Commissioners Uncomfortably Clueless at 24 May 2005 Working Meeting

Commissioners Uncomfortably Clueless at 24 May 2005 Working Meeting

Present: Benning, Fox, Hughes
Also present: Stephanie Disbro- taking minutes for Cary Pickens, Bryan Messmore, Administrator, and Bob Ewbank, Att’y.

Don Townsend, the County Building Inspector, seemed determined to get his departmental fees updated, in spite of time restraints (30 minutes) on his presentation that would have further delayed progress for at least another month. Fox and Ewbank peppered him with questions regarding his fee structure and justifications of the dollar amounts. Townsend’s packet of information and calculations showing actual costs vs. charges stood up to the questioning.
Finishing his presentation, the commissioners seem to be on the same page to adopt the new schedule at their next regular meeting, pending a revised ordinance prepared by Ewbank to reflect those changes. Townsend stated that he wanted to be sure that the users of his dept. paid for their services and not the taxpayers.

(Ewbank was clear with commissioners that no voting was to occur at these working sessions.)

The highway department didn’t fare as well. Mike Davis with back up from Mark Seiler presented their annual report, which couldn’t be signed, because this was a working session.
They also presented a paving, chip seal, etc. list that Benning said they couldn’t vote on, so they also couldn’t present it to Council that night as they had previously planned. Benning stated that the widening of roads would have to wait. They could only do maintenance items and repairs as afforded. Benning seemed intent on covering 3 roads in her district, Martin, Grimsley, and Wilkerson. Fox and Hughes were more concerned with main roads, which Davis assured them were on the special projects list- a WISH LIST- for 5-6 years out. Councilman Dennis Kraus was observing the meeting and Benning turned to him at several points for back up. At one point she asked him about being late before with paving, sometimes as late as August.
Wilson Creek was mentioned- with the severe slip at the bottom- as being eligible for FEMA funds from flood damage. [NOTE: There are other slips on recently paved roads which are worsening, for example the hill just up from the bottom of Pribble Rd. Fox has also mentioned others in previous meetings.
Most residents of the county expect their roads to be safe. We have ventured into a time where that is questionable, even on the main collectors. Commissioners need to roll up their sleeves and figure out a way to get the job done. If it weren’t for the staff and workers in the highway dept. doing in-house work, nothing would be happening. Leadership from the commissioners is not happening. They are still talking about learning the basics and haven’t begun to intellectually venture into the realm of a 5-year plan. The county administrator with input from the Planning Dept. and Transportation Study is attempting to get this started, but with the low level of discussion from commissioners at this working session, it seems like a big leap to get them to that sort of forward thinking to accommodate the entire county’s growth.]

Criminal Justice Campus – it was the consensus of the commissioners that they would review the process by starting with the jail advisory committee. They plan to invite them to the June 14 Working Meeting to go over other alternatives other than building a campus. RQAW gave two lengthy presentations to Commissioners and to Council earlier this year to bring them all up to speed. Now it seems with all the money spent (and time) that none of these commissioners is familiar with the process and so they are going to see how they arrived at their decisions. Benning had noted that there was no commissioner on that committee. Ewbank stated that it was Karen Shell, but that she was no longer in office. [NOTE: Was Benning not paying attention during those updates during her first term?] Ewbank noted that it is more cost-effective for gov’t to lease rather than purchase…. [NOTE: If he was referring to a jail expansion, I’m having difficulty imagining being the landlord of that use!]

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

Plan Commission Says “Yes” to Everything at 23 May 2005 Meeting

23 May 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Plan Commission Says “Yes” to Everything at 23 May 2005 Meeting

It took 3 .75 hours, but in the end the Plan Commission approved everything on the agenda, including 3 months of minutes.
There were approximately thirty citizens in attendance and a full 9-member board present. Register Publications covered this meeting as well.

1.Harvest Ridge- the 198-lot Maxwell cluster development on Dogridge Rd. in Kelso Township (recently rezoned to R-DP) took nearly 1.75 hours with 8 neighbors presenting opposing statements, similar to those of the zone change hearings- (see notes on previous meetings.) Mike Hall motioned and Bob Laws 2nd to approve with the stipulations that the 2 intersections with SR 1 and SR 46 had to be assured prior to the subd’n being constructed, additional greenspace buffers would be added for surrounding property owners as much as could be within the lot setbacks, all staff comments would be accomplished, line fence installed all around the subdivision, a service drive would be used as staff recommended for 3 lots, and Maxwell would sign the 10-yr covenant with INDOT to install the light as needed on Sr1. Unanimously passed.

2. Evansgate Estates- a 4-lot subdivision on Dutch Hollow Rd on 2.22 acres owned by Ralph Evans passed with two Nays (Held and deMaynadier) Laws motioned and Kraus,Jr. 2nd to approve it with individual access for each lot. There was no public to comment on this.

3. Proposed changes to the zoning ordinance regarding cul-de-sacs and traffic impact studies both received favorable recommendations to the board of commissioners. There were text amendments, but only to clarify passages.

4. Fee schedule changes passed effective July 1st with Kraus, Hall, and Hughes voting Nay. The new schedule reduces the burden on small lot sub’ns. It increases costs on the larger ones, due to more oversight and staff costs to accommodate the applications.

Administrative:

June 8 at the Lawrenceburg Library from 7-9 PM - the meeting on the Fiscal Impact Study being considered for the county. All public officials and town and city mayors, chamber, school supt., and the DCEDI were invited. THIS MEETING SHOULD BE ATTENDED BY ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP!!!!

Transportation Plan – which is a process the commissioners are undertaking – is starting. Bryan Messmore ( County Administrator) gave the timeline to Travis who shared it with the board. This fits with OKI’s roles as MPO as well and the Plan Commission will stay abreast of the progress as roads are reclassified . Of particular note are collector roads which may qualify for federal dollars.

Meeting adjourned at 10:45 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

16 May 2005 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

16 May 2005 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

Present: Benning, President, Fox and Hughes.
Also Present: Pickens, Auditor, Messmore, Administrator, and Ewbank, Attorney.
This meeting was NOT videotaped.

1. Public hearing for Equestrian States Zone Map Amendment. Travis Miller, Planning Director also gave the overview and results of the Planning Commision hearing. He presented slides as well.
The developer was not present for this hearing. Seven residents spoke against the zone change citing issues primarily related to the road inadequacies and other services (fire, police, ems, and schools) not being ready to accept increased development yet. Citizens speaking were: Gloria Hoog, Marlene Hoog, Mary Lou Hilbert, Patrick Eckstein, Susan Eckstein, Cliff Eibeck, and Alan Breitenstein.
Increased taxes to support schools and services are already anticipated due to the other developments recently approved in the northern part of the county. Sewer capacity was also questioned. A video of severe road flooding was shown, as were pictures of road deficiencies. Subdivision conflicts and traffic issues with farm equipment and farming uses were named also. Breitenstein gave his comments regarding the duties of public officials to the people and listening to what the people want. He ended with a comment that property rights for the people who want to LIVE on the property should be as important as the rights of developers who want to SELL property.
Rick Fox stated that he was out there and saw the area and issues. Jeff Hughes asked if the road was slated for work soon? Mike Davis, Hwy Director, responded no- more like a long range plan. Travis Miller told them they had 90 days to act and this was the last meeting before that 990 days was up. Benning questioned using the Working session, but Ewbank told them decisions were not to be made at working sessions.
Miller noted that the applicant was not present. Benning asked WHO was supposed to notify the applicant? [NOTE: Incorrectly implying that Planning office was responsible).] Miller responded that applicants are responsible to find out. [NOTE: The residents and applicant are notified by the plan commission of their public hearing. Then the recommendation is certified to the commissioners. The commissioners would be responsible to notify residents and applicant IF THEY DECIDE THAT IS THEIR POLICY. No one notified residents, they had to check to see when the hearing was. The same is true for the applicant, who had requested to be heard at the 2nd meeting in May.]
Fox motioned to deny the zone change. Benning turned to Hughes and pointedly asked if there was a second. It died for lack of a second. Hughes was concerned about applicant absence. He motioned to table and Benning seconded it. They voted Aye and Fox voted Nay. Then they rescinded their tabling motion when they realized it couldn’t be tabled to any particular date as this was the last available meeting. Ewbank noted that it was effectively denied by them taking NO ACTION and letting the unfavorable stand for 90 days. That becomes a denial at the end of the 90 days. (Certification was March 4, so 90 days is the first week in June prior to the June 7 meeting.
[NOTE: Benning appeared to want to accept this proposal, but with no one speaking in favor, she had little to go on. Fox had researched the area and application and understood the implications. Hughes was concerned with being fair to developer- who was not present to state his case. Not all of them appear to trust the recommendation of the Plan Commission – and Benning didn’t seem informed. It was unclear just what she was basing her decision on.]

2. Laughery Creek Bridge- David Denman- NO Show

3. Claims and Minutes were signed.

4. Jennifer and James Mallett- citizens spoke about a drainage issue with the health dept. being called in on Bond Road. Mike Davis is going to check it out.

5. Bryan Messmore- County Administrator- presented the DCEDI (Economic Development Initiative) contract for signing stating that Ewbank had reviewed it. Lisa Lehner – att’y for DCEDI- had sent it. Benning stated she hadn’t seen it yet. Ewbank noted that the SBOA (Board of Accounts) typically has the right to inspect records of organizations, which get a certain amount of public money. This contract was written to change the terms to reflect the relationship as services provided to avoid the books being open to the public. They asked for $6250/month, which Benning noted was higher that the $25,000 they were using as approved from the Redevelopment Commission money. (Actually it’s $75,000 total and 3 x the amount she thinks they previously approved.)
NO ACTION was taken on this until it is researched further. Pickens also noted that it has to be approved at budget time by Council.
[NOTE: What’s with the DCEDI being afraid to have the public money the receive accounted for? One sure-fire way to lose public confidence in an organization is to close your books to public scrutiny.]
Messmore allowed Travis Miller to present the background to the 911 reimbursement to the county on their Phase 2 Cost Recovery to get cell phone compliance with 911 that Planning and Zoning had written the grant for. Fox and Hughes motioned. All Ayes. Benning signed the paperwork.

6. Bob Ewbank- Att’y- reiterated the info on tort claims and insurance from last meeting. He reviewed the Building Dept. code and stated that they SHOULD BE CHARGING FOR ELECTRICAL INSPECTIONS.
He also stated that he’d talked to the Public Access Counselor on the Commissioner’s Open Door violations and technical issues with their executive sessions. He wants to review all executive session materials to be in full compliance. He also stated that it’s easy to do the proper notifications with the forms he has downloaded.

