going to look into whether we received money from the state for that road,” Commissioner David Berry said. “There is a process by which we could adopt that road.”

If county officials find that the road is not on the county’s list, the process of adding the road would include approval by both residents and county officials.

In other business:

• Construction appears on schedule for the delivery of four tandem dump trucks the county ordered this spring.

The four Kenworth trucks were ordered from Palmer Trucks of Terre Haute for a cost of $689,236 back in March.

While a similar order with Palmer was delayed in 2016, the agreement for 2017 included an agreement that the county would have the trucks within 60 days of Palmer obtaining the chassis.

That occurred on July 7, giving Palmer a deadline of early September for delivery.

• Corrections Director Jamie France announced three changes to the Community Corrections Board.

The new additions are Mental Health America of Putnam County Director Karen Martoglio and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Director Patti Harmless.

Additionally, Juvenile Probation Officer Renee Marsteller will remain on the board, but her designation will change. She had been considered a layperson before, and will now be on the board officially as a juvenile probation officer.

• The county will look into the possibility of adding an unsafe building ordinance to county code.

The Planning and Building Department has requested the change due to the number of unsafe building complaints it fields.

• The flagpole from the old Putnam County Annex at Jones School may be on the move.

The pole bears a plaque in honor of late Commissioner Gene McFarland, who died in 2002.

It may be moved to Fenwick Park, which is maintained by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department southwest of the Putnam County Jail.

The county has agreed in principle to sell the annex building to a developer for senior housing.