The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/956502
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 21, 2018 A-3 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg NEWS BRIEFS Community Prayer at The Gathering Place this Friday The Gathering Place, 207 Lafayette Street, Winslow will be having a Community Prayer, Fri- day, March 23, at 7 p.m. Speaker for the evening will be Tammy Pow- ers, and praise and wor- ship will be lead by Alyx Powers. Everyone is wel- come. For more informa- tion, call 812-789 -6396. Blue Jeans Center host Sunday dinner The Blue Jeans Com- munity Center in Mon- roe City will host Sun- day dinner, March 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The menu will in- clude: Beef and noo- dles, crazy meatballs, mashed potatoes, car- rots, broccoli salad, bis- cuit and dessert. Carry- outs available. All proceeds benefit the center. Petersburg City-Wide Yard Sale, May 12 The Petersburg City- Wide Yard Sale is set for Saturday, May 12. For those having yard sales, The Press-Dis- patch will once again of- fer yard signs that cor- respond with their loca- tion on the map printed in the May 9 edition. The cost of line ads start at $4 for 20 words. BRIEFLY Cook and Corn visit sister in Phoenix Joann Cook, of Pe- tersburg, and Car- ol Corn, of Denver, re- cently flew to Phoenix to visit their sister, Beu- lah Brenton, for 12 days. They are the daughters of the late Isaac and Rhoda Barrett, of Pike County. They plan to fly to Denver in August for another visit for Carol's grandson, who is get- ting married. A nn i v ers ar y 64 th G reat Products • G r ea t Se rvice • Fa ir Prices • All draperies custom-made locally • All blinds, shades and shutters are top of the line. (No second or third tier products.) • FREE in-home design and measuring with expert installation. Your Window Fashions Store Since 1954 704 Main Street Jasper, IN 812-482-4040 303 Breckinridge Rd, Monroe City 812-743-2382 Fax: 812-743-2169 | Email: perryshvac@gmail.com HEATING & AIR-CONDITIONING Craig Perry Vance Perry Chase Perry Perry ' s LLC Serving the area since 1950. Perry ' s Complete Line of: Air Conditioning, Gas Furnaces, Heat Pumps, Whole-Home Air Cleaners, Humidifiers, Water Heaters and Water Conditioners Whether you need a tune-up or an emergency repair call, we'll take the worry out of winter. When you see our truck, you know that peace of mind just pulled in the driveway. Call us today! We're Confident You'll Stay Cozy OTWELL EASTER EGG HUNT Above: Zoey Head does a quick inventory of her goodies while she waits in line at the Ot- well Easter Egg hunt. Left: Jade Huff holds up her big green bag to get Easter treats from Susan Preusz. Wyatt Wolf gets a treat during the Otwell Easter Egg hunt. Because of rain, the hunt was moved inside. Kids lined up in each of the age groups and were allowed to go through the line repeatedly, collecting treats until they ran out of treats. Nikki Troutman was one of many volunteers handing out treats. FIRECRACKER Miss Little JULY 1 Contestants must be ages 5-7 by time of pageant. 13 girls maximum TO SIGN UP Call 812-582-2938 City to consider appearance of new buildings in zoning By Ed Cahill The Petersburg Planning Commission will be allowed to consider the appear- ance of new buildings in the city's downtown zoning dis- tricts before issuing an im- provement permit, accord- ing to an ordinance adopted by the Petersburg Common Council during its meet- ing on Monday, March 19. "We currently require a site plan for any new com- mercial or industrial build- ing being constructed," Mayor R.C. Klipsch wrote in a note to the council that accompanied a copy of the proposed ordinance. "Our primary concern is dimen- sional and set-back com- pliance. We do not require any information on the per- mit request or site plan indi- cating what the building or buildings would look like." "If you have recently been in downtown Oakland City, you will see a small red pole building that looks like a storage building con- structed in the downtown business district on Main Street, where the older buildings were destroyed by a fire," Klipsch's note continues. "The Plan(ning) Commission, and I, do not want to see that happen in downtown Petersburg." The ordinance approved by the council on Monday night states that its intent is to refine and clarify "build- ing aesthetics" in Peters- burg's B-1, B-2 and B-3 Zon- ing Districts. The zoning ordinance's introduction to the B-1 Zon- ing District will now include the following sentence: "Any structure of object in this district is expected to be consistent in size with nearby structures