7. Benning’s report included the Hospital Board’s recent elections: Rob.t Hoffmeier, Chair, Ron Denning, Vice Chair, Betty Bischoff- Sec’y, and John Stroup, Att’y.
She announced a Mosquito Workshop in Versailles, and the Relay for Life date was determined to be June 25th weekend. Working meetings start May 24th 5-7PM. After that they will be on the 2nd Tues of each month. She also plans to attend the legislative luncheon sponsored by Ewbank’s firm at the Applewood on Wednesday.

Travis Miller announced the Land Workshop with FSG- Financial Solutions Group June 8 from 7-9 PM. Many officials have been invited as well. This will help determine the actual fiscal impact of each type of development in our county and is a precursor to determining the map for future land uses later this year. The meeting location will be announced- either at the Library or Tate St. Center.

Meeting adjourned 8:30 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

3 May 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

3 May 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting NotesPresent: Present: Vera Benning, President, Jeff Hughes, and Rick Fox.
Also Present: Cary Pickens, Auditor, Bryan Messmore, County Adm., and Bob Ewbank, Attorney.

The agenda for this meeting includes a statement: “During the Public Hearing, public comments are welcomed.”
This meeting was videotaped, the same as all previous meetings since January 2005.
1. Public hearing for Zone change from Ag- to B-1 for 2.396 acres of Lonnie Steele’s property on Mt. Pleasant Rd (part of THE FARM GOLF COURSE) for a restaurant facility. Travis Miller gave a PowerPoint presentation of the proceedings at the Plan Commission, where this was given a favorable recommendation with one nay vote. He noted that the sewer access is currently under discussion, but has not been achieved yet. He noted also that the sewage is currently in a holding tank and pumped periodically to remove it.
NO PUBLIC came to speak on this.
Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd to approve the zone change to B-1 stating that it met the 5 criteria for a zone change. [NOTE: They did not discuss or state how this met the 5 criteria!] Motion passed.
Travis also presented the new FEMA rules for article 8 in the zoning ordinance for commissioners’ approval. It also had a favorable from the plan commission. This replacement for the old section 8 in the ordinance book contains more glossary words (defined) and also a newer role for the BZA in floodplain decisions. Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd to approve the new floodplain rules. Passed.
Travis Miller also had the commissioners sign off on the written commitments for Maxwell’s development on DogRidge Rd.

2. Bonnie Cantwell of YOUR IMAGE PRODUCTIONS, who has been doing the video taping of the commissioners meeting, presented her plan to be paid $75/meeting to produce an unedited digital copy of the meetings for public record. Copies would be indexed to the agenda. She stated it could be a legal aid as “no one can dispute what the camera sees or hears.” Pickens stated that it couldn’t be funded till next year. Fox stated that the bottom line is that we don’t have the money. Hughes motioned to table this to look into it further. Fox 2nd. Tabled. [NOTE: This seems to be a duplication of services. What would be the official record- the minutes or the video?]

3. Mike Davis- Transportation Director- gave a report. He is trying to get a uniform project form to give a one-page snapshot of the pros and cons of various projects proposed.
8 trucks were bought several years ago all at the same time. They have over 250,000 miles on them and will need to be replaced. Davis wants to replace three currently. Fox stated that a truck replacement schedule was needed. Pickens stated that it needed to be brought in at budget time- no mid-year requests.
Fox wants Davis to get bids (he probably means quotes, as he doesn’t want to be bound to buy based on them) for budget time so they can make a formal request. Messmore stressed that these lines of communication needed to be open, not done behind the scene.
Davis stated there were 4-5 roads set for paving this summer, also several on the chip seal program. He wanted to widen Sawdon Ridge and Mt. Pleasant by 2 ft. Davis talked to a Ripley Cty. Company that widens roads- about 3 mi/day. They rest could be done in-house and cheaper.
Benning wanted to know if money was available. Messmore stated they looked, Pickens wasn’t sure. He also noted that projects go to Council for approval first for money to be released. Fox wanted to look at the traffic study and plan where the dollars should go. Benning noted that Wilkerson, Grimsley, and Ache have been on the list already. Fox needed exact figures of available funds and also the ones previously funded. Messmore and Pickens noted there were problems finding the funds. No real decision on this…..
Davis talked about the light at Schuman and SR1 that Maxwell is to pay for. Messmore noted several criteria to go into getting INDOT to agree. One is the peak traffic count, also the number of accidents (34 since 2003) and annual maintenance for the county of $1000 for the light plus replacement costs of about $10,000. Again- no decision.

4. Jeff Talkers- The Survey Co. – gave an update on Whites Hill. Project to be completed in 4-5 weeks with clean up and rip-wrap and guardrail. There was a change order presented for a culvert from 48” to 60-72” arched one with headwall of $67,000. Budgeted so far spent was $754,000. It would be longer than 5 weeks to open if culvert changed. They felt the 48” was inadequate.
The sewer pipe was upgraded from 8 to 10 “ and St. Leon is to pay the difference. There was no decision on the change order.

5. Dave Lykins Woliung Rd- No Show

6.Don Townsend- Building Inspector- asked for a complete revamp of the fee schedule. $25 for inspections is not enough- he says actual costs are $45. Taxpayers have been subsidizing part of the costs of inspections. He wants to put the costs where they belong- on the use- i.e. the builders and developers. [NOTE: Actually, this cost will go to the homeowner- the builder/developer is a pass-thru.]He stated that since 1986- 2228 electrical inspections were done for free due to a misinterpretation of the ordinance. Ewbank told him to request an interpretation in writing on that law and he will give it to him ASAP. He felt that would fix things. Townsend to write the letter. (It appears this means Ewbank probably charges the building dept. for his services.)Commissioners want to think about it and have a working session on 2nd Tues of each month from 5-7 PM. (starting in June) They plan to go over this schedule then and decide it at the next REGULAR meeting after that.

7. Jeff Smith- Weights and Measures- left early- but gave his written annual 2004 report to Messmore for the commissioners.

8. Migrant Housing through Heart House and Craig Beckley to be located and owned by Beiersdorfer’s Orchards. Bill Beiersdorfer stated that they wanted to keep farming for the children to take over. They have had a trailer to house migrants for 30 years.
Beckley stated that there is NO EXPENSE TO THE COUNTY- that the county is just a pass though, because they have to be sponsored by a local branch of gov’t.
This structure will replace the existing structure- similar to the request 3 years ago in 2002 that was turned down by commissioners. Beiersdorfer’s put up a 10% match; Heart House does all the paperwork. The original request was for $200-250,000 building. Beiersdorfers put up 20-25,000. In 10 years the building becomes theirs. Taxpayers foot the other 90%. [Note: There is a built in conflict of interest- Heart House gets paid administrative fees as a percent of this grant- so it is to their advantage to get the maximum amount of dollars for the building.]
Because the rules were just published Friday, Beckley had nothing firm to show them. The application is due June 20. Building is to be 2 units with a central storage and washers/driers in middle. Each unit is 3 bedrooms, LR, DR, kitchen, and bathrooms.
It can only be used for migrant housing or they have to pay state back. [Note: What about after 10 years is up? Can they rent it out to others then?]
Beiersdorfer’s pay increased taxes on this building also.
Beckley has to do environmental review and historical review, but can’t do it until commissioners make him their agent. [Note: This is the usual method- bring it in last minute- try to rush things so the details are not known- and then get an approval because we might lose the chance to get the funds.]
Commissioners seemed reluctant to sign off on this until they saw all the paperwork. Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd to allow Heart House (Beckley) to be the agent for the county to do the application only. They will not give final approval until the paperwork is in front of them for review.
[Note: The issue FOR THE COMMISSIONERS 3 years ago had several points. One was public money being spent to build housing on private land to become privately owned. If the county owned the building, it might be different. Also, there were concerns about health care for the migrants and what that would cost the county, if we began to encourage this sort of enterprise. Also, was it fair to give this to one farmer and not to others? Lastly, there were concerns about migrants being paid so little that they couldn’t afford any housing. The commissioners at that time did not seem to give any credence to bigoted comments about migrants in general. The commissioners and the public had no issue with Beiersdorfer’s Orchard- in fact they seemed supportive of them as a long time farming family, in general.]

9. Cary Pickens- Auditor- had commissioners sign off on the annual Congressional School Fund which is a 100 year old (or so) – fund that exists- mostly on paper.
Pickens updated them on the Riverboat Revenue issues (thanks to the local reps and Nugent and Bischoff) and stated that we will probably lose the hold harmless funds ($4-5 million) that were used to replace the head tax when we went to dockside gaming. He stressed that we have to come up with a plan for 2 years from now in order to keep the money, because they will be asking for it again. Lawrenceburg also has to. He also stated that we have to account for our expenditures, but the state can’t seem to account for what they did with their $2.5 billion share.

10. Bryan Messmore- Administrator- set up the working session for 2nd Tues of month form 5-7PM- a public meeting.
He also noted some email and webpage issues with computers lately.

11. Bob Ewbank, Att’y- Notified commissioners of pending litigations and insurance company notifications. He also noted there is no decision yet on the Larry Smith/Richard Schmidt lawsuit over the White’s Hill development that was rezoned.
He is reviewing the status of all performance bonds.
He is also fairly certain the state will allow the deadline for taxes to go from Apr20- July 5 with no penalty.

12. Hughes had nothing to report. Fox updated them on Collier Ridge slip repair. Benning invited commissioners to sewer board meeting to help get them some funding.
She also stated that we need to hire an engineer that is a resident of IN and PE certified in IN. Fox noted that we could pay for it in fees that have gone to consultants. Cary noted that it’s already in the budget. [Note: If a PE can’t be obtained at this salary or for other reasons, commissioners might want to consider hiring a younger candidate and giving him/her the experience to qualify for the P.E. ultimately. The computer literacy of a younger candidate may also be an asset to the efficiency of the highway dept., which is currently using a manual system to track performance bonds etc. Imagine what might be possible if the highway dept. took a "hi-tech" step up in performance. It wouldn’t hurt to hire an engineering intern for that dept. also.]
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

25 April 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

25 April 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Present: Present: Mark Mitter, Chairman, Jeff Hughes, Patrick de Maynadier, Tarry Feiss, Dennis Kraus, Jr., Jane Ohlmansiek, Robert Laws, and Mike Hall. Absent: Nick Held and Arnie McGill, Att’y
Also present: Travis Miller, Planning Director, and Mark McCormack, Enforcement Officer.

Meeting started late at 7:15 PM.

