The Columbus City Council voted Tuesday night to approve just over $2.4 million in additional appropriations to this year’s budget. Jamie Brinegar, the city’s director of finance, explained that these requests were expected when the city put its budget together late last year.
The Department of Local Government Finance initially mandated a $3.6 million property tax credit amount for the city. City officials believed then that the final number would be closer to two-million dollars. Tuesday night’s action returned $1.6 million to the budget that was removed under the DLGF’s earlier estimates.
Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing has announced plans to expand its North American corporate headquarters in Columbus. Company officials say that construction is expected to begin this month. They add that this $17.5 million investment will add more than 150,000 square feet, bringing the facility’s total space to 1.3 million square feet.
TIEM explains that the goal of the expansion is to reduce internal logistics route distance by 50 percent, as well as expand space for the business’ growing aftermarket parts enterprise.
“This is an important step to position Toyota Industrial Equipment for the future,” said Tony Miller, senior vice president at TIEM. “This expansion will enable us to improve our operations, drive out waste and reduce total lead time,” said Miller.
Toyota completed a $16 million dollar expansion at this facility in 2015, which added more than 50,000 square feet. The company grew further in Columbus earlier this year when it constructed a fitness and wellness facility for associates and their families.
TIEM officials did not give a timetable for when they expect this latest expansion to be completed.
Community leaders in Bartholomew County will be kicking off a new effort to stem the heroin and opiate epidemic in the community with an event Wednesday night at The Commons.
The “Move the Needle” community forum was to feature author Sam Quinones, who wrote the book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.” However, organizers say that a medical emergency will keep Quinones from attending. Organizers say that the community will still get to hear from the author, as Quinones’ family has granted permission for them to use a video presentation that covers many of the topics he would have addressed in person.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop says that he and members of the city council will be at the event. Prior to taking office last year, Lienhoop talked about the growing problems caused by drug addiction in and around Columbus. Despite that, the Mayor says he was surprised by the depth of the problem and how it affects addicts, their families and the community as a whole.
While council members will be in attendance, no official action will be taken. The event is scheduled to take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is free to attend.
The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close State Road 135 near Freetown on Monday to replace a drainage structure. The structure, at a branch of Salt Creek’s south fork about five-miles north of U.S. Highway 50, is being replaced as part of a $456,650 two-bridge contract.
INDOT officials anticipate installation of the new 10′ X 5′ concrete box culvert will take about three-weeks to complete.
INDOT says that Olco of Batesville, the state’s contractor, will also build a 142-inch arch culvert on State Road 135 at a branch of Hamilton Creek, about 7.5 miles north of State Road 58 just east of Christianburg Road in Brown County. Officials say that work on this structure will begin once the highway reopens in Jackson County. The Brown County project is expected to close traffic there for one month.
INDOT says that other area bridges on State Road 135 will be impacted over this construction season. They are:
• S.R. 135 over Little Beanblossom Creek located 1.7 miles north of S.R. 45 in Brown County
• S.R. 135 over Moser Branch located 1.57 miles north of S.R. 45 in Brown County
• S.R. 135 over Bear Creek located 1.26 miles south of S.R. 252 in Morgan County
• S.R. 135 over a branch of Bear Creek south of Morgantown in Morgan County
• S.R. 135 over Hamilton Creek located 9.45 miles north of S.R. 58 in Brown County
In addition, INDOT says that a nearby Jackson County bridge on State Road 58 at Bee Creek located, about three-miles west of State Road 135, is also being replaced.
Main Street of HOPE is holding another public workshop next week about the Downtown Revitalization Plan. Organizers say that this workshop will be held at 6 p.m. on April 27th in the Fellowship Hall at Hope Moravian Church. Residents are invited to give their thoughts on recommendations and priorities for the plan prior to the completion of a study on the project.
Officials say the town received a planning grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs for a Downtown Revitalization Plan. The plan is meant to “establish a road map to create a market-viable and sustainable downtown, as a unique destination within the tri-county region.”
Organizers say that ideas and concepts are grouped into three main categories. They are: Building appearance and business vitality, Main Street as Hope’s “front door” and the Town Square as a community focal point.
Those who take part in the workshop will have an opportunity to review the revised recommendations and strategies, provide comments and talk to Main Street of HOPE board members and the consultant team.
