County moves forward with planning ordinances

Approved last month for funding to update county planning ordinances, the Putnam County Building and Planning Department is set to move forward with two contractors to complete the work.

On Monday, the Putnam County Commissioners approved a request by Putnam County Building and Planning Director Lisa Zeiner to contract with HWC Engineering for the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and subdivision control and with Burke Engineering for stormwater control.

The contract with HWC will be for $173,900, while the contract with Burke is for $29,500.

Both contractors had submitted plans to do the entirety of the work, but the committee performing the interviews — composed of Zeiner, Board of Zoning Appeals member Lora Scott, Plan Commission President Wendell Underwood and Commissioner President Rick Woodall — believed HWC to be most qualified to handle zoning issues and Burke most suited for stormwater.

Both contracts were approved unanimously.

The county last approved a new comprehensive plan in 2008 and subdivision control in 1999. The zoning ordinance has undergone only minimal changes since the county first adopted zoning 30 years ago in 1992.

There have never been ordinances on the books for drainage.

When the county approved the most recent comprehensive plan, a contractor also drafted new zoning laws that were never approved. That process cost the county more than $100,000. The current Commissioners have vowed not to repeat that pattern.

“The last time this was done in this county, there was a lot of money spent on this and it was never approved,” Woodall said. “We’re not going to do that this time.”

However, the turnaround will not be rapid, as HWC estimated it will be an 18-month process to update the comprehensive plan and zoning. Burke estimated four months for stormwater.

Stormwater control has become a bigger item on the Commissioners’ agenda in recent years, leading them to form a drainage board for what is believed to be the first time in county history. However, with no written plan, progress has been slow.

Woodall also emphasized that with growth in the county, drainage issues have become more pronounced.

Such trends are likely to continue, as Zeiner said her department have issued more than 100 permits of various types since Jan. 1.

In other business:

• The Commissioners authorized the purchase of a new Ford E-350 Type 3 ambulance for Putnam County EMS at a cost of $218,051 from Fire Service Inc.

Putnam County EMS actually received four different bids — $214,108 from ARV, $231,048 from Emergency Vehicles plus and a second bid for a different type of ambulance from Fire Service for $222,497.99.

EMS Chief Kelly Russ said one of her goals was to get continuity in the ambulance fleet, and the Ford E-450 is the same model the county purchased from Fire Service last year.

One major selling point for Fire Service is also that it has a shop near Indianapolis should service be necessary. On the other hand, the other contractors would require out-of-state travel for service.

Fire Service representative Jack Emshwiller, the only rep in attendance, also emphasized that the issues the county had with the most recent purchase had been problems from Ford, all of which have been addressed in newer models.

While the turnaround time on delivery of a new ambulance could be more than a year, the new vehicle will become Medic 1, based in Greencastle, as the main station puts the most mileage on vehicles.

After shuffling other vehicles, the final result will be the decommissioning and sale of Medic 5, which went through a crash several years ago and is only used in reserve at this point.

• No appointment was made for a new Putnam County Highway superintendent/engineer. The Commissioners will be conducting additional interviews, and the position is likely to be filled in April.

Interim Superintendent Clint Maddox continues to serve following Mike Ricketts’ departure at the beginning of the year.

• Family Support Services of West Central Indiana Director Scott Monnett received permission to install blue exterior lights on the courthouse as well as a blue pinwheels on the lawn for the month of April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Asked about recent trends in child abuse, Monnett told the Commissioners that in 2020-21 the state saw a 60-percent increase in child abuse reports, as children were home more during the worst of the pandemic.

“That time when schools were closed, it took away the No. 1 advocate for our children,” Monnett said.

• The Commissioners will be scheduling a special meeting to implement a county employee email system. In addition to previous proposals from Airlink and Distinct Web Design, Cynergetics has also submitted a proposal.

In approving their Economic Development Income Tax plan last month, the Commissioners set aside $40,000 for implementing an official county email system.

The Commissioners’ next regular meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Monday, April 4 on the first floor of the Putnam County Courthouse.