1. Ag Section Adjoining Highway Interchange on SR1 between Dover and St. Leon Given Favorable Recommendation for Zone Change.
Zone change from A to H-1 (Highway Interchange) for 1.53 acres on SR1 in Kelso Township for a small engine shop. Owner- Anthony Bischoff. Surveyor presenting: Dennis Kraus, Sr.
Dennis Kraus, Jr, and Tarry Feiss stepped down from the board due to conflict of interest on this item.
No public comment. This item was evaluated as a worse case scenario, because no plans for the engine shop were submitted. These will be done at Primary approval per the applicant. Zone change was seen as being compatible with the master plan due to other structures of similar character in the vicinity, adequate infrastructure, encouragement of mixed uses in this area, and encouragement of new business for increased tax base.
Hall motioned and de Maynadier 2nd to pass a Favorable recommendation to the commissioners for a zone change to H-1.

2. Second item removed from agenda.

Administrative:

1. Cul de sacs were further discussed and will be readvertised for a decision at May meeting. Final conclusion is to use the definition as staff recommended.
[NOTE: I left the meeting at this point- the rest of these notes are from info given by the Planning Office.]

2. Traffic Impact Study will be modified to reflect a change that a developer may finance their own study, but they also have to finance the engineering consultant that the county hires to evaluate their study. Pre-ap process for developers will include a need, scope, schedule, and fee for the developer to sign off on- regardless of which route the developer chooses to pursue regarding the study.
This will be readvertised for May meeting for decision.

3. Fee schedule changes show increases across the board. Final decision at May meeting to be effective June 1st. There will be some modification to clear up discrepancies in fees for minor sub’n that require major sub’n review because of a variance, etc.

4. Fiscal model - $500 was approved from master plan budget for Financial services Group of Bloomington to do a workshop possibly in May (at working session May 18th).

Working sessions are typically on the 3rd Wed of each month. If anyone plans to attend- they should call the Planning Office to verify this agenda and date.

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

20 April 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Working Meeting Roadway Standards

20 April 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Working Meeting Roadway Standards

Present: Mark Mitter, Chairman, Jeff Hughes, Patrick deMaynadier, Robert Laws, Nick
Held, Jane Ohlmansiek, Mike Hall, and Tarry Feiss.
Also Present: Travis Miller, Planning Director, and Mark McCormack, Enforcement Officer
Public present: Kathy Scott, Mark Neff, Archie Crouch, Nicole Daily, Kim Elam, Tom Kent, Jim Kinnett, Chris Mueller.

The Plan Commission reviewed the current street classifications and
design guidelines. An updated map of collector and arterial street classifications was presented for possible future adoption to become the basis for a County
Thoroughfare Plan.

Travis Miller presented a flow chart and timeline for adoption of a future land use map to be appended to the Master Plan. He emphasized that future land use designation decisions must be coordinated with roadway improvement planning. This process will continue across the summer with a draft plan to be presented to the public for their input in the fall of 2005.
[NOTE: This Future Land Use Map and the above Thoroughfare Plan are an important part of the future plans for the county- public involvement is crucial to this being appropriately adopted to reflect the desires of the entire county. Watch the papers and check with the plan commission site at http://www.dearborncounty.org/planning/ for meetings on these topics.]

Subdivision Control Ordinance Appendix C – Geometric Design Guidelinesfor all roadway classifications and categories were reviewed and the criteria
used to determine the classification of roadways were discussed. (see also Section 24 of Zoning Ordinance)
Staff will prepare a text amendment of the Subdivision Control Ordinance Appendix C including a second design guideline without parking for Curb and Gutter streets for public hearing and final recommendation.

Concerns regarding a conflict between the required driveway spacing
requirements for arterial and collector roads being greater than the required lot
frontage within the Agriculture zone district. This will be addressed by potential text amendment(s) to remedy the lot frontage vs. driveway spacing conflict and present to Plan Commission for further review and discussion.
Eventually these recommend amendments will be added to the Comprehensive Plan so it will have an official Roadway Classification and Thoroughfare Plan.

Cul-de-sac Street
Staff proposed changes to Subdivision Control Ordinance Section 305-N and
Article 6 for review. Clarification suggested by Plan Commission. Staff will modify the definition text and the graphic diagram present revised recommendation to Plan
Commission for final recommendation.

Traffic Impact Study for Zone Changes and Development Proposals
Applicants were concerned with possible time delays in the review process if county approved firms were busy. Funding mechanisms will be defined – e.g. cash, bonding, letter of credit, escrow accounts, etc. Ownership of interest needs to be addressed. Applicant issues were discussed regarding the weight given to the consultants report. Issues regarding the conflict of interest when the applicant hires the consultant and expects it to be accepted without question were also discussed.
Staff will present revised recommendation to Plan Commission for final recommendation.

Possible Fiscal Impact Study and workshop was proposed to be scheduled for the plan commission. This will be of interest to the DCEDI as well. Two companies are being considered so far for this work.

Meeting adjourned at 9 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

19 April 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

19 April 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

Present: Benning, President, Fox and Hughes.
Also Present: Pickens, Auditor, Messmore, Administrator, and Ewbank, Attorney.
This meeting was videotaped for Benning, as usual.
One officer from the sheriff’s department was present. [NOTE: Commissioners seem to think they need police protection at meetings when they hold a public hearing. Police presence out in the community might be a better use of their time and taxpayer dollars.]

1. Benning announced that the Trackville Road zone change hearing was tabled again and reset for May 17th.

2. Public hearing for the Dog Ridge Rd.- Maxwell Properties zone change R-DP on 101.28 acres in Sect 15 of Kelso Township.
Travis Miller presented the case with a summary of the plan commission hearing and noted that this was given a Favorable recommendation with 5 ayes and 3 nay votes. There are written commitments for the sewer to be provided by St. Leon and the intersection improvements to be made at SR1 and SR46. Miller also presented the petitions that were turned in at the Plan Commission hearing for the commissioners.

Benning limited the attorney- Joe Calder (sp?- the sound system was really scratchy)- to three minutes just like the citizens, even though he was to be the spokesperson for most of them. Several citizens protested this vehemently. [NOTE: When the citizens try to condense their presentation and also invest a few thousand dollars in attorney fees, it seems unreasonable and shortsighted to limit the attorney to 3 minutes.]
In his comments at the beginning of the meeting, he discussed four main points:
1. This development dramatically changes the balance of development in the area. There are currently 125 homes in the surrounding 8,000 acres. This development puts 198 on 101 acres. [NOTE: If this density is to save land by consolidating homes in one area, as the developer noted in his application, then the argument could be made that the 325 homes in 8,101 acres is a good thing for farmland preservation. As often occurs, however, that save-the-land argument that applicant’s use to get the first development in causes a domino effect. Then the next one notes that this one is here and he should be able to build one just as dense next to it, etc.]
2. This development eats up all the available predicted capacity thru the year 2020 according to master plan calculations.
3. The LOS classifications in the traffic study are misleading. They need a Category 2 road to absorb this traffic. In fact the LOS during peak traffic times around the school is D-F, when the master plan states a level C is to be the standard.
4. The tax rate as published in the paper for Kelso shows a 25% increase from 1.6674 to 2.0574. This development and its impact on schools and services will only increase that further in the long run.
He then urged the commissioners to send it back to the Plan Commission for a more reasonable density.

The issues discussed by citizens included: safety with an already overloaded volunteer fire, and emergency dept. which is covered by out of township personnel, taxes which jumped 25% with reassessment, road shoulders being non-existent, so walking and school children will be at risk with traffic, density out of character to the area, average daily traffic volumes do not address peak traffic issues, people buying into Ag to be able to enjoy peace and quiet and low crime, not high density subdivisions, farms provide food and alternative fuel sources- why destroy them, decisions are already made- only listening to be polite- not really hearing our concerns, farmers in the area were not given a chance to buy this land to keep the community agricultural, road maintenance provided by farmers in winter, construction effects on water, drainage, and erosion in area surrounding the development, balancing rights of the citizens with the developers. It was also mentioned that we live in a world of options- night/day, love/hate, and country life/city life. [NOTE: This comment strikes to the heart of the development issue in this part of the county. Can Dearborn County provide a variety of lifestyles in different communities or are we going to let economics drive development to the cheapest and easiest lands to develop?]

John Maxwell answered several points on how he would catch the drainage and control erosion. He stated that he would try to eliminate some of the drainage issues that currently exist, but made no promises. He stated that they did not come in high and then change it to half that in their second application on the property on purpose as alleged by the attorney as a common ploy of developers. He also stated that when he studied the master plan and looked at the area two things defined the character for him- the sewer lines and East Central HS. [NOTE: How do underground sewer lines define character?]
Fox told Travis Miller that the comp plan goal was to save ground, that they were to try to make development more like a planned community, and that spreading out homes uses more land.
Public hearing was closed at 7:30 PM and Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd to approve the zone change. All ayes. It was unclear on the change being R or R-DP. They referenced the 5 points to consider in a zone change, but they did not address how they thought each of them was accomplished.

3. Cliff Eibeck- asked the commissioners to fix the sound system and also to use the microphones and not mumble. Dale Wendelman stated that he’d worked on the system, but without any schematics he couldn’t fix it all. [NOTE: Perhaps they need a 2nd opinion?]

4. Kathy Scott- presented several questions on planning ordinance changes-
1. Can we expect that people will be closed out of public hearings, like the first one this year? She noted that tonight’s was better.
2. Why is it so important to quickly approve a zone change if you have 90 days to think about it? Travis Miller explained that they PC had to certify them within 10 days, but beyond that there was no hurry. [NOTE: The developer is often in a hurry to get started- time is money to their plans]
Fox also gave an overview of how he does his homework on issues by visiting the site, reading the PC minutes, asking PC board members questions, and generally knowing some of these areas from his school board tenure.
3. Does “recommend” mean “needs to be done”? Miller explained that the staff recommendations are put out for the PC to consider. Mitter explained that the board usually adopts those recommendations, that the one for geotech studies on Barber Rd. development was rare. It will get done per the ordinance, but they felt that it didn’t have to be done in advance as the staff recommended. [NOTE: If the county does not find some way to increase the duration of the bond on that road design, the county will be taking a huge risk. Hillside roads, even well-engineered ones, do not always fail in the first year.]
4. Why does it appear we are changing ordinances whenever a developer asks? She noted a large number of variance requests also. The ordinance was a good standard- why change?

5. Migrant housing on Beiersdorfer Orchard property- Craig Beckley- was probably coming in mid May per Jeff Hughes- they cancelled tonight.

6. Pickens presented the Manchester EMS contract for signing. Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd. Approved.
Claims and minutes of previous meetings approved.
Pickens noted there is a special meeting at 5:30 PM Wed Apr 20 for the Council for tax penalty waiver. Commissioners were invited.

7. Ewbank- Att’y- stated he was working on an ordinance to relieve the penalty on the payable 04 taxes. SBOA has to review it also. The Auditor and Treasurer petitioned this.
He also stated that he responded to the Public Access Counselor on a formal complaint about their previous executive session being improperly advertised.

