washington township board meeting

[jean]

Diane Hoeing Wenning

Yesterday at 12:19 PM ·

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Please attend this meeting, especially those who live in Washington Township.

A 1.8 million dollar bond with $400,000.00 to go toward Lake McCoy.

It will raise taxes.

        
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP BOARD MEETING WILL BE 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 AT 2:00 PM IN ROOM 106 

The above is in the courthouse.

[jean]

$1.8 million bond idea tabled

BILL RETHLAKE

DAILY NEWS

GREENSBURG — Local elected officials and Washington Township residents concerned about their taxes met Tuesday at the Decatur County Courthouse to discuss a $1.8 million bond that, if approved, would help clean up Lake McCoy, provide help for the cemeteries in Washington Township, and help finance a permanent office for the Washington Township Trustee’s office.

Washington Township Trustee Christian Rust, who initiated the bond idea, began his presentation with a series of slides illustrating his office’s numerous accomplishments.

Several times throughout his presentation, Rust emphasized that his office has improved services without raising taxes.

With regards to his request for a $1.8 million bond, Rush said, “This will free up the cash flow to engage in other projects within the township without raising taxes, to raise property values in Washington Township and raise the property values of your properties to lower your tax rates.”

LAKE MCCOY

Rust said he has spent three years asking Lake McCoy residents and property owners to make improvements to what he described as a blighted area, and noted those improvements



have not taken place.

“Lake McCoy is a very expensive area for the county to protect.

See BOND on A2


Several concerned citizens attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Washington Township Advisory Board of Directors. By and large, most of the assemblage attended to hear or participate in the discussion of a proposed $1.8 million bond.

Bill Rethlake | Daily News



BOND

CONTINUED FROM A1

Every 2.2 days Lake McCoy receives either a firetruck, an ambulance, a sheriff car or police car,” he said.

“We are clearing the lots we’ve purchased. We are enforcing rules against noxious weeds and vegetation. We have asked the county to ... enforce the zoning codes. We are asking the county to continue legal action against people who won’t pay their property taxes and who won’t clean up their properties from this blight,” Rust continued, later saying he hopes the DCSD can establish a presence at the lake, which is located a few miles east of Greensburg.

Rust finished the Lake McCoy part of his presentation saying, “There is great potential at Lake McCoy. There are 41 home sites with a water feature, excluding the trailer park. There could be a lot more. It’s already zoned residential, so to put it into perspective, 41 home sites for an average in Washington Township should be $8.6 million in assessed value, as opposed to its current value of $1.2 million. This is a blighted area. Blighted by decreased occupancies, dilapidated buildings and in increased crime rate. It used to be a gem in our community. The bond for McCoy covers an engineering study, an office property demolition and driveway repair.”

THE OFFICE

Rust launched into a discussion of what some of the remaining bond money would be used for: a permanent home for the Washington Township Trustee.

“In 2019, the landlord of the old office raised the rent and reduced the size of our space, so we left,” he said.

The Trustee’s office has since been located in the Decatur County Courthouse.

“We were explicitly told at that time that this would only be a temporary office space,” he said. “This project, in part, addresses our need for consistency of location.”

CEMETERY FUNDS

Rust said the rest of the bond would be used to improve cemeteries, namely South Park.

“We intend to straighten headstones, put in a scatter garden for ashes, pave the parking area, and

use technology to correctly identify which spots are taken and which are empty, and then preserve the record for the future,” he said.

Rust summed up his presentation by saying, “I am very proud of how my team and board have developed a plan to address these three areas of need in Washington Township: maintaining our cemeteries, creating a consistent and reliable home for the Trustee’s office, and beginning to shine a light on Lake McCoy’s path to a brighter future. ... If we choose, we can go ahead and pull the trigger today, certainly I remain convinced of the need. However, I don’t see a need to rush.”

Rust proposed a task force composed of Jim Stewart, Chuck Emsweller, Danny Peters, former commissioner Rick Nobbe, Bryan Robbins, Phil Deweirt, and Lake McCoy resident Glenn Wiehe.

“I propose this task force make a recommendation for proceeding with Lake McCoy by our December 7th meeting,” he said.

The named members of the task force accepted the nomination; a vote was taken and the motion was unanimously approved.

The rest of the 90-minute meeting largely consisted of comments from the audience. Each of those persons wishing to speak was given three minutes.

By and large, of the almost 20 people who chose to make comment, three primary concerns were noted.

Most approved of the Lake McCoy cleanup if it didn’t raise taxes. There was much concern regarding the bond, and members of the Board had to explain the minute details of how the bond would work.

There were numerous calls for more transparency within the Trustee’s office.

Many of those who spoke were opposed to the idea of a new Trustee’s office, saying there is room in City Hall (the former Washington School) once the remodeling there is complete.

Following the question and answer session, the Board moved to table the bond discussion indefinitely and the meeting was adjourned.

Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-663-3111, ext 217011 or email [e-mail]