Latest news with #Pasel
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Commissioners discuss blighted properties
GREENSBURG – Decatur County Area Plan Director Doug Westerfeld addressed the Decatur County Board of Commissioners on Monday, informing them about the progress of the new Decatur County Comprehensive Plan. The Daily News first reported on the Decatur County Revitalization Project (Blight Project) and the new comprehensive plan in March, when Westerfeld told the Board about his selection for a steering committee for updating the plan, which was originally written in 2017. The members are Westerfeld, Commissioner Jeremy Pasel, Tim Ortman, Bryan Robbins, Rick Hoeing, Todd Mauer and Rick Nobbe, and the committee is modeling their effort on the Jennings County Blight Project, giving the Area Plan Commission empowerment to get the work done on specific blighted properties in the area. Westerfeld said the blight ordinances were not yet in place, but letters had been sent to property owners and the APC will act on the ordinances in place to, with the commissioners' help, get the necessary work done on those properties. Pasel said he knew that a few of the letters sent out were still outstanding from Westerfeld's predecessor, and asked it those owners got a second letter as a result. Westerfeld replied in the affirmative and said those owners had been given a timeframe in which to have the work complete before the commissioners are asked to intervene. 'Once we get the new ordinances in place, the power will come to the Area Planning Commission and we will make the decisions to move forward to having these properties cleaned up,' he said. Pasel asked Westerfeld if the attorney for the APC had power under the current ordinances to prosecute the civil cases. Westerfeld said that once the new ordinances were in place, the APC lawyer would have the authority to prosecute as needed. At Monday's meeting, the owners of six blighted properties were present for discussions with the Board. Appearing first was David Israel concerning property at 1183 S 845 W in Burney. In a letter from the Decatur County Area Plan Office on March 26, Israel was asked to remove the home on the site and all trash, debris and fire hazardous material on or about the premises. Israel said the home had been hit by a tornado in 2005 and he had an inspection for asbestos done. He said he'd contacted the APC office and 'had a deal worked out' but was helping a nearby farmer do his planting. He said he'd cleaned up the shop and didn't have the financial resources to complete the work. He asked the Board for four months to complete the task. Commissioner Pasel asked how many of the windows were missing, and Israel said he'd have them covered up. He said he'd purchased the house in a tax sale in 2012, and now his plans were to demolish the house and build a pole barn, for which he already had the plan. Pasel said he would be open to an extension if the windows were boarded up and the premises were cleaned up. Israel was granted a 30 day extension to complete the work and the project will be discussed at the first Commissioners meeting in June. James Alverson's property at 1113 S CR 850 W in Burney was the second site in question. Westerfeld said Alverson has been sent letters as far back as 2018 asking him to remove all litter, trash and junk as well as inoperable and unlicensed vehicles, inoperable equipment and machinery, appliances, furniture and other plastic objects. In a previous communication from 2022, Alverson said he would have a pole barn built to solve the problem. Pasel asked why it had not happened and Alverson said it was because the APC had not granted permission. When it was established the barn was to be built on two parcels, Westerfeld said the property would need to be resurveyed. Alverson's daughter asked if the vehicles could stay until the pole barn was built. Westerfeld said that was against an ordinance and those vehicles must be licensed and registered if they were to remain. Pasel advised Alverson to contact a surveyor and was granted a 30 day extension. James Moss's property in Burney was the next site in question. Westerfeld said Moss had been sent multiple letters since 2021 advising that the property is a public nuisance and that he needed to remove the litter, trash, junk and abandoned vehicles. Moss said since receiving the most recent notice, a privacy fence had been extended back to a steel building on the property. Moss also said he understood his duck pen was in a supposed right of way road extension on 130 S. Moss said the property had been passed from owner to owner several times before a friend of his bought the property, and had used the extension as a parking area. He said he acquired the property in 2016 and had gone to the county auditor to get the area 'shut off,' but learned that the Commissioners wanted the area open. He asked the area be inspected again and the Commissioners agreed to do so. Two of the properties in question were in the Lake McCoy area. The first in consideration