8. Benning noted that a plaque was being made for Al Werner- “our first building inspector” and was paid for by public donations. They will have a reception and present it at a later date.
She announced that Travis Miller will be given an outstanding public service award on Fountain Square May 4th. Jeff Hughes recommended him for this through OKI.

9. Travis Miller reported that the GIS demonstrations in the building went well and personnel recommended a task force on GIS be formed. They are presenting to Soil and Water also.

Meeting adjourned 8:10 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

12 April 2005 Dearborn County BZA Meeting Highlights

12 April 2005 Dearborn County BZA Meeting Highlights

Present: Chairman Deaton, Baker, Ohlmansiek, and Hoog. 5th member absent.
Also present: Travis Miller, Planning Director, Mark McCormack, Enf. Officer, and Arnie McGill, Att’y

1. Stephanie McCurry’s request for a 110 ft. side lot variance on her 30- unit kennel in an Ag district in Logan Township on Peppertown Rd. was DENIED.
Issues brought up by the neighbors included sanitation and flow to Johnson Fork Creek, Road safety, noise, security from more strangers on the road as well as dogs getting loose. 52 signatures on a petition were delivered to the board.
[NOTE: There were several people who spoke about having quiet and peace in the country and the noise potential. Though enclosed there was clearly no assurance that the building was insulated enough to keep the noise level down. There were no references among the board members to the ordinance sections 2528 and 2532 and any attempt to see if the construction could meet those guidelines on noise abatement.]
Baker’s motion to deny died for lack of a second.
Hoog motioned to approve the variance with a change in hours of operation from 8-6PM and a max of 30 dogs per 30 units. He also referenced the points of law to be satisfied in granting a variance. Ohlmansiek 2nded with 2 Ayes and 2 Nays. With no further motions the application for a variance was denied.

2. Conditional use for Rohe Development represented by Bayer/Becker engineers for the location of condos on Mt. Pleasant Rd. in Logan Township was APPROVED.
Only one member of the public (Karen Wolff) spoke at this, citing issues with numerous condo and apt. approvals in the area, school overflow, safety issues with Harrison covering fire and ems services, possible overextension of St. Leon Sewer capacity, and road issues with the narrowness of Mt. Pleasant and the North Dearborn intersection deficiencies. She ended with: “On behalf of the rural community, please do not approve this.”
Bayer Becker noted that the Plan Commission and Commissioners unanimously approved the plans, with changes that the developer had signed off on. They did not have their covenants drawn up, they did not have their plans redrawn to reflect those changes, and they did not have the HOA terms defined yet. They stated that the roads IN the development were private and so no county expense on maintenance etc. They did not offer to do anything extra to Mt. Pleasant other than the area in front of their development.
[NOTE: What’s the hurry? It seems that the BZA should have tabled this item to get accurate drawings, definitive plans particularly regarding the ownership and duration of the greenspace, and perhaps some funding to share in the county’s expense in improving the intersection at North Dearborn, because of the increased stress on the road and intersection that this density will cause. Other developers are stepping up to the plate and providing this as an incentive to getting their developments accepted, when they are proposed in an area ahead of the planned road improvements.]
Ohlmansiek motioned to grant the conditional use to reflect the site plan and written commitments to the Plan Commission, Commissioners, and Rohe Development. Hoog 2nd. All ayes. Passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned after some administrative issues at approximately 9 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

5 April 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

5 April 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

Present: Benning, President, Hughes, and Fox
Also Present: Ewbank, Attorney, Pickens, Auditor, and Messmore, Administrator

The meeting was preceded by an executive session on personnel issues. No announcement was made of any decision resulting from that meeting.

1. Mike Hall- surveyor requested the Trackville Rd subdivision be tabled until April 19th due to a scheduling conflict. The developer had a meeting in Franklin County tonight. Commissioners agreed.

2. Bill Black- EMA Director – still couldn’t get commissioners to sign off on the county plan because they couldn’t get their disks of information to work on their computers. Benning requested that he present the disk info to them at the next meeting.
The 800 MgHz system that the surrounding counties are either on or are in the process of adopting has yet to be adopted by the county. They are still waiting to see if they can finance it completely through the bond bank and how much of that loan will be absorbed or forgiven by L-bg. The state pays for the tower sites and our radio service is “free”. Black has purchased many of the radios already with grant money.
Fox motioned and Hughes 2nd to allow Black to accept a surplus computer. Resolution to accept signed.

3. Catherine Deyer- DIRECTIONS- presented the background, the programs they run under the CMHC, and resolution to declare April Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Of interest- there are currently 111 convicted sex offenders in Dearborn County.

4. Ellen Davis of Lifetime Resources presented a sub-recipient agreement to be signed so they can pursue grants for homeowner rehab funds. The match needed is $30,000, but they intend to get it through other sources and grants – not the county. Pickens told then there were no available appropriations for this.

5. Claims and Minutes were approved and the Sparta EMS unit standard contract was signed. Bryan Messmore to check to be sure insurance is in place and the county is held harmless.

6. Bryan Messmore- Administrator- brought up the issue of notification for zone change hearings and what the commissioners would like to do regarding setting a policy or ordinance on that. Ewbank and he will review it and present options regarding certified mailings, regular mailings, newspaper notices, or combinations of these. [NOTE: The Planning Office also posts a sign on the property so neighbors beyond just the adjoining ones have some notice.] Ewbank noted that he wanted any possible court decisions to be substantive rather than just technicalities of notifications should a writ of certiorari be filed, for example. He also thought that they should make every attempt to insure due process for the affected citizens. [NOTE: That’s a step in the right direction.]

7. Bob Ewbank- Attorney- wants to work on ordinance review to clarify council and commissioner duties and powers so that they are not overlapping. He referenced a recent Council issue where they wanted to make a salary ordinance without Commissioners requesting it on a former commissioner employee.
He also wanted to clarify how wide a county road should be. He referenced The Apparent Right of Way Statute. He briefly discussed the option of declaring all county roads to be possibly 40 ft. Or 50 ft. [NOTE: There is a Transportation Assessment that would be helpful to start with for this information. It is part of the master plan and includes this data. Mandating all county roads to be a certain width would end up with the county owning property inside some people’s houses and barns. A more comprehensive solution would be to first- get a county engineer hired and second- continue on with more of the Transportation study and updates as well as creating the 4 year road plan doe prioritizing maintenance and improvements to county roads.]

8. Jeff Hughes- Asked several questions regarding the possibility of a light at Stateline and Stephens Rd. paid for by Macke as part of the Sugar Ridge Planned Unit Development and attached Transportation assessment. Apparently the bond for this will lapse in May and he wants the county to either renew that bond or decide to get the light installed. Engineering to set it up would cost $35,000 – 50,000 and the light would be about $10,000.
He asked about who did the study on the 4 way intersection in Bright. (Beam Longest and Neff) and what the status was there. (Study done and ROW acquisitions became issues.)
Hughes also asked about getting a building and or trailer with a bathroom for the District 1 crew. They have nothing and the other two districts do have facilities. [NOTE: It seems pretty bizarre that there is no office for D-1 highway crew.]

9. Rick Fox had no further comments and Benning added the news that IDEM had finally officially released the county from the environmental violation on the buried tanks that they had already cleaned.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

28 March 2005 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting

28 March 2005 Plan Commission Meeting

Present: Mark Mitter, Chairman, Jeff Hughes, Mike Hall, Tarry Feiss, Jane Ohlmansiek, Nick Held, Bob Laws, and Dennis Kraus, Jr.
Absent: Patrick de Maynadier
Also Present: Arnie McGill, Attorney, Travis Miller, Plan Director, and Mark McCormack, Enforcement Officer

An executive session preceded this meeting. Mitter called Richard Schmidt to the podium to explain to him the decision of the executive session. Schmidt’s application for a 74- lot subdivision on White’s Hill was tabled indefinitely on the advice of both the planning attorney and the county attorney, pending the outcome of the lawsuit on that property. The county decided to refund Schmidt’s application fee in full.

1. Old Business- tabled from last meeting- Zone change from Ag to B-1 for operation of a golf course and restaurant (on 2 acres) on Mt. Pleasant Rd in Logan Township. Owner- Lonnie Steele. Jeff Stenger was unable to present for Steele due to being in the hospital.
Only one member of the public spoke- Karen Wolf. Discussion included the illegal operation and the health dept situation with the septic tank issues. She also mentioned hours that were well beyond that of a golf course and live music at the restaurant facility. She further quoted Rick Fox’s comments at a previous public hearing at the commissioners regarding this land and stated she thought he needed to abstain when it came to their board. (She apologized to Kraus for attributing them to him by mistake)
Nicole Daily of Bayer Becker also spoke regarding the sewage and a meeting with St. Leon’s lawyers who were drafting an agreement to bring the sewer down Mt. Pleasant for their condos and the Farm golf course.
Lonnie Steele stated that the golf course would “go away” if no sewage line could be obtained. He stated that he was not given clear direction from the previous director and now was trying to do what he needed to do to get into compliance. He said he would live with whatever the board decided.
Many plan commission members were uncomfortable with a spot B-1 out in the Ag area there, because of what else could go in a B-1. Laws had no problem with a restaurant, but didn’t like the banquet hall idea. They thought about doing an R-DP to limit the zone change to just this requested plan. Mitter informed them that with current staff- there would be enforcement issues with all these R-DP land use certificates.
Feiss motioned and Hughes 2nd to pass this on the commissioners with a FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION with a written commitment on the sewage issues. All Ayes except for Laws- NAY

