Commissioners Delay Vote On Concrete Mixing Plant Near Milford
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From left, Attorney Steve Snyder, County Auditor Michelle Puckett, Commissioner Vice-President Bob Conley. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels.
WARSAW — Kosciusko County Area Plan Director Dan Richard and Attorney Steve Snyder brought a rezoning request to the Kosciusko County Commissioners at the Feb. 18 meeting.
Richard described the area as “a 10-acre plus tract of ground just north of the town of Milford, off SR 15, north of CR 1350N, at the north end of the county.”
The request, by John Ward, is to rezone 6.81 acres from an industrial 2 district to an industrial 3 district.
“The reason the request is being made is to accommodate a concrete mixing plant,” Richard explained.
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Richard described the area as “a 10-acre plus tract of ground just north of the town of Milford, off SR 15, north of CR 1350N, at the north end of the county.”
The motion was continued at the January APC meeting after a motion to approve the request resulted in a 4-3 vote. Five votes are needed to pass a recommendation. This led to the request being continued to the February APC meeting.
Final recommendation by APC this month was a 7-1 vote in favor of allowing the rezoning.
Concrete plant operations had already begun on the property, and a filing in court was made to get the operation to cease until proper zoning was obtained. Attorney Steve Snyder, representing Ward, told the APC board earlier this month that all operations on the property have ceased until the matter is resolved.
Snyder said the concrete plant would create additional jobs in the county while also providing competition within the local concrete industry.
Because the area lies within the Northern Industrial Corridor, approval from a technical committee will also be required.
Commissioner Cary Groninger expressed concerns related to the rezoning, in part because of additional truck traffic that a concrete operation would generate.
Commissioner Vice-President Bob Conley said traffic issues would be addressed by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Conley said he was inclined to accept the recommendation of the APC, while Groninger said he was struggling with supporting the recommendation.
“It’s the forefront of our county,” Groninger said. “It’s the first thing you see as you’re coming into our county from the north.”
Conley countered that by saying that currently what you see is junk, “a lot of trash and stuff laying around.”
“It’s elevated to the height that by the time you realize it’s there, you’re already past it,” Conley said. “That’s the best use, I think, for that ground.”
Groninger said he understands Conley’s point of view and acknowledges that there are safeguards that may possibly address some of the issues, but stood firm in his decision not to support the rezoning request at this time.
Commissioner President Brad Jackson was not in attendance at today’s meeting. With Conley in favor and Groninger opposed to the rezoning request, a decision was made to continue the matter until the March 17 commissioners meeting.
In Other News:
- Commissioners approved a request made by Doug Dickerhoff to rezone ground off the west side of Franklin Street in Mentone from a commercial district to an agricultural district.
- Marsha McSherry was appointed to the Sue Ann Beattie Scholarship Fund Committee.
- Sealed bids were opened for two dump truck bodies needed for the county highway department. County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty received permission to review the bids over the next two weeks and return to the next commissioners meeting with a recommendation.
- The next regular meeting will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.