was on S. Lake McCoy Drive and is owned by Joshua Reece. Reece had been asked to remove a dilapidated cabin. Reece volunteered that he and other property owners had done a lot of cleaning up in the area and Pasel agreed, granting a 30 day extension for the work Reece and his cohorts had started to be finished. Property at 977 S Lake McCoy Drive had been determined unsafe, and in a letter dated in March owner Gary Reece was asked to remove a house there along with all the trash and debris on or about the premises. The property sits beside the land owned by Reece. Reece said that the house there was uninsulated or wired, but was structurally sound. Unfortunately, 20 feet of it was setting on the adjoining property owned by Washington Township. Reece said he had spoken to Washington Township Trustee Bev Rivera and she'd declared the house safe, but Reece doesn't want to pay any more taxes on it or incur the expense of tearing it down. It was noted that the entire Lake McCoy area needed to be resurveyed and that several properties were facing the same or a similar problem. The Commissioners decided not to act on the property until deed issues were resolved. The final property up for consideration at 2465W CR 850 S is owned by James and Bonnie Smith of Westport. On the property are abandoned vehicles and litter, and the Smiths were first been alerted of the issues in 2020. Westerfeld said there had been complaints because some of the unlicensed vehicles in question were blocking traffic on the road next to it. Pasel said this was not the first time this property was a matter of concern and that it was one of the properties that spearheaded the County Revitalization Project. Since several letters had been sent with no results or cleanup, the Commissioners voted to move forward with the cleanup of the property in keeping with established legal procedures.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commissioners discuss $1.3M shortfall
GREENSBURG – The Decatur County Board of Commissioners are considering opting out of insurance coverage for themselves and the Decatur County Council; the idea was discussed at a recent evening meeting of the board held at the Decatur County Courthouse. Commissioner Jeremy Pasel said Senate Bill 1 will create projected revenue deficits of $517,710 in 2025 to $781,450 in 2028. Because of that shortfall, he said county government is going to have to tighten its belt. Pasel suggested discontinuing health insurance for county council members as well as the three commissioners, which he said would result in a savings of $106,866. That, he said, would cover roughly 20% of the deficit. 'I don't want to see layoffs,' he said. Commissioner Brian Wenning added, 'I think our employees are the most valuable asset we have, but I would not recommend cutting any benefits for them.' Wenning noted there hasn't been a budget session for 2025, which would allow the county leaders to 'look at different things and compare before we made that decision." Commissioner Gabriel Nobbe indicated he doesn't use the insurance available to the commissioners and suggested waiting to see how things play out before taking action on this concern. Pasel expounded on an analysis of current economics and asked if anyone else wanted to add to the discussion, and no one did. No decisions regarding what to do about the projected shortfall were made. The Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Mondays of each month in Room 106 of the Decatur County Courthouse unless otherwise posted. All meetings are open to the public.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fairgrounds construction concerns 2025 event planners
GREENSBURG – The planned revamp of the Decatur County Fairgrounds was a topic of discussion at a recent meeting of the Decatur County Board of Commissioners. It should be noted that the Decatur County 4-H Fair in July and Power of the Past in August, as well as most events at the Decatur County Fairgrounds in 2025, will be impacted by construction of the new Headquarters Building on the grounds, as Power of the Past Coordinator Kim Carpenter learned at Monday's meeting. Carpenter attended to seek approval for a beer garden at the 2025 POP, which is scheduled for the third weekend of August. Carpenter said the beer garden would be located below an awning where the old Community Building sat. Commissioner Jeremy Pasel told her that would not be possible as construction would be in progress in that area during the event. At 2024's POP, The Beach Tiki Bar and Restaurant was the vendor operating the beer 'booth' in the Community Building, which is scheduled for demolition. Because the beer booth was inside the building, Carpenter chose to make entry age-restricted. This made it difficult for families to sit together while consuming adult refreshments. Carpenter said St. Paul Tavern is the chosen beer vendor for 2025 and an open air/barricaded beer garden selling canned beer was planned. Pasel said the area from the Community Building to the Livestock Pavilion would