8 PM

2. New Business- Primary approval for a 124-lot subdivision- Whitewater Point on 208.25 acres of R zoned land on Barber Road in Logan Township. Applicant- John Maxwell Development and Owner- Louis Kremer.
Maxwell stated that he was OK with putting sidewalks on one side of the road. He was in compliance with the R-DP that was approved with the zone change. They had addressed the hwy dept. concerns on widening Barber Road with 18ft on the last part of it. They wanted an approval before they went thru the substantial expense of a geotech analysis of the road construction. They met with Schneider Engineering (the county’s engineering consultant) to be in concert with them on road feasibility. He hadn’t seen the Hillside Trust letter but would answer any questions they had from that.
FIVE MINUTE BREAK FOR BOARD TO REVIEW THE HILLSIDE DOCUMENT.
Public Comment- included a lawyer, an engineer, and a geologist hired by the neighbors.
Robert E Manley- stated he was an attorney experienced in planning issues, that he taught community planning at UC for 39 years and had extensive experience in hillside developments. He stated this was a potential disaster waiting to happen and it presented geotech and financial challenges. He was shocked that they would even consider preliminary approval without a geotech analysis first. Said it would be a grave mistake to do that and urged the board to not give preliminary approval until after the geotech review. He stated it would price the lots too high and that Schneider’s report was based on faith, because he had no geotech analysis to base it on. He was not sure that the developer understood his financial risks.
Stanley Cohen – Stated he was a civil engineer with years of experience and was registered in the state of IN. In his estimate the lots would go for $60,000 extra apiece due to extensive costs of the road designs. He stated that a slope of 11.9% for 2700 ft with a fall of 320 ft would be dangerous in inclement weather. Subsoil conditions indicate they need to remove 6-9 ft of it, aerate, and compact it to build. The sewage pumping station would be addition expenses on that steep hill. He was most concerned with the uphill side of the road even with a retaining wall and intercepted stormwater.
Gerald Craiger (sp?)- had degrees in geology from KS and UC and was a chief geologist for a firm in coastal CA and also in Cinti for a while. He stated that in his experience this couldn’t be built with any assurance of long-term stability without retaining walls. He based his comments on site viewing, topo, and soils. The retaining walls would have to be at least 7 ft. tall to hold the hill with some as tall as 10-12 ft. He stated these costs would be considerable and would be in addition to Mr. Cohen’s estimate. The soils referenced were Eden Pate and Colluvian (sp?) and he also mentioned the cutting effects of the Whitewater River. He said it is not impossible, but it will be difficult and expensive. The expense would pass to the county ultimately to maintain these.
Jackie Kraus- stated that St. Leon was doing a capacity study in June and they should hold off till they got those results to be sure sewage was adequate. Have we maxed out so no other farmer can develop?
Mitter stated that he had talked to St. Leon Sewer Board and the study is to determine how much to expand.
Joseph Ceese (sp?) –referenced site issues turning from Barber to SR46 because the bridge reduces visibility. He also stated that widening the road would go to the riverside and there would be slippage. He also stated that the steepest road in Cinti is by the Anderson Ferry at 18% and it is VERY STEEP.
Public discussion ended at 9PM
Maxwell responded to several points: The Hillside letter referred to Barber Rd as the sole way out of the subdivision- and he stated there was the Chappelow Ridge exit also. He also stated that when Manley stated they would knock down a hillside and leave a mess for the taxpayers, that they intend to competently engineer this and not leave a mess. There would be no pavement within the 100-year flood plain, though it was close. “We’re civil engineers and contractors by trade- we costed this out.”
Referencing the 2700 ft extensive slope, he noted that there was a leveled out are in the middle of it. NO Homes will be built on the hillside- they are all at the top. He doesn’t think there will be a single house built on piers. He doesn’t plan to build the road diagonally on this hillside now and if they have to build retaining walls- we won’t do the project- it will be too expensive.
Mike Hall asked if they had approached the landowners on Barber Rd to be sure of ROW for road widening. Maxwell said- NO. Hall concerned with the buildings right at the edge of the road.
Hughes was concerned with the steep road.
Kraus, Jr. said that they’d already granted an R-DP with the zone change and if his geotech says no- it won’t happen. We have to put some stock in Maxwell’s professional opinion, even though we have conflicting ones. We need to make it contingent on the studies.
Laws- If it’s too expensive, he’ll stop.
Held- Questioned when geotech occurs? Travis Miller stated it occurs before the improvement phase and wanted to see a geotech done.
Ohlmansiek- “This is so far over my head” I was concerned with the density of the subdivision.
Feiss- He’s been compliant with staff requests. Road will be a concern.
Mitter- No issue with the subdivision. It would be foolish NOT to be concerned with the road. Extensive geotech would inform us. Wanted it to come back to board after geotech if possible.
Hall- They haven’t researched ROW and Travis hadn’t either- so widening Barber was at issue still.
Dorothy White- citizen stated that she owned on Barber Rd and no one had contacted her about ROW.
Don Holtgrief- questioned the density again in that area….
Discussion continued and it took nearly 30 minutes to get a motion.
Kraus motioned and Laws 2nd to give primary approval pending an in-depth geotech study by a county approved engineering firm to be reviewed by tech review board and that Barber and Chappelow Ridge be widened to 20 and 18 ft respectively by the developer. All ayes. Approved.

3. The Board voted to pass a favorable recommendation to the commissioners to repeal the old flood plain ordinance and replace it with FEMA’s new one.

4. Other changes in the ordinance on cul-de-sacs, Article 6 and 2448 on traffic studies will be looked over and decided at the working session on April 20th. The board is considering cul-de sacs to by 1200 ft max with 30 homes, measured from the last intersection. They are also considering having developers pay into a fund when traffic studies are required and the county will hire the traffic study, so that it will be neutral information.

5. There was discussion of hiring a consultant to do a fiscal impact model for different land uses in the county in order to maintain and promote a sustainable community. This will also be decided at the April 20th meeting.
Don Townsend approached Travis with the erosion control ordinance revisions that Jennifer Hughes from Soil and Water had helped with. He wanted to know if they wanted him to draft a letter of support for this effort, which will go to the commissioners in late April or May. To be decided by PC at April 20th meeting after reviewing.
There is a certificate of appreciation they need to give to Dave Schmidtgoesling- hopefully at the April PC meeting.
McGill said there were 30 lawsuits out- mostly enforcement issues.
Application deadlines will be firmer- the board does not want to be reviewing things at the meeting.
Mitter questioned whether he should have let people speak after public discussion was ended, but most seemed to agree that it should be a judgment call.

Meeting adjourned at 11:10 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

Open Letter

To the Dearborn County Sewer Board and all Concerned Citizens of Dearborn County

RE: Rebuttal to the letter Published in the Register on November 11, 2004 “Suburbanization of the County Coming” Placed on the Dearborn County Web Log December 20, 2004.

The Dearborn County Regional Sewer District Board of Directors, as Provided by Michael Hankins, placed a letter on the Dearborn County Web Log allegedly responding to “false statements” in the letter published in the Register.

I will not bother to respond to items 1 thru 8 in the Rebuttal, except to say the following:

Their response in item 5 “The District Board has discussed at its last several meetings decreasing the cost of the project by $2 million and arriving at a monthly bill to users of approximately $60 per month.” proves the statement in the November 11th letter.

The other sewer districts mentioned are of record in the Lawrenceburg Public Library and in the County Administration Building and were mentioned in earlier submissions to this Web Log by members of the sewer board..

I intend to respond specifically to the defamatory personal attack made by “The Board” as follows:

“Ralph Thompson writes in his letter that he is an engineer. As an engineer, Ralph Thompson requested in a public meeting to perform engineering work for the District’s initial planning phase. His services were not retained. One imagines whether Ralph Thompson’s negative, misleading and/or false statements are fueled by this rejection.”

The first sentence in the statement is true. I am a Professional Engineer. The remainder of the paragraph is totally false and defamatory.

I have not applied for, asked for, proposed on or offered to do any work for the Dearborn County Commissioners, the Dearborn County Sewer District or the Dearborn County Board of Health, as an individual or as an Engineer. Therefore it is impossible for me to have been rejected for any such work. In fact, Vera Benning suggested that I work for the County, in an open Commissioners’ Meeting in late 2003 in front of the Commissioners. Cary Pickens, Lisa Lehner and many public witnesses. I flatly refused.

I have opposed the Sewer District formation from the first public meeting in early 2003 and had a letter published in the Register in November 2003 (Sewer District Fraught with Problems).opposed to the District.

I raised the issue of the development of the Gabbard Estate in early 2003 and was told repeatedly it was not about development. The development of the Gabbard Estates received primary approval in 2004 due largely to the availability of the Sewer District.

I was asked and volunteered to serve, as a citizen with engineering background on the Advisory Committee for the County Master Plan. I served through the production of the Master Plan. Mr. Travis Miller, The Planning Commission and Planning Board Members can speak to the value of my service as an informed citizen. I provided no engineering services to the Advisory Committee.

It seems the Board and Mr. Hankins are resorting to falsehoods and libel to silence opposition to their actions. Who can surmise what motives or actions they are trying to hide? Are these the kind of people we should have serving in public office (appointed or elected)?

The Bill of Rights in the Constitution provides all Citizens the right of “free speech”. It seems that members of the current government are attempting to ameliorate our right of free speech through libel, lies and now preventing citizens from speaking in the Commissioner’s Meetings. What’s next an attack on freedom of the press?

I have obtained a copy of the “Rebuttal” from the Web Manager and it has been forwarded to my attorney for appropriate action with respect to the Board, its Members, Advisers, etc.

Ralph E. Thompson, Jr., PE, CPE, NSPE

22 March 2005 County Council Meeting Notes

22 March 2005 County Council Meeting Notes

Present: Charlie Fehrman, Chairman, Mark Mitter, Bill Ullrich, Aaron Negangard, Dennis Kraus, and Tom Cheek. Absent: Bo Lansing.
Also Present: Cary Pickens Absent: Bryan Messmore, County Administrator
County Commissioners Fox and Hughes were also present

1. Dillsboro Civic Club – Dennis Lewis- requested $1000 for the Dillsboro Festival Youth Services. Discussion included the fact that kids have 4 days to be entertained and this is Dillsboro’s 175th anniversary of being founded. It was also noted that Dillsboro’s gaming money share is being used to rehab and upgrade the town’s sewer facilities.
Bill Ullrich motioned and Tom Cheek 2nd to approve $1000 out of the Youth Fund from Gaming revenue. Approved.

2. Dearborn County Medical Contract for Jail- Lusby absent for this.
This contract is already signed with Advanced Medical and in place. So far the savings have been substantial. Commissioners signed this with the caveat that Council had to appropriate the $250,000 to cover it till the end of the year. If Council failed to, the contract could be terminated with 30 days notice.
Discussion: Rick Fox stated he was OK with it. Fehrman said that this group has court proven procedures that keep the liability down. Cheek wanted to see more bids if possible (apparently there are no real contenders in this according to Ullrich). The first month they removed a lot of prescriptions for Tylenol #3 (with codeine) and replaced it with Tylenol at the patient’s expense from the vending machines. Negangard said that private doctors prescribe more to avoid malpractice. [NOTE: the costs associated with malpractice prevention are usually associated with more lab tests, not more prescriptions.]
Negangard motioned and Mitter 2nd to approve $250,000 out of Riverboat Revenue to cover this contract thru 2005. Approved

3. Superior Court- Juror meals- Judge Witte’s court.
Per Negangard- Witte had 7 jury trials in 2005 so far and used up the entire years allotment on jury meals. Cheek motioned and Negangard 2nd to approve 10,000 and 2,000 out of Riverboat revenue for juror meals. Approved.

