RDC hosts hearing, rejects bid

The Redevelopment Commission (RDC) held the rescheduled public hearing concerning the land swap for a prospective jail site on Dec. 18.

The county is considering trading 96 acres of county-owned property on State Road 43, south of Franklin Road for a little over nine acres on a former quarry behind the Owen County YMCA and Wal-Mart.

The hearing was originally scheduled for September but was postponed as the RDC sought additional information.

At the start of the public hearing, RDC President Craig Coffman explained how the hearing would work. He offered a memo with some frequently asked questions and the information that the RDC has considered thus far. He also said that folks would get three minutes to speak. He added that they might answer some questions but that there would not be a back and forth.

Only a dozen people showed up for the hearing, but comments concerning the land swap took place for nearly an hour and a half.

"We were just looking at the site itself. We're not in charge of how the jail is going to be built. We're not in charge of the budget for the jail. We were just looking at the site," Coffman said.

The summary of site data created by Coffman was created for an executive work session held in November and shared with those in attendance at the public hearing.

"Elevatus Architect Greg Wehling has confirmed a bare minimum of six acres is needed depending on the shape of the lot, arrangement of building, drives and detention base," the three-page document reads.

The document notes that Owen County Sheriff Ryan White would like the potential site to have at least seven acres to be able to consider future expansion.

"Greg [Wehling] also commented that the 9.5 acre site allows more options with building location, especially when there are still many unknowns about the site such as location for a detention basin, depending on whether all areas are buildable. 'Given the proximity to the quarry, I would assume it is all stone and more than adequate to support this structure. However, soil boring and a topographic survey will need to be obtained right away to confirm bearing capacity and natural drainage. My assumption is that it is stone which generally requires blasting or other costly methods if there is a need to have it removed. If there is no rock, then spread footings should work well. On site detention will need to be located within the property lines,' [Wehling was quoted]. We can ask Greg to elaborate more now that the rock sounding report has been completed," the report reads.

The report also addressed the appraisal discrepancy. The appraisals themselves are not a matter of public record under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act.

"The two independent appraisals average $205,000 for the 9.57 acre site while the two independent appraisals average $337,500 for the 96.38 acre site at Franklin Road," the report reads. "It was noted that the 96.38 acre site was not discounted to account for the landfill, but did take into account the general value of timber. Since then, we have found comparable acreage at commercial sites near the proposed jail site are priced significantly higher on the market."

The appraisals were conducted by Figg Appraisal Group and Hopkins Appraisal Services LLC. Both businesses are located in Bloomington.

The report also includes information about an environmental study.

"Regarding the environmental study on the Quarry Property, everything appears to be 'clean' based on related background checks by attorney Dana [Kerr]; all history only reflects materials being taken out and nothing being put in the ground (such as fuel tanks, etc.) Shared by Dana at the previous Executive Work Session in September," the report reads.

During the hearing, citizen Pam Rogers asked if the environmental study would be made available to the public.

"The study was reported to the RDC under land acquisition, so if you would like a copy of it, file a public records request for the RDC. I'll tell you here publicly, you can do that through the auditor's office, since the RDC doesn't have an office, and it will be responded to," Kerr said.

The Owen News filed a public records request for the environmental study on Dec. 21.

On Dec. 23, county auditor Sheila Reeves responded that the request was received and that she did not have a copy of the environmental study. The Owen News has not received the records or a status update.

The report written by Coffman also references a rock soundings report from Patriot Engineering and Environmental.

"Architect Greg Wehling commented 'The structural engineer has no issue with what he is seeing. We will probably have some borings done and get compaction tests done as we move forward.' So far the proposed site does not appear to be one that will have ground settling issues," Coffman wrote.

The report also addresses bringing utilities to the proposed jail site.

"Preliminary feedback from BBP Water indicates the current 4-inch line will need to be upgraded to an 8-inch water line to provide sufficient service to address FPE service requirements for implementing a secondary line, etc. The cost is in excess of $150,000," the report reads in reference to bringing water to the proposed site.

The cost for the sewer was also cited in the report.

"Commonwealth Engineers, Inc. provided a rough estimate of the cost to expand the current sewer reaching the area of the proposed jail site to handle the anticipated flow needed by the jail. The cost to handle 250 gpm [gallons per minute] for the new jail is estimated to add another $550,000 to $850,000 bringing the total estimate up to $1.95 million to $2.75 million if the Fifth Street lift station is dealt with at the same time to handle the future flow," the report reads.

Coffman also had a section for future use of the neighboring quarry to the prospective jail site.

