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Roads a hot topic at 2nd Community Conversation
While canvassing for votes three years ago, then-commissioner candidate Rick Woodall heard some prescient words from a gentleman at Heritage Lake.
According to Woodall, the man told him, “33 percent of your job is dealing with roads, but 99 percent of your calls will be, ‘Come fix my road.’”
During the second session of the Community Conversation series Tuesday at the Putnam County Public Library, Woodall told the gathered citizens he has found that to be true.
Roads dominate the calls he takes, as well as those he takes in person at his south-side business, S&W Feed.
The county highway is the most oft-visited topic at twice-monthly Putnam County Commissioners meetings.
Again on Tuesday, a good chunk of time was spent on roads before any other subjects could be properly raised.
Woodall explained, though, that in the last three years, he’s tried to bring a change to the way he and fellow commissioners David Berry and Don Walton approach their jobs, particularly road funding.
“They say that I’m in charge of four townships,” the District 2 commissioner explained. “As far as I’m concerned, everybody votes for commissioner so each commissioner is in charge of the whole county.
“The whole county voted on me so I should listen to the whole county.”
In terms of road funding, this means that the commissioners have attempted to do away with the old system of dividing road funding equally between District 1, District 2 and District 3. Woodall is especially passionate about this change.
“I don’t think that way,” Woodall said. “We need to fix what’s worst while thinking about what roads get the most traffic.
“I got Dave and Donnie to buy into that. We started last year.”
The deeper part of that plan, Woodall said, is a seven-year schedule and rotation meant to keep the roads as up to date as possible.
He pointed out that last year, with the funding available, the county repaved 14 miles of roads while chipping and sealing 56 miles, getting into the target range for the seven-year turnaround.
“Our plan is to do 70 to 80 miles a year so we can turn over every road in the county,” Woodall said.
Asked several times about how issues before the general assembly affect localities, Woodall made it clear that communication doesn’t always flow freely from state officials, with county officials having to take more of a wait-and-see approach.
This applies to the amount of funding the county can expect under the new gas tax, as well as local opinions on the possible addition of toll roads.
“No one’s asked how we feel,” Woodall said.
Woodall also touched on a number of big issues that have been before the commissioners in recent months, including technology improvements at the courthouse, county employee health insurance and the future of emergency medical service in the county.
On the latter issue, commissioners will be making a choice on a two-year contract in the very near future. The choice will be between long-time county provider Operation Life and recent addition to the county STAR.
While he has to look out for the interests of the county, Woodall also indicated he thinks like the community member that he is in these decisions.
“When I call 911, I need to know that someone is coming to get me with the best possible service,” Woodall said.
In trying to make a decision soon, Woodall said he also bears in mind that if the county chooses STAR, Operation Life employees will be facing the prospect of being jobless in the near future.
“If I’m an Operation Life employee, here I am six weeks from the end of the year,” Woodall said. “Do I start looking for a job?”
It’s a responsibility the commissioners do not take lightly.
Sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Putnam County Public Library and the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, the next session of the Community Conversation series is set for Tuesday, Dec. 12, featuring Greencastle Community Schools Superintendent Jeff Hubble, Assistant Superintendent Donovan Garletts and School Board President Mike White.