4. Auditor- Pickens- Accounting of lobbyist’s money –
$48,000 in pass thru account (county general) from the local municipalities to share in lobbyist expenses needed to be approved to spend. $35,000 from Riverboat Revenue needed to be appropriated for the federal lobbyist in Washington DC (Barnes and Thornburgh.)
Discussion: Mitter wanted to know if, in light of what the senate Finance Committee is doing now, was our money being spent well. Fehrman stated that he talks to our lobbyists weekly. He characterized DuBonis as a high-energy communicator (cheerleader) and Bricker as a common sense strategizer (coach). Negangard said now is NOT the time to cut back. Fehrman stated that they were instrumental in getting the Dillsboro sewer grant, US 50 issues, that Nugent and Bischoff found them helpful, that we got a sit-down face-to-face with the governor because of them. Fox stated that he didn’t think we’d get anything done without these people. They also mentioned getting another superior court judge. Mark Neff stated that in Washington they got to see one of Lugar’s key persons (Amy Oberhault sp?) and Brian Fisher, chief of staff for Congressman Pense (sp?). They also got 20-25 minutes with Sodrel and his chief of staff, Tom Washburn. This was all due to Jeff Taylor from Barnes and Thornburgh. The commissioners signed the Barnes and Thornburgh contract contingent on the Council appropriation. [NOTE: It appears that Barnes and Thornburgh were already working for us prior to the appropriation.]
Negangard motioned and Kraus 2nd to approve $48,000 from county general pass thru account to be used for the current lobbyists. They also included $35,000 from Riverboat Revenue for Barnes and Thornburgh, the federal lobbyists. 5 ayes and 1 nay (Tom Cheek- who didn’t want to send any more money to the feds. Passed.

5. Employee severance for Lorie Howard, former cty adm. Amount to be approximately $2,000-2500 to cover COBRA until her new employment health plan kicks in. Charlie Fehrman stated that he’d discussed this with Ewbank, Cty Att’y, who was OK with it, but noted that the commissioners had to request it to be spent. Negangard stated that the commissioners have to decide to cut the check, not council. Mitter stated they could appropriate it and the commissioners could decide later.
Per Fehrman, Vera Benning previously stated that she didn’t want to hire anyone back. [NOTE: What does this have to do with a severance payment?]
Pickens went out to the hall to check with Fox at this point and stated that Fox told him commissioners would not approve the severance or insurance payment. Negangard and Kraus worried that it would set a precedent. Fehrman argued that this was a situation like no others- that this person was let go without cause- and so it was not a precedent. Negangard thought it would encourage the good old boy network. Cheek stated that severance for professional employees would help keep the good old boy network out. Generally employees give county 2 weeks notice. Fehrman stated that without cause you should get two weeks pay. Chris Mueller brought up possible unemployment ratings issues and that severance is often used to prevent that. Also that the commissioners sent two signed contracts to council contingent on their approval and this could be done as a reverse of that. Appropriate money contingent on commissioner’s approval.
Ullrich motioned and Mitter 2nd to appropriate severance pay out of Riverboat Revenue for Lorie Howard pending commissioner approval. 4 ayes 2 nays (Negangard and Kraus) Negangard had wanted to table this but couldn’t get a 2nd. Council has to see if the att’y thinks it’s a legal vote- salary issues require 5 votes, NOT a simple majority. Unknown at this time if this passed or failed.

6. Bill Black, EMA Director- gave an update on the 800 MgHz system. $2.5 million is required for the whole system. It appears that Lawrenceburg is willing to finance $1million of it this year and use the bond bank for a forgivable loan for the remainder. They are waiting on Steidel to get back from vacation to discuss that. Black ordered 52 radios for the system so far. Consensus was to wait to act further on this until specifics are ironed out.

7. Mike Davis- Transportation Director- gave an update on bridge work in the county. Bridge 37 (Stitts Rd sp?), 59 (George St), and 68 (Guilford). He also reported that White’s Hill work is resuming and that they need to advertise for the money to pay for the new bridges to be entered into state rolls. These 16 were found during bridge inventory.

8. Charlie Fehrman is to check with Ewbank concerning the lease on the cty ext. office in Aurora.

9. Cheek motioned and Ullrich 2nd to renew the loan for the Division of Family and Children with UCB. Passed. Now that EG McLaughlin is handling it they required an official action.

10. Tom Cheek asked when taxes would be out. Pickens stated they would be due April 20 and mailed out Good Friday. Pickens was also going thru the cty employee’s list to be sure all their taxes were paid.

11. Charlie Fehrman reported on the Senator Meeks plan to use riverboat revenue to help balance the budget. For our county it means a loss of $5.5 million. Lawrenceburg would lose $21.1 million. Looking at the sheet- it is clear that some gambling boat counties are “favored” and left alone (Lake, LaPorte, and Vanderburgh, and the city of Gary) Fehrman stated it could be summed up in two letters- NV (envy). Pickens was more colorful in his description of Meeks. (“a butt with shoes”)
When they met with the governor, they didn’t get to finish their entire presentation.
Strategy the council wants to implement is a RESPECTFUL letter writing campaign to the senate and house leaders and the governor. (I suggested later that they put a template of this letter on the county website to make it easier)
Jeff Hughes reported that the trip to DC was successful in his estimation and that he noted that Dearborn County got the 2nd most money appropriated in the bill. (Sodrel’s home county got the most)
Fehrman reported: From the gas tax we got $5 million for SR 56v realignment, $250,000 for Tanners Creek Bridge, and $300,000 for US 50 corridor study. INDOT also gets money and we have to get to INDOT to be sure we get our share of that also.
It was noted that at the Washington offices, when their folders were opened up all the paperwork was there and in excellent order thanks to Bryan Messmore and mostly to Travis Miller. Everyone was impressed that they were so well prepared and ahead of time.

12. Mitter stated that at the OKI meeting at PNS last week, of the 192 gov’t entities that OKI works with, Travis Miller stands out as a real gem. They said we are incredibly lucky to have him. They were also impressed with our master plan and how it dovetails with the regional plans.

Meeting adjourned 9:40 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

15 March 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

15 March 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

Present: Benning, President, Fox and Hughes.
Also Present: Pickens, Auditor, Messmore, Administrator, and Ewbank, Attorney.
This meeting was videotaped for Benning, as usual.

1. Ellen Baer – wanting a donation for The Waters of Rising Sun was a no show.

2. Mike Davis- Transportation Director:
Fox and Hughes motioned and 2nded to sign the contract with James Baker, P.E. for the George Street bridge work. Approved. State grant is $277,000 and county share is $120,000. Even with a possible start next month the work won’t be completed until Spring 2007 at the earliest.
Hughes and Fox motioned and 2nded to approve INDOT’s request to do the Chappelow Ridge intersection with SR46 to county specs and not state standards. Approved. This is part of the work for a SR46 road slip near that intersection.
NOT on Agenda:
THE SURVEY COMPANY wanted to extend the contract for the White’s Hill design and oversight of the project. $8,000 for design changes and with added oversight it would total $11,000 inclusive. Fox and Hughes motioned and 2nded to extend to $11,000. Approved.
United Engineering Consultants found 14 additional bridge structures- qualified due to the angle the culverts meet the roadway. It costs $350 each ($4500) to get these into the state inventory. 80/20 project so the county share is $900. Hughes and Fox motioned and 2nded to pay to get these into the system. Approved.
Whites’ Hill is settled and O’Mara is set to start working on the retaining wall Thursday- March 17.
Guilford Bridge work began and will continue for about 7 weeks with a light signaling one-way traffic flow to keep the bridge open during repairs.

3. RQAW- Jail Expansion Project- total cost estimate $47 million.
Brett Dodd and Joe Morath presented for RQAW going over basically the same details from last year’s commissioners and Council presentations. The update included a recommended solution and strategy from the steering committee – Option G.
Option G includes the flexibility of handling the Juvenile Center later, puts the expansion in the area between the Annex and the Existing Courthouse, and INCLUDES RENOVATION OF THE COURTHOUSE, [Note: Wasn’t this just finished?], better parking, doing something with water rescue to help their access out, fixing some of the space issues in the Adm Bldg, moving 911 to the existing jail, and an arraignment court in the jail. The Fortune Mgmt Building is eliminated from the plan.
They will sequence the work to eliminate problems.
Commissioners need to get with Bond Counsel and a financial advisor to figure out next step. RQAW wanted the OK to refine the picture more etc. (MORE MONEY)
Fox wanted to take this under advisement to look over the “wish list”. Dodd stressed that there is no wish list- these are essential needs. Fox stated- it will still come down to what we can afford. $47 million is a lot of money.Ewbank asked for RQAW’s project history with the county. Morath detailed 1980’s on with jail construction. He stated that the soil conditions were so poor that they had to use concrete piers 60 ft. down to hold the building.
They worked on security and renovations and the YES Home feasibility study. They have done 60 county jails and kept in touch over the years and knew we needed to expand. Their proposal was a thick 3 ring binder and with those specs “only one bid came in- us!” (RQAW).
[NOTE: The other bidders dropped out as stated in conversation with previous administrator due to realization that RQAW had the inside track already. They felt it would be a waste of their time to do all the preliminary bid work if another company already was favored. This is a critical problem with having the same company who designs the specs also be allowed to bid. It presents an unlevel bidding field. RQAW’s initial quote was nearly twice their final bid when the project went to open bidding. In their initial quote they were going to give part of the work as a freebie if they got the contract.]Dodd went on to say they’d do a workshop for the commissioners and share more things that “weren’t appropriate to put in the 500 page report.” [NOTE: This didn’t sound right.]
Pickens stated that Barnes and Thornburgh is the Bond Counsel we use. RQAW will share info with them also.
Benning stated that a “previous commissioner had passed this off to the county administrator and that’s how this happened.” [NOTE: What is Benning perceiving as happening?]
Ewbank suggested they get financial advisor first, as that is less expensive than bond counsel.
Fox and Hughes motioned and 2nded to get Barnes and Thornburgh’s recommendation for Financial Advisor and retain them. a workshop will be scheduled at a later date.

5. Scott Burgins- Strategic Development Group - Dearborn County Housing Needs Assessment.
Benning, Travis Miller, and Tom Kent were among others on this committee. Burgins went over his same report for the new commissioners. Commissioners took the information under advisement. (See previous commissioner meeting notes for details)

6. Public Hearing Vacating Streets in the Oxbow Lands of Hardintown. Travis Miller presented background from the Plan Commission Hearing and also their favorable recommendation. He reviewed section 280 in the Subdivision Ordinance Book and Benning read it into the record. Archie Crouch of The Survey Co. explained the reason for vacating the lands. No public wished to comment. Ewbank read his prepared Ordinance for signing and Fox and Hughes motioned and 2nded to vacate the Streets in the Oxbow Land. Approved.

Travis Miller reminded Commissioners of the OKI meeting 3/16 at PNS on Growth and also the Sat 3/19 meeting with US50 stakeholders at 10 AM at LHS.

