Council grants continuance of tax abatements
GREENCASTLE -- The Putnam County Council approved a continuation on the tax abatement for five local companies.
Among them was Altra Biofuels in Cloverdale. Its receiver James A. Knauer of Indianapolis was in attendance at Tuesday night's meeting.
He told council members the abatement would be a "valuable component in marketing" the business.
Knauer also believes he will have a purchaser for the property before the end of the year. Before Knauer became receiver of Altra, the plant was knocking on the door of bankruptcy. It was also in violation of several permits with Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
IDEM ordered the plant to shutdown after a nearby stream was found polluted and a large population of fish dead. Now, Knauer is left with the task of disposing of several million gallons of waste left on the property.
"All liquid will be removed and the plant will be in compliance with IDEM by the end of August or first of September," Knauer told the council.
Council members voted to give Knauer the one-year tax abatement.
Other companies up for tax abatement renewal were Lone Star a.k.a. Buzzi Unicem, Cash Concrete, Dixie properties and Magic Circle a.k.a. Dixie Chopper.
In addition, the council gave approval to Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges to hire a part-time employee. After Bridges' office manager June Clifford retired, her full-time position was filled within leaving a part-time position open.
Even though the county is under a hiring freeze, Bridge's told the council he needed to fill the position because his current staff is unable to keep up with the workload. It also became a concern of the current staff accumulating comp time, which the council did not want to see happen.
Council also gave approval to Putnam County Emergency Management Director Dave Costin to move a part-time employee to full time.
In other business:
* The juvenile probation department was given approval to transfer $1,433 in grant money.
* Charles Crone's dog claim of $270 was approved. Elizabeth South, attorney for county council, said Crone had complied with all necessary paperwork.