The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/919610
C-12 East Gibson News Wednesday, December 20, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Dale Grinstead, State Farm Agent 211 W. Morton, Oakland City, IN Bus: 812-749-6155 dale.grinstead.bylw@statefarm.com May the joy of the season make all your wishes come true. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ™ CALL ME TODAY. State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL Wishing You a Happy New Year well as along IN-168, said, "It's getting very danger- ous to say the least," he said about farming around near the highways. "I think plan- ning is important. People building houses in Vander- burgh County can't do any- thing." In 1976, he remembers farmers being concerned about being able to build houses on their own proper- ty, and now, with the sixth generation coming up, he sees many of the same con- cerns. "A farmer is independent. He wants to make his own decisions," Michel said. Dennis Simpson, Owens- ville farmer, also cited run- off as a reason not to zone. His farm floods now, he said. "If it's not addressed, you're going to ruin people's livelihoods," he said. "Toyo- ta came in 20 years ago with- out zoning, so I wonder why we need it now." Dave McKinney, from the Snake Run and Francisco ar- ea, said he talked to farm- ers around Haubstadt about zoning. He said unemploy- ment in Dubois, Davis and Gibson counties are all low, and they are all unzoned. "For some reason, we're succeeding without zoning," he said. Even though he sup- ports having businesses, he could foresee problems with the best of them. Even his favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel, for example, would still probably be unhappy sit- uated between a dairy and hog operation, should some- one decide to clean their barn, he said. Paul Waters, CEO of the local Economic Develop- ment Corporation, said he has concerns that some- thing will be built at one of the three intersections that locals would oppose. "The population has not increased since Toyota ar- rived," he said. "Not one market rate apartment com- plex has come in." (Market rate means it's an unsubsi- dized complex and does not offer Section 8 assistance for those in poverty.) With approximately 10,000 people working at Toyota, Waters estimated only 3,000 are living local- ly. He said industries don't want people commuting so far to work as it encourages issues with attendance and being late, especially in the winter. Waters works with hous- ing developers as part of his job, and said that they tell him they want to come here, but are concerned about the lack of zoning. Daniel Lefler presented his view that cities should be zoned and then annexed as they move out. He doesn't support the county-wide as- pect of the zoning. "(Stephen) Bottoms says we don't want strip joints here," Lefler said. "I'm not against a woman making money, not that I particular- ly want strip joints either." He said the county has kept them out before, however, and he believes locals will continue to be able to do that. Gibson County Cham- ber of Commerce president James Stephens spoke on behalf of the agency's 300 members, whom, he said, employ several thousand employees. The mission of the Chamber, he said, is to advance the general welfare of members. He said resi- dential developers are not likely to invest without zon- ing, which leaves the county to face a severe labor short- age. At the same time, mem- bers want to know what re- strictions will be placed on their corporate partners. "We don't know impact on agriculture, mining and manufacturing. Ag, manu- facturing and mining is who we are," Stephens said, add- ing the Chamber would like time to evaluate what the plan will mean for its mem- bers. Kenneth Page, zoning opponent, said he had more than 750 signatures against zoning with him, but be- lieved there had not been enough information given at the outset, for example, about the fact that if the cur- rent draft passes, it would make the whole county zoned, adding he believed if he'd known the whole coun- ty was set to be zoned, 2/3 of people would be against it. Chris Hopple, general manager of Gibson County Coal, said he operates two underground coal mines, and would like to hire more than the 400 employees he has currently working out of Owensville. He said the company had paid more than $120 million to land- owners. He said he was looking for more clarity on how zoning would affect mining. "What we don't under- stand is how strongly to be in favor or opposed," he said. "We don't understand what it says now. It says what to do to build a swimming pool on our coal mine," he said, but added it doesn't say what would need to happen to open another one or wheth- er the current mines would need to be re-zoned. The company would like to have more portals and more mines, and worries zoning would limit future growth, as well as conflict with the regulations the company is already required to meet. "We want to provide high quality jobs and low cost electricity. Doing that at- tracts businesses, and we would be opposed to any- thing limiting it," he said. Dennis Titzer, who said he is the commander of Somer- ville, moved there from Ev- ansville 14 years ago after serving in the military. "It is about liberty. I think you should listen to the ma- jority of the people," he said. The county should also con- sider, he said, that farms are needed to feed people, so the growth of population shouldn't be at the expense of farms. Delores McDevitt spoke in favor of zoning. A resident of Oakland City since age 8, and owner of 49 acres of land, she remembers how robust it was in the 1960s, with variety stores, restau- rants and barber shops on Main Street. Later in her life, when traveling with her husband's job, she said it was always good to come home. "Our father support- ed the highway because of jobs. He loved Gibson County as much as I do," she said. "I understand the concerns of the farmers. It is my hope we can all work together." Virtually every oth- er county has zoning, she said. "They found a way to make it work for everyone. It's my hope we can, too," she said. Bryan Rexing, a fourth generation farmer, of dairy and grain, said he saw zon- ing as fixing what isn't bro- ken. "You're choosing how my children are going to oper- ate in the future," he said. The lack of zoning attract- ed the Vincennes Univer- sity campus to the county, he said. The board responded to some of the queries. Schopmeyer said the board has a laundry list of items needing attention, including existing uses, re- building after natural disas- ters, potentially down zon- ing that would tier zoning to allow any use considered below the most advanced one. He said the board was hearing the concerns about oil, gas and coal and will meet with that