7. Bryan Messmore- Adm.- presented the paperwork for Lifetime Housing. Discussion as to whether the county had to put any money in or if this was a pass-thru grant. Fox and Hughes motioned and 2nded to approve only if it’s a grant and no county money is needed. Approved.
Drug Free Workplace addendum to the Employee Handbook is almost ready.

8. Claims and Minutes approved. Hughes abstained on Minutes for 3/1 as he was absent.

9. Ewbank- Attorney- reported that a letter received by the commissioners has been turned over to Kraemer for review.

10. Benning- is concerned about security in the building. Bryan had checked on previous work on this issue- no decision.
Benning informed the board that Regional Sewer Board is meeting 3/17 at 7 PM. if they are interested in attending.

11. Pickens reminded the board that they need to beat on their senators and reps and that Fehrman and Pickens have sent a letter to the governor reminding him that he promised not to take riverboat revenue to balance the budget. Pickens is going to Indy tomorrow to lobby some more.

Benning asked the board if they had any more comments. No one did.

She them looked at Mike Rozow and asked if “anyone out there had anything to say.”
[Note: This is the first time the public has been asked if they wished to speak this year. (other than at the zone change hearings)]

Meeting adjourned 8:45 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township

Available Building Lots in Unincorporated Dearborn County

The following information was updated from public documents, specifically, reports, files, and minutes of the Dearborn County Plan Commission and the Planning and Zoning Office. The Planning Office is NOT responsible for this report, though a copy of it was provided to them for their information.

The last time this report was done was in October of 2002. This data is for approved subdivisions through March 1, 2005.

270 subdivisions have been created in Dearborn County. This includes small minor subdivisions as well as the large ones.

The Building Inspector's office lists about 300 residential permits per year. (Some years a little more, some a little less)
Planning and Zoning tracks these permits including data on which subdivision they are in. Subtracting the housing permits for each subdivision from the lot count tells us how many buildable lots remain. These remaining lots may be sold already, but there are no homes built on them yet.

There were 9134 subdivision lots created in Dearborn County since Zoning took effect. In October 2002 there were 2768 lots left that were unbuilt. More subdivisions were added and more lots were built since then.

As of March 1, 2005 there were 3056 unbuilt lots remaining in unincorporated Dearborn County.

Of those, 1528 remain unbuilt in Hidden Valley Lake. Per HVL POA there are 1723 homes built there currently. They also estimated in 2002 that nearly 25% of their lots were doubles lots. Unless the home is built between the two lots, that still leaves an unbuilt lot that could be sold and built upon later. This same issue could be the case in some of the county's subdivisions.

Of interest, in the last 2 1/2 years there were 215 housing permits for lots that were not in subdivisions. Considering there are about 300 housing permits a year,in that time period there were about 750 permits total. In conclusion, about 17% of all non-city or town housing was outside a subdivision.

In summary, the potential building supply (not counting Hidden Valley Lake) has about a 5 year "surplus" of lots. (Hidden Valley would double this number)

This could be an average goal to allow for consumer choice as well as builder options. Considering the typical economics of supply and demand, it would be prudent for the county and for developers, builders, loan officers, and realtors to consider these numbers as they relate to taxation, land prices, housing prices, and interest rates. From a business standpoint, we need to be aware or market pressures in all these directions as we plan for the growth of Dearborn County.

If anyone would like a copy of the complete data (10 pages) in Excel format, please contact me and provide your email.
I will be happy to post any verifiable corrections to this data. If you live in (or built) a county subdivision that was created prior to 1998 and know the exact lot count and number of houses in your subdivision, this information would be helpful. County files do not contain built out data prior to 1998. I will pass on all data anyone provides to the staff at the Planning Office as well.

Christine Brauer Mueller
Willow Brook Farm
18203 Pribble Road
Lawrenceburg Township

Free Press

As I read the Register Editorial, "Government assault on public information must be battled in tech age", I couldn’t help but wonder why Register Publications has withheld many pertinent stories from Dearborn County residents.

For instance, there was a seven car pile up on State Road 350 in front of the High School involving South Dearborn students Friday, November 19 and another accident at the entrance to the school Friday, February 25 involving a school bus full of children and a High School Student driving a Jeep.

I have to wonder about this. Especially since a Dearborn County Resident was quoted in an article December of 2003 as saying the State Road 350 site was much safer for Aurora Elementary students than the school on Washington Street. Has there ever been a personal injury accident on Washington Street involving a school bus, or a seven car pile up at that site?

Doesn’t the public have a right to know about the accidents happening in front of South Dearborn High School? Especially since another school will be moving to the site.

In December it was reported that South Dearborn issued $34,740,000 in Bonds for their building project. The actual total face value of those bonds was $37,920,000 and proceeds of the sale were $40,065,726. Didn’t the public have a right to know South Dearborn in reality borrowed $3.18 million more than published. Doesn’t the public have a right to know South Dearborn will be paying $1.768 million in interest for this debt in 2005, 2006 and nearly that much in 2007.

Does the public have the right to know South Dearborn Community School Corporation is in violation of IC 20-1-1-6.4? The corporation was required by law to issue a public document identifying material differences between their building project and Department of Education building guidelines. There are many material differences. Probably the most pertinent difference is the recommended classroom size of 900 square feet for elementary students. Aurora elementary classrooms will be only 770 square feet.

The corporation was also required to present building specification for the new building at the public hearing. They presented no building specifications. They had not even selected a site for the building.

Did the public have a right to know South Dearborn superintendent Tom Book banned me from serving as a volunteer in the music department at South Dearborn Middle School because I was opposed the building project?

As long as Register Publications continues to selectively report the news, free press in Dearborn County is nearly meaningless.

Karen Loveland

Well once again our county commissioners have shown the resident of Dearborn County that their only concern is promoting the SUBURBANATION OF THE COUNTY.

IT'S TIME TO SAY WAKE UP DEARBORN COUNTY!

Truly it seem that our elected official do not care what You or I think, they already have an agenda for this county. It's all about big DEVELOPERS AND THEIR MONEY controlling the decisions being made. Why have meetings when it is clear the decisions are made before the meetings start. It may just be that there is some truth in the Heil Hitler comments.

DAN BROOKS
CONCERNED CITIZEN

1 March 2005 County Commissioners Meeting Notes

1 March 2005 County Commissioners Meeting Notes

Present: Vera Benning, President, and Rick Fox.
Absent: Jeff Hughes (on vacation)
Also Present: Cary Pickens, Auditor, Bryan Messmore, County Adm., and Bob Ewbank, Attorney.

The agenda for this meeting includes a statement: “During the Public Hearing, public comments are welcomed.”

1. Advanced Medical- Diane Anderson was presented by Sheriff Dave Lusby and Karen Stokes. The contract for services was tabled from the Feb 15 meeting. Ewbank stated that he’d looked over the contract with Lusby and recommended it as a good idea.
Fox motioned and Benning 2nd to approve the contract for medical services for the jail pending Council’s approval of additional appropriations.

2. Bill Ewbank- Veteran’s Officer- requested the Commissioner’s agree to cover the insurance for the Catch-a-Ride van that was being donated to them. The Veteran’s Office will cover the tow and repair costs. It will be used sparingly, whenever wheelchair access is needed.
Fox motioned and Benning 2nd to accept the donation and add it to the fleet of county cars being insured.

3. Bill Black EMA- declared March 6-12 Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Fox motioned and Benning 2nd to officially proclaim Severe Awareness Week.
Certification classes are continuing with grants to cover the costs. Black gave commissioners disk copies of the EMA plan for the county, which needs to be approved by April. He notified commissioners that the FEMA money is coming to help cover snow and flood damages. He also advised them that March 10 at the L-bg Firehouse they are invited to a meeting on the 800 MgHz system for communications.

4. Mike Davis- Highway Dept.- reported that the George Street Bridge grant money ($277,000) has been granted and coupled with the cum bridge fund will be able to begin work on the bridge. He wants to hire James Barker, PE from Bloomington too supervise this. It won’t be finished till 2007. Ewbank to review the contract for next meeting.
Davis informed commissioners that the state is looking to fix a slip on SR46 and realign the entrance of Chappelow Ridge to the hwy there. Commissioners will have to sign off on the redesign of that access point after review.
FEMA will be in town to look at road slips. He’s hoping to get money for these as flood damage.
Whites Hill- St Leon and O’Mara have agreed to install the line- they will be back on track soon.
Piper’s Landing- 325’ of road accepted into the system, but forgot to sign off on it 10 years ago… [NOTE: Piper’s Landing is not 10 years old even- this time frame is off. It was 2000.]
Fox motioned and Benning 2nd to sign the road inventory papers for Piper Lane.