"We were able to obtain the following disclosure from Spencer DePoy, VP of Indiana SMA Rogers Group, Inc. via his email to Gary Burton on Sept. 13, 2024," the report from Coffman reads. "To confirm the details of our conversation earlier this week related to the Rogers Group limestone quarry just outside of Spencer. This location is not active. Our plant has been removed. We leased our sales yard to Tri-State Timber. We access the site monthly to monitor our property for safety and security. We still own and lease limestone reserves on this property. Those minerals are all to the north and west of your proposed location. Our Bloomington location has the production capacity [to] cover our sales needs in Owen County. We own additional reserves in Owen/Morgan County as well. We still have some inventory on site. We reserve the right to sell that material and may do so."

The report also addresses floodplain issues.

"Although some preliminary findings on other sites for sale near Spencer seemed to offer a reduced cost in sewer and water utility upgrades required due to closer proximity, these sites, like the current jail site, are in the floodplain," the report reads.

It also says that the cost of flood insurance for these sites would be cost prohibitive, and it cites concerns of future structural issues due to ground shifting if soil was brought in to raise the areas within the floodplain.

It also says that one potential site in the floodplain was across the railroad tracks, which raised concerns about being cut off from access to the jail in case of an emergency due to a train and the additional wear and tear on the vehicles from going over the tracks more frequently.

The report also addresses that the current jail site is not large enough, even with additional land purchases and that Sheriff White estimates an additional cost of $1.8 to $2.4 million to house the inmates elsewhere while rebuilding in the current location.

"There are currently lawsuits in other counties, such as Vigo, that resulted in failure to act on jail site overcrowding and related issues. Our current jail is not in compliance with state standards and failed its last inspection. The cost of not making a decision for a viable site to build the new jail in the near future could be quite extensive in comparison to the costs identified with the current proposed site," the report reads.

Coffman ended the report with the following, "While the above may not cover everything, I hope it will help us decide if we have enough information to proceed with a public hearing and enable us to openly share our thoughts, concerns and other questions regarding the evaluation of the proposed jail site in relation to the proposed land swap. Thanks to all on the OC RDC who have provided questions, input and feedback to help identify and list all the items above."

Citizen Tom Abrell raised concerns about the value of the timber on the county-owned 96 acres on State Road 43S.

"I'm not opposed to this… It's just there's a business way of doing things that needs to be followed and knowing the value of what you have is very, very, very important. And I don't think you know the true value of that property on 43, and it's simply based upon, you don't have any idea the value of the timber on that property," Abrell said.

He said that he questions it based on a 12-year conservative logging cycle on property that he owns. He wondered if the county could sell the timber and purchase the nine acres outright.

According to commissioner and RDC member Gary Burton, the county-owned property hasn't been logged in 30 years.

"I hope you understand where I'm coming from. It's strictly a business thing. It's not that this isn't necessary, that this isn't a good idea. I personally think that property up there for the new jail is an excellent one," Abrell said.

Rogers asked about the process if the county rejects a bid for the county-owned property on SR 43S.

"The RDC has an absolute legal authority to reject any bids received in response to its offer to dispose of the property. In the event that those bids are rejected, the redevelopment commission cannot dispose of the property for less than the amount that was required in the proposal form for a period of 30 days. After that period of 30 days, the redevelopment commission is permitted to dispose of the property by negotiation for any price acceptable to the redevelopment commission," attorney Dustin Meeks said. Meeks is from Barnes & Thornburg and has been brought in to assist the RDC through this process.

The RDC opened and rejected a bid proposal from Pam Rogers for purchase of and use of the property on SR 43S and moved forward with three resolutions. Rogers' bid was the only bid submitted for the county-owned property. Burton had moved to deny the bid, and Hunter Stogsdill seconded the motion. Meeks interrupted saying that he had a resolution that addressed the rejection of bids, and the motion was withdrawn.

The first was resolution number 2024-005, Resolution of the Owen County Redevelopment Commission Confirming an Amendment to the Declaratory Resolution for the St. Rd. 43 Corridor Economic Development Area and the Economic Development Plan for Said Area and Related Matters. Stogsdill moved to approve the resolution, and Burton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The second was resolution number 2024-006, Resolution of the Owen County, Indiana Redevelopment Commission Authorizing the Acquisition of Certain Real Property. Burton moved to approve the request, and Stogsdill seconded the motion, which also passed unanimously.

The third and final resolution was resolution number 2024-007, Resolution of the Owen County, Indiana Redevelopment Commission Authorizing the Disposition of Certain Real Property, and Related Matters. It is within this resolution that the RDC rejected all bids on the county-owned property. Stogsdill moved to approve the resolution, and Bobby Hall seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.