constituent group. He also added Indiana is not a referendum state, so the zoning cannot be done by referendum. Steve Adler, the next speaker, had lived in many zoned communities, in- cluding Pensacola, and felt it added a lot of paperwork for any kind of construc- tion, from repairs to build- ing a shed. "It can get to where it doesn't help the average person," he said. Clint Campbell, from South Gibson, said he was looking at new confined feeding operations, and al- ready abides by many regu- lations of his industry with- out adding an extra entity. Scott Wallace, a farmer south of Princeton, located behind Toyota, said he'd on- ly recently heard that zon- ing would be county-wide, and he worries what kind of zoning he'd be in, con- sidering he has a corpo- rate neighbor. He'd like to see more information about the entire county's zones. "The fear of the unknown is terrible. That would en- compass a lot of feelings I hear tonight," he said. If the board does zone the entire county, he wants to know, as a business-owner, what zone he would be in, and he urged the council to make it uncomplicated. "I run a multi-million dollar busi- ness, but I'm a high school graduate...let's keep it sim- ple." Eric Heidenreich, head of Gibson County Visitor's and Tourism, said the board put together a statement of support after a long-range planning session inspired talking about how the I- 69 corridor could impact tourism efforts. (The full text of the statement of sup- port was printed in the Star- Times the week the board released it.) Jason Buck, area farm- er with a turkey operation on Ind. 64, said he already abides by a book of Indi- ana codes, has his opera- tion evaluated by commis- sioners, surrounding towns and the health department. "I think this county does good the way it is," he said. He also said he felt Gibson County did well during the Great Recession, making the 2009 plan the zoning is based on outdated. Tim Ramsey, of Owens- ville, worried about how zoning would affect hiring independent contractors to do projects around the house, and said that the av- erage person doesn't have extra money for permits. He suggested posting zon- ing information at post of- fices or including informa- tion with locals' water bills so that people who want to attend meetings can. Farmer Chris Buck asked if a mediator could be hired to hear both sides and work on the plan, sug- gesting an expert recently hired by Farm Bureau. Warren Fleetwood, of Fort Branch, said he's lived in zoned and non-zoned communities. "What I bring to you to- night is a heavy heart," he said. The educator of 21 years said permits are not cheap, especially for young people. "Most industries are al- ready regulated," he said, suggesting they work with what they know occurs in zoned and unzoned loca- tions currently. Deciding what to do about zoning, he said, is an "opportunity to allow our voice to be heard through- out the state." The board voted that the next public hearing at 6:30 p.m., Jan 3 will be at the Toyota Events Center on the Gibson County Fair- grounds. The meeting is expected to last two hours, with roughly three min- utes allotted per individu- al. Written statements are also welcome. ZONING Continued from page 11 Council seeks plan for jail By Janice Barniak As the Gibson County Council looks at ways to address jail overcrowding, they talked Dec. 19 about another study of the prob- lem, jail expansion and hir- ing. Commissioner Stephen Bottoms suggested apply- ing to the National Insti- tute for Corrections for a free study that would look at all aspects of the local jail and justice system. In talks with the Dubois County Sheriff, the sher- iff had recommended it as a good way to get infor- mation about everything, from prosecutors to judg- es to jails. The study would be a three-day process; it wouldn't address staffing levels, however, Bottoms said the county already has a study that looked at staff- ing levels. County Council presi- dent Derek McGraw said as the council looks at po- tentially expanding/chang- ing the jail, he questions how accurate that initial staffing level recommen- dation would be. "The staffing analysis was done on the current building. If we go a differ- ent route with the struc- ture, it directly affects staffing needs," he said, adding that the right lay- out of the building could decrease how many peo- ple are needed. He said in talks with the absent Jeremy Overton, (sick that meeting,) they want to see a plan of up- grading in advance of hir- ing. "Is the cart first, is the horse first, is it the chick- en or egg? " McGraw asked. As talks progressed, however, the president said he would not be in support of starting over with a new building completely. "As long as I'm a council- man, you'll never hear me say scrap the old building," McGraw said. County Commission- ers were also working on the jail problem during their meeting Dec. 19, and sought to have an option to purchase properties at 314 N. Main and 220 N. Prince as potential key properties in providing solutions to jail overcrowding. This does not obligate the county in any purchase, but is a way to keep the property from being pur- chased by another party before the commissioners and council can thorough- ly determine whether the properties could be useful if the jail were, for example, expanded. The council looked at the potential purchases on a map; one property was for- merly the Three Aces, one person noted, while anoth- er talked about the Stand- ard Printing lot. Some possibilities in- clude expanding dispatch or EMS into the adjacent ar- eas. There is money in the upcoming budget in ED- IT or Cumulative Building funds that could potentially be used to purchase prop- erty, but the 2018 budget has to take affect before the possibility of purchase. Commissioner Alan Douglas told the council he believed with efforts to in- crease county population, the county could also face an increase in crime. Help Wanted Applicant must be experienced in industry electri - cal maintenance. Must know 440 volt control cir - cuitry. Must also be able to troubleshoot for gen - eral repair of welders, overhead cranes, and metal-forming equipment. Resumes can be faxed to 812-354-3809; e-mailed to joni.stroud@fourstar - fab.com; or mailed to Four Star Fabricators P.O. Box 67, Petersburg, IN 47567 At the birth of the new year, we pause to reflect on the great memories we've shared with our customers and friends. Thank you for making us feel so at home here in the community. We hope the year ahead delivers peace, health, happiness and prosperity to you and yours. Happy New Year, friends! More Than 20 Years of Service Karen Thacker, AFSP Owner 704 E. Haub Street Haubstadt, IN 47639 THACKER TAX SERVICE 512 S. 8th Avenue Haubstadt, IN 47639 812-615-0071 (office) 812-789-3852 (cell) kthacker01@gmail.com