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County to seek grant funding for new comprehensive plan
Operating with a 12-year-old comprehensive plan and zoning laws written in the 1990s, Putnam County officials feel they are in serious need of updates.
The question comes down to money. The county spent more than $100,000 on a new comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance in 2008, only to fail to even adopt the zoning portion.
With officials now committed to upgrading the laws, the county is likely to seek a $50,000 planning grant to rewrite the comprehensive plan.
Kristy Jerrell of Jerrell Consulting presented the proposal to the commissioners on Tuesday, saying the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) has funding available to fund up to $50,000 toward a comprehensive plan, with the county only needing to match $7,500.
“As long as there’s money in the pot, which they have about $1,000,000, I don’t see any reason we won’t get funded,” Jerrell said.
She said the pot of money is renewed each July, but there should be sufficient funds remaining to get Putnam County’s plan funded before summer.
“You will get a comprehensive plan for that $57,500, and I know you guys paid a lot more the last time,” Jerrell said.
The money actually comes from federal funds, but is administered by OCRA, which is overseen by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.
The first step is for the county to send a letter to the state expressing interest and to complete an income survey.
The survey is necessary because, according to census data, the county is 37 percent low-to-moderate income. The threshold to qualify for these OCRA funds is 51 percent.
Jerrell believes the income survey will reveal higher numbers.
To give County Attorney Jim Ensley time to review the letter Jerrell prepared, the commissioners will make a final decision on moving forward during their Monday, Feb. 3 meeting.
“Basically what brought all this on is, we are running off zoning ordinances from the ‘90s,” Commissioner Rick Woodall said.
Once a new comprehensive plan is approved, the county will move on to updating the zoning ordinance to bring it in line with current practices and the new comprehensive plan.
The planning grant won’t be the only funds the county seeks from the state, as County Highway Supervisor Mike Ricketts reported he would be finishing up an application for Community Crossings grant money from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The county will seek $1 million in Community Crossings funds, with the county paying the additional 25 percent as part of the matching program.
The plan involves a little more than 12 miles being resurfaced through the funds, which includes:
• Bainbridge-Roachdale Road from Bainbridge to County Road 1000 North in Monroe and Franklin townships;
• West Walnut Street Road from Greencastle to County Road 450 West in Greencastle and Madison townships;
• Lonestar Road from Manhattan Road to Bridge 122 in Greencastle Township;
• Golf Course Road (1100 South) From State Road 42 to Meridian Line Road in Cloverdale Township; and
• County Road 1000 East from 400 South to 600 South in Jefferson Township.
Ricketts said if the Community Crossings money does not come through, it would change the county’s paving plan for the year.
Putnam County has successfully obtained Community Crossings grants in the past, though it has not been approved every time it has applied.
In other business:
• Ricketts also reported that Bridge 45 in Jackson Township on the Hendricks County line will go up for bid soon.
Situated over Big Walnut Creek about a half mile south of State Road 236 on County Road 900 East, the Bridge 45 was closed early in 2019 when it failed inspection.
Prior to closure, the through-truss iron bridge built in 1915 had a load rating of 12 tons.
The hope is the bridge will be back in service before the end of the year.
Ricketts reported that Bridge 71 in Floyd Township, closed the same day as Bridge 45, is a lower priority, as it does not have as much traffic.
“The other one is still closed,” Ricketts told the commissioners. “It doesn’t have the traffic.”
• Rickets also reported that no bridges or roads were washed out in the hard rains of the last few weeks.
• Commissioner Don Walton received a plaque from Jane Collisi of West Central Solid Waste District for serving on the district’s board for the last four years.
Commissioner David Berry is now the commissioners’ representative on the board.
Collisi noted that besides these four years on the board, Walton had also served West Central for a number years in his previous terms as a Putnam County commissioner.
• The commissioners appointed Laura Monnett to the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau Board.
They also discussed some possible changes that will be coming to the CVB board makeup.
By state law, at least one-third of the board must be drawn from a county’s largest municipality.
This means that in the future, a minimum of four of the 11 members must be Greencastle residents.
• Woodall reported receiving between 17 and 20 applicants for the county’s open EMS director position.
The commissioner reported that the applicants, which include current Assistant Director Joe Carnagua, are from various places throughout the country.
Director E.J. Claflin resigned earlier this month, just a few days after the new ambulance service officially came into being on Jan. 1.
Claflin did, however, oversee the transition from the non-profit Putnam County Operation Life to the county-run entity.
The former director, now residing in North Carolina, has agreed to continue to work with the county remotely until a new director is named.