5. Public Hearing 2 Zone Changes. There were approximately 50 people in attendance.
Vera Benning stated that she wanted all the people to get a chance to be heard and wanted them to hold it to 3 minutes each.
Maxwell Development- [Note: this is the one on Chappelow Ridge and Barber Road]
Travis Miller presented an overview of the development and the five criteria that the commissioners have to consider in granting a zone change. The public hearing at the PC occurred on Jan 24 and was certified Feb 2. PC voted unanimously for a favorable recommendation. Density is moderate at an average .68 units /acre, though it looks denser because they are clustered at the top of the hill. Slopes with over 20% grade are to be avoided. The road is on such a slope, but the houses are not. The property utilizes Chappelow Ridge and Barber Rd to access SR46. Site is .75 mi from SR46, 1.25 mi from SR52 and, 2mi from I-74. It is not yet served by St. Leon sewer, but has a written commitment for sewer. They have also committed to connect Chappelow Ridge to Barber Rd. Roadway design and geotech analysis will be done in stages and paid for by the developer. [NOTE: County needs to think about this- and the county should be selecting the engineer and geotech analysis and then charge the developer. Otherwise there is a conflict of interest in that the engineering firm has to “please” the developer who hires them in order to get further jobs from them.]
Benning went through each utility letter. Travis Miller showed slides of existing zoning, existing land uses, slopes on the site, and areas of greater than 20% slope. [NOTE: The commissioners did not have a copy of the minutes from the Plan Commission meeting- so how could they know what testimony was behind the PC recommendation?]
Public Comment:
Dorothy White showed the commissioners on one slide the polluted sewage from Whites’ Hill that was dumped along the riverside and covered with bricks. She then presented 300 petitions against the development.
Daniel Sexton, Chappelow Ridge adjoining property owner, stated that he’d looked for property on a dead end street in and Agricultural zone for his horses and gardens. He wants the road to stay dead end to avoid thru traffic issues. Estimates that 800 cars per day will pass his house and now there are none. He sees no recreational area in the property. Chappelow Ridge is 13.5-14 ft wide and not designed for traffic. Schools are overcrowded, Fire Dept. Is volunteer and in Ohio. “We’re not going down without a fight.” This wrecks our rural lifestyle. More traffic, more noise, more taxes. Increased property value is only good IF you want to sell and move. Don’t connect this to Chappelow Ridge, please redesign it to take the residents into consideration.
Tom Holtgrieve- Daughter’s classroom at EC is a trailer! The average person in my area owns 33 acres with only 4 houses built near me in the last several years. Come out Sat. and I’ll saddle up horses and we can ride all over this land. You need to see that the slope is too steep for a road.
Helen Kremer – We also have Eric Russo here to present for us. (from Hillside Trust) We have a barn, house built in 1848, and granary on Barber Rd. We request you deny this zone change. It is not in compliance with the comprehensive plan, which states that moderate, and steep slopes are to be avoided. It will not retain the rural character. Developers should respect the county topography, environmental issues, and historical significance. Comp plan says to restrict development on steep slopes, flood plains, and any site that would adversely affect surrounding uses. Calculating the number of homes (124-136) plus the existing 45 in the area would produce 1810 more trips per day on Barber Rd. Barber Rd access to SR46 is tricky sight-wise. Does not want to lose the 100-yr old granary by eminent domain to widen Barber Rd for this development. Kremer brought up issues with farm equipment on the road. The developer was not required to do a traffic study. From the Hwy Dept. letter: This is an environmental wetland parallel to the road. The tech review has concerns over soil types and slippage. There are stormwater concerns when the vegetation is removed. Stable soils do not occur until 9-10 ft of depth, and the majority of the road will be constructed on fill. “Realtors commonly know that anything which increases traffic on a road decreases property value.”
Building this road is not responsible and will be expensive to the taxpayers to repair and maintain. 1200ft is the max for a cul de sac and this one is 3200 ft.
“Creative design is what developers call it when they go to areas where topography is unforgiving.”
Can any developer ignore steep slope requirements?
Kathy Scott – I am a transplant from the city and marvel at all the wildlife here. The comp plan is here to protect it. We are in danger of going astray into commercialism. You and I (referring to the commissioners) are equal participants in the governing of the county. Scott’s talk repeatedly referenced by page number and section parts of the master plan and the zoning ordinances. She also showed several pictures of the site issues blown up for the meeting. Comments included references to keeping as much forested terrain as possible, but knowing that maneuvering large equipment to build roads and sites would surely remove a lot of it. There are functioning wells 56 ft deep at the base of this development. Gas and electric letters were non-committal, as was St. Leon. Speculation was that installing pipelines on unstable hillsides would be a problem. Subdivisions do not strengthen the economic base. They will change our county. These people will spend their dollars in Harrison and Cincinnati, because of their location. Residential zones allow an ultimate 4 units/acre, if the developer so chooses. Stormwater and existing flooding patterns on Barber Rd. will get worse. A HOA is not the best way to maintain these detention ponds etc. Residents below do not feel protected. There are 168 washed out roads in this county. First rule should be in effect- DO NO HARM. In summary: What is Dearborn County giving this developer without regard to the ordinances and comp plan? We are giving him a blank check. The maintenance, road slips, etc. will all be taxpayer costs. The governing body should maintain integrity and influence by our conduct and the direction this county takes. She then showed three scenes of the area that looked like pictures from a nature preserve.
Eric Russo – Executive Director of the Hillside Trust. Benning stated that she’d already heard his presentation and limited him to three minutes, so that “we can hear the citizens of this community.” [NOTE: Rick Fox had not heard this presentation though. He made no comment at this time.]
[Note: this was apparently the expert that the neighbors brought in to help state their case. Had he been an attorney, would he have been restricted? If the commissioners want facts and not emotion, this would have been the time to get them.]
Russo gave 5 examples of fiscal impacts of hillside development and ended with the one from IVY Tech costing $1milliom in 2003 to fix a hillside even though the original design had geotech input. He then passed out his paper detailing the rest of his presentation.
Rick Fox – questioned Maxwell- stating that the road was the backbone of this project.
John Maxwell- The county uses Schneider Engineering and we’ve agreed to reimburse the county for fees to be sure the engineering is here. Will the trees be intact? We have to cut down 10 ft or so to bedrock. The trees will be intact above the road cut.
I met with Mark Seiler after he did this letter (referring to the letter questioning the stability of that road site). We agreed to widen Barber to 20 ft. Got Mark to correct the statement about poor pavement, the pavement is in good condition. We will be coming out beyond the flood prone area of Barber Road. I thought it would be a great idea to do Chappelow Ridge connection to get alternate access. The barn does not have to be taken sown. I don’t want to have anything to do with eminent domain! The barn is nice- beautiful- keep it. I agree that 2000 ft. of Chappelow Ridge needs widening. The hill grade is 30-35% but the road will be at an angle to this that is 10% max. I still have no letter from Seiler correcting these statements. (He said this several times). As to the homes having to be built on piers- we are building on the top of the hill- no piers needed. It makes no sense for the highway dept. to put something like this on paper. He said Seiler apologized for his behavior at the tech review and said he would do another letter- no letter still. [NOTE: If Mark Seiler issues another letter- then the PC hearing was based on something different. It is legal to have testimony change at this point? Is it advisable? Does the county need to hire a PE to review these cases?]
Maxwell took exception to the statement about the sewer dump as if it were his. He did nothing of the sort. Gas is not necessary- but they are getting 2 bids. Amenities include 2 small parks and walking trails. He rejects Kathy Scott’s statements saying some comments were a stretch and highly inappropriate. Some were correct.
“Should we lose tonight we’ll have to evaluate how we stand with her.” [NOTE: It is not appropriate to attempt to intimidate a citizen who offers an opinion at a meeting, unless slander or libel is intended.]
We are going to comply with all the rules for stormwater and soil conservation. We do 50 construction projects a year and we comply with all of this.
Bill Werner – I apologize for some of the name-calling that occurred at last night’s meeting- it was not appropriate. If all potential farms slated for development in the St. Leon area occur- we will get about 800 homes. How can the schools ..?
Vera Benning- If a person wants to sell should they be able to?
Bill Werner – Yes – but… you didn’t let me finish.
Benning – I took the oath of office seriously, if someone wants to sell… repeats herself.
Bill Werner – I’m talking about responsible development.
Vera Benning cut the public discussion off at this point. Three hands were still raised to speak. Fox motioned to end public discussion and Benning 2nd. Immediately Fox motioned to approve the zone change and Benning 2nd. Passed. The crowd protested throughout all of this that they weren’t finished. Please stop. Wait etc… Benning asked the police to get people out in an orderly manner. Two policemen stood at the front of the room.
After the people left, Ewbank informed the commissioners that they needed to consider the 5 criteria for a zone change. Fox and Benning amended their motion to include those criteria. THEY DID NOT DISCUSS THEM AT ANY POINT, just stated that they wanted them included in the motion. Ewbank said he’d fix the motion up when he typed it out officially. He also stated that bonds would be required when the subdivision is granted so they should be protected on that road construction.

Rohe Development (this is the one on Mt. Pleasant for condos).
Travis Miller presented the details again and pictures. These 103 condominiums require a zone change from A-R. Since condos are a conditional use it will have to go to the BZA for final consideration. Nicole Daily of Bayer Becker protested that they were told this was the final stop. Miller apologized and informed her that they were in error and that state law was researched and it required BZA approval.
This is an R-DP as well- so approval is tied to the development plan presented.
Public Comment:
Kathy Wolf- Last night someone said there were about 2000 unbuilt lots in HVL- how many are in Dearborn County? [NOTE: This is an error- my personal research from 2.5 years ago showed 1785 lots left in HVL with about 25% being double lots. There were nearly 2200 unbuilt lots in the entire county in Oct 2002]
She discussed road width issues, school crowding, and taxes. She suggested that the PC, Commissioners, schools etc, work together to get an overall record of building lots approved vs. development potential, to gauge the effect on public services. [NOTE: This would also be helpful to assess supply and demand, as it would prevent overloading supply and driving prices down leading to decreased home values etc.]
Nicole Daily- Bayer and Becker- discussed how the condos meet the 5 criteria for a zone change. She said they were trying top create a rural aspect with the project. [NOTE: Multifamily is rural???] The traffic study indicated no road improvement needed, though they will do proper ingress and egress. They are marketing to younger couples with 2-3 bedrooms. They are only going to improve Mt. Pleasant along their own frontage. [NOTE: No one seems to be questioning this- while the previous developer is widening the main road to the next access point.]
Diana Hubbard- adj. Landowner concerned about the number of people in the area, as they have farm animals. Farms are attractive to kids, hunters, and quadrunners. This is high density- the first condo in our entire area. She wonders if there can be fencing between them and the farm.
Jackie Kraus – If Mom and Pop want to sell the farm they have aright to dream but not a right to presume that it will be Disneyland, a subdivision, etc. We should have gone to the comp plan. We trusted our officials. She referenced feeling like saying Heil Hitler. That people weren’t heard. [Note: This was all said in a polite, quiet, respectful manner.]
Rick Fox- We are listening- this is close to my heart I have hunted all over these old farms. I wish we could save things by having development rights to pay these old farmers. “I can’t sit and zone away what they worked all their lives for.”
I put a lot of thought into what people have put all their lives into. [NOTE: What about the people next door? Do they have any rights?]
Bob Ewbank- questioned her use of Heil Hitler. You had due process. In my family people died for that. People have the right to speak and the commissioners have a right to LIMIT the hearing. [NOTE: This made no sense- to speak of rights to speak and then refusing the last people that right in the 1st hearing. The factual presentation was shut down as well. This is not the first person to liken our commissioner’s behavior to a dictator.]
Fox motioned and Benning 2nd to approve the zone change based on the 5 criteria. They did not discuss those criteria.

Travis Miller updated the commissioners on meetings for US50 and OKI and also asked for a letter in support of the US50 Corridor study. Messmore had already typed the letter, and the commissioners signed it.

EMS contract signed for St. Leon.
Hospital Trustees needed Ron Denny approved as Vice-Chairman and Robert Hoffmeier as Chairman. Approved.
They signed the letter supporting VRUC permit application
Barnes and Thornburgh contract for lobbyist services was approved pending Council approval of funds. Ewbank reviewed it first. [NOTE: This is the third lobbyist we have now]
Ewbank reviewed his services for the month and gave kudos to Bryan for leading the effort to get the White’s Hill issues resolved. He also included the Hwy Director.
Commissioners signed a letter of understanding with Ewbank for his services, based on prior fees appropriated.

Benning brought up a draft copy of an ordinance they wanted to do in 2001 concerning conduct of meetings. Ewbank will review it.
Ewbank will speak to Pickens to see what they can do to make the process of going through gov’t easier. They also want to be sure older citizens don’t lose their property to tax sales. [NOTE: This is an unusual statement for a group bent on shutting down public comment.]
Meeting adjourned 9:40 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township