Youth baseball and solar parks discussed at Bainbridge council

BAINBRIDGE -- At its monthly meeting Wednesday night, the Bainbridge Town Council addressed a possible solar park, discrepancies in spending policies and learned the youth baseball league will be receiving a donation from the park board to help with repairs.

A disagreement between town council members regarding a potential solar park and its eventual location added an in-depth dialogue of the pros and cons of the two locations currently being considered and the purchasing power afforded to the utility board of the town.

At the moment, the Indiana Municpal Power Agency (IMPA) and the Town of Bainbridge are in discussion for the potential of building a solar park for the town.

IMPA would build the solar park on land that was on a 30-year lease from the town and then sell some of the energy it harvests from the solar park back to Bainbridge as a way of providing renewable, environmentally-friendly energy.

While different board members preferred different locations, all involved seemed to understand the pros and cons of each of the sites.

The discussion turned into a consideration for the restrictions, or lack thereof, that have been placed upon the utility board's ability to purchase land, a seemingly obscure provision that was brought front and center during the solar park conversation.

Presently, the utility board has the ability to purchase land without the approval of the town council, a provision that Board President Bonnie Osborn said she had attempted to put into place in a prior town council meeting, but received no support from the other members.

During the conversation, board member Chuck McElwee expressed concern that the utility board had enough power and access to finances to be able to purchase property independently, without the approval of the town council.

Osborn cited her unsupported attempt to limit the utility board's financial decision-making as something that was a foreseeable issue and that McElwee's current discomfort with that could have been avoided had the board supported the movement she claims she'd made during a prior meeting.

Although no agreement was reached regarding the status of the provision, Osborn's claims went unsupported.

The board arranged to meet with the utility board to further discuss the solar park and to take advantage of the opportunity to better serve the town of Bainbridge.

Park board president Marsha Burns informed the town council that the park board decided to donate $2,000 to the Youth Baseball League for much-needed fence repairs at the park.

Burns also brought forth a recommendation to bring Tom Hagymasi onto the park board.

The town council unanimously approved Hagymasi's appointment.

Meanwhile, Thursa Evens informed the board that an annual Thanksgiving dinner will be held on Nov. 23 and will provide a free meal to all who attend the event meant to serve the greater Bainbridge community. The meal will be served at noon and the event is need of volunteers. Interested persons may contact the Bainbridge Christian Church by phone at 522-3200.

The Town of Bainbridge holds its monthly meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Bainbridge Town Hall.