New reserve deputy, salt storage talks at Bainbridge

BAINBRIDGE -- Town Marshal Rodney Fenwick informed the Bainbridge Town Board at its april meeing that Bainbridge is seeking an additional reserve deputy and has received an application from Dena DeLaCruz, who currently serves as a reserve deputy at the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

Board member Bonnie Osborne agreed with Fenwick's potential choice of a new officer.

"Dena will be a good addition," Osborne said Wednesday night, speaking to DeLaCruz's 10-year track record as an enforcement officer.

DeLaCruz joining the Bainbridge Police Department would make her the first female officer the town has ever had.

Other items addressed at its monthly meeting saw the Town of Bainbridge approve dates for multiple events, discuss progress on the solar park project and speak with Putnam County Highway Supervisor Mike Ricketts about a location to provide both salt storage for the county and an additional radio tower to ensure emergency radio signals reach further north into Putnam County.

Bainbridge has several locations that have been offered up to Ricketts for his determination of where these dual county services would best reside.

The board told Ricketts the town is "all for" housing the storage unit and the possible economic benefits that would come along with the property, potentially bringing in service-based revenue.

The two primary locations discussed were a four-acre plot north of Bainbridge and a small portion on the south end of an 18-acre plot due to their elevation and accessibility.

No decision was made on a particular parcel but the town council members told Ricketts that they are willing to do whatever works best as having a salt storage location within town limits.

The annual town clean-up for the greater Bainbridge community has been slated for May 2, from 8 a.m. to noon and provides an easy, "one-stop" place for residents to get rid of items in a responsible way that also benefits the

community.

Items dropped off, such as scrap metal, are then sold for scraps and the money raised helps offset the costs of running the annual event.

The Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) solar park was brought up but, only to discuss changing the wording in a legal agreement so that IMPA can be allowed to begin minor site work prior to the completion of the sale of the property.

In other business:

* The park board has scheduled a tree planting on Arbor Day, April 22, to take place at 1:30 p.m.

* The Humane Society is also looking to provide a veterinary clinic to provide distemper and rabies vaccinations as well as microchip and tagging services.

* The board was updated on the present legal battle against Land and Sons for a concrete job several years old that the town is claiming was not completed to the specifications that were quoted and that the town paid for. A representative from Land and Sons failed to appear at a prior court date, if they fail to appear for a hearing on April 22, a writ will be issued.

* The board approved a resolution (2015-2) to designate an "economic revitalization area" over the location of the IMPA solar park to help enact a 10-year tax abatement.