OCPL plans to bolster ADA features, renovate elevator, add commercial kitchen

The Owen County Public Library (OCPL) is moving toward major renovations to add accessibility features and a commercial kitchen for community use.

At the July 13 Owen County Council meeting, library director Brittany Van Hook requested approval to use a total of $322,090 in money earned in interest over longstanding investments from the library’s Rainy Day and improvement funds. The library is looking to modernize the elevator with a complete mechanical rebuild, costing $115,000.

The money would also go toward making the Read and Feed patio more ADA accessible and accommodating for strollers, Van Hook said. The renovation would also extend to the library’s Community Room. Water stains from a leak in January have continued to surface on the carpet and new flooring and paint would be installed to avoid mold.

Additionally, OCPL is looking to renovate its pavilion, add a large-format printer and build a commercial kitchen. Van Hook said the community would be able to rent it out.

“We have a lot of interest from that from local organizations and a lot of youth groups that want to be able to teach their kiddos how to have healthy meals at home,” Van Hook said.

Council member Nick Robertson asked if companies in the county would have the opportunity to bid on the construction. Van Hook said all bids for the project are from Owen County vendors aside from the elevator, which will be rebuilt by TK Elevator.

Robertson made a motion to grant the use of funds. Council member Dan Browning seconded the motion and it passed 6-1, with council president Polly Chesser casting the single dissenting vote.

Sheriff Ryan White came to the council asking for an appropriation of $89,998.95 to cover medical costs for an inmate. The inmate underwent emergency care last year for about four weeks, requiring four surgeries.

According to White, the government is responsible for inmates’ medical care while they’re in custody. White also said Quality Correctional Care was able to negotiate the cost down hundreds of thousands of dollars from what it originally was.

“One way or another we gotta pay it,” Council Vice President Anton Neff said. He then made a motion to advertise the money out of Fund 1170, the Local Income Tax (LIT) Public Safety-County Share for up to the maximum amount requested. Steve Carrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Owen County Circuit Court I Judge Don VanDerMoere II presented an appropriations request of $10,000 for contracted psychological services.

“The sheer number of individuals that our police are encountering that have very obvious psychological issues are increasing in our county,” VanDerMoere said.

He told the council he is required to appoint two or three disinterested, or impartial, psychiatrists on felony cases level six and above and at least one doctor to admit the assessments for cases level six and below.

VanDerMoere also requested $20,000 in appropriations for jurors.

“Due to the sheer number of jury trials that we’ve been having over the last several years, we need access to funds to support our juries,” VanDerMoere said. “We are inundated with jury trials.”

A motion to advertise the funds from the county general fund passed unanimously.

Emergency Management Agency Director Jack White presented a request of $9,919.14 for tornado siren batteries and padlocks. He said the batteries need replaced every three years and that over time, the padlocks on the tornado sirens become rusty or difficult to take off. Purchasing the new padlocks would be in anticipation of the old locks needing to be cut off to access the sirens, he said.

The request was unanimously approved, with the money to be advertised out of the Riverboat Fund.

Tammy Bingham, Executive Director of the Owen County Soil and Water Conservation District, returned to the council to request $3,500 for the design and engineering part of the district’s Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) Riverfront Restoration Project.

At the June council meeting, Bingham presented the project to the council, explaining she identified four critical sites that need to be stabilized and reinforced to preserve the White River bank’s integrity near Cooper Commons and the MYPath Riverfront Trail.

At the July meeting, Bingham said she is working with BBP Water Corporation and Community Natural Gas on the preservation of a portion of the river bank. The utilities companies will pay for two old, unused pipes to be removed from the river.

Neff’s motion to advertise the money out of the Riverboat Fund passed 4-3, with Carrell, Robertson and Chesser voting against it.

“The thing I like is that it’s creative in getting partners together,” Neff said. “I think she has done a good job whittling these dollar amounts down.”

Chesser said she voted against the funding because she would like to see the Town of Spencer “put a little bit of skin in the game.”