and have pleasing aesthetic qualities by utilizing varying mate- rials along with differing planes of exterior surfaces, thus creating an architec- tural appeal beyond a basic plain utilitarian building." The zoning ordinance's introduction to the B-2 Zon- ing District will now include the following sentence: "Any structure or object in this district is expected to maintain the aesthetic historical integrity and/or architectural qualities that are the essence of the B-2 District." The zoning ordinance's introduction to the B-3 Zon- ing District will now read as follows: "Any structure or object in this district is expect- ed to be consistent in size with other B-3 structures in the City, and have pleasing aesthetic qualities by utiliz- ing varying materials along with differing planes of ex- terior surfaces, thus creat- ing an architectural appeal beyond a basic plain utili- tarian building." During Monday night's meeting, Klipsch noted that the city's current zon- ing ordinance does not al- low the planning commis- sion to even ask what any new buildings will look like before it issues an improve- ment permit. "So you see why we're amending this ordinance to say when you submit your site plan now, not on- ly do you tell us the size, where it's going to set to make sure it's in compli- ance, but also some idea of what it's going to look like when it's finished," Klipsch said. "Now, that's not to say that the planning commis- sion's intent is to restrict anybody from building any- thing. But the point is, it gives them the authority to say, 'What's it going to look like? Does it fit the aesthet- ic historical integrity of the district? ' That's what it's all about." Council president Fran Lewis added that the city's planning commission – on which she also serves – had worked "quite a while" on the issue. "They talked about this a lot," Lewis said. "They just want to make sure the downtown stays and keeps its look. They don't want anything going next to any structure that looks like a pole barn." On a motion by Lewis, seconded by council mem- ber Gary Leavitt, the coun- cil subsequently voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance as presented. In other business, Klipsch presented the coun- cil with copies of an analy- sis conducted by Deen Rog- ers of H.J. Umbaugh and Associates regarding the city's municipal water util- ity and municipal sewage works. According to the gener- al overview accompanying the analysis of the munici- pal water utility: "Overall, the Utili- ty's fund balances appear to be adequate, totaling $ 945,860. The Utility's op- erating, sinking and depre- ciation funds were all suffi- ciently funded as of Decem- ber 31, 2017." Rogers added that it ap- peared that the Municipal Water Utility's anticipat- ed receipts will provide ad- equate bond coverage in 2018 and 2019. "There are many vari- ables that can influence this surplus, so it is impor- tant that the utility contin- ues to monitor this situa- tion," Rogers wrote. According to the gener- al overview accompanying the analysis of the munici- pal sewage works: "Overall, the Sewage Works' fund balances ap- pear to be adequate, totaling $ 321,205. The Debt Service Reserve Account was fully funded at closing on the 2015 Refunding Bonds, therefore any excess funding in that investment account should be transferred out." Rogers added that it ap- peared that the Municipal Sewage Works' anticipat- ed receipts would be insuf- ficient to meet the forecast- ed revenue requirements in 2018 and 2019. "The Sewage Works still maintains an appropri- ate level of bond coverage; however, it becomes insuf- ficient when the payment in lieu of taxes is factored in," Rogers wrote. "In ad- dition, it is anticipated that fund balances will be suffi- cient to meet minimum re- quirements. There are ma- ny variables that can influ- ence this, however, so it is important that the City con- tinues to monitor this situa- tion for any changes." Fire Chief Ross Elmore also reported that the fire department had recently received a grant of approx- imately $4,000 from the WIN Energy Foundation. "That was to help the fire department out," Elmore said. "We're kind of in dire need of replacing a lot of our pagers, so that's going to be a big shot in the arm. It was a little over $4,000, so that was a nice grant to get secured for that. Every lit- tle bit helps." In addition, Elmore sug- gested that the recent time change serve as a remind- er for local residents to re- place the batteries in their smoke detectors. "I hope that everybody in the community has done that," Elmore said. "They are life savers."