Diana C. Martinez. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
Columbus police say that an ongoing investigation into drug dealing has led to another arrest.
36-year-old Diana C. Martinez of Columbus was arrested at about 8:42 p.m. last night on three preliminary charges of dealing methamphetamine.
The Columbus Police Department reports that the county’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team began focusing on Martinez after several people she is affiliated with were arrested on meth-dealing charges. Police say that Martinez is believed to have been selling large amounts of methamphetamine in the Columbus area.
She was arrested after a traffic stop in the 1400 block of Parkside Drive. She is also facing a charge of resisting law enforcement.
There is still time for customers to weigh in on a proposed water rate hike that will affect water bills in parts of Bartholomew, Jennings and Decatur counties. But the Eastern Bartholomew Water corporation wants its customers to know that the increase of nearly 50 percent is needed to update badly outdated equipment that keeps their water safe.
Pete King is the attorney for the not-for-profit utility, which has more than 5,000 customers including the town of Hope.
King said the equipment was last updated in the early 1970s.
The water utility is looking at bonds of about $7.7 million dollars and expects water bills to increase from just under $23 dollars per 5,000 gallons up to almost $34 dollars.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which advocates for the public in these cases, is looking for public comments on the proposed rate increase. You can submit your comments through May 9th and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is scheduled to hear the request in June.
Consumers who wish to submit written comments for the case record may do so via the OUCC’s Website at www.in.gov/oucc/2361.htm, or by mail, email or fax:
The OUCC needs to receive all written consumer comments no later than May 9, 2017 so that it can: 1) Consider them in preparing its testimony and 2) File them with the Commission to be included in the case’s formal evidentiary record.
Comments should include the consumer’s name, mailing address, and a reference to “IURC Cause No. 44903.” Consumers with questions about submitting written comments can contact the OUCC’s consumer services staff toll-free at 1-888-441-2494.
Business is great at Columbus Municipal Airport. Bryan Payne, airport director, told the Columbus Redevelopment Commission Monday night that there is a need for additional hangars.
The plan now is to further development on the south side of the property, near existing hangars and the self-fuel depot. Payne says that there are utility concerns that must be addressed, but airport officials are meeting with utility representatives on Tuesday to gather more information. Payne says he expects to have an updated plan to present to the Redevelopment Commission next month.
Indiana’s Sixth District Congressman has introduced legislation he says will help to “ensure integrity in federal elections.”
Rep. Luke Messer, a Republican, has introduced the Election Integrity Act of 2017, H.R. 2090. The bill would require voters to present a valid, government-issued photo ID in order to vote in federal elections beginning in 2020. Messer’s office says that if an individual is unable to pay the cost of obtaining a government-issued photo ID, the bill requires states to provide it free of charge.
Congressman Messer says that H.R. 2090 is modeled after Indiana’s voter identification law enacted in 2005 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008. Messer says that he helped advance Indiana’s voter identification law while serving in the Indiana General Assembly.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Indiana is one of 18 states that currently requires a photo ID for in-person voting. Eighteen other states and the District of Columbia do not require a voter to provide any ID to vote.
“Many Hoosiers are surprised to know voters in some states don’t have to show any form of identification to vote in national elections,” Messer said. “This legislation is a common-sense fix to provide consistency in voter ID laws, uphold the integrity of our federal elections and improve voter confidence in the process. It also ensures voters who genuinely can’t afford a photo ID can obtain one without charge to them.”
Under Messer’s bill, if an individual does not present a photo ID at the time they are voting, they may cast a provisional ballot and present their ID within 10 days.
States like Indiana that already have similar photo ID laws in effect can be exempted from the law.
A proposal put fourth by a Jackson County lawmaker meant to keep guns out of the hands of illegal aliens has been signed into law. Gov. Eric Holcomb recently signed the law, sponsored by Republican State Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour, that will make the possession of a firearm by an illegal immigrant a Level 6 felony.
Senate Enrolled Act 344 establishes that a person who is unlawfully in the United States and knowingly or intentionally possesses a firearm will be convicted of a Level 6 felony.
“This law allows prosecutors to charge these individuals with this felony,” Lucas said. “I believe if they are unwilling to take the necessary steps to become a citizen, then they may also be unwilling to follow laws associated with being a responsible gun owner.”
A Level 6 felony can carry a sentence of six-months to two-and-a-half years in prison, along with a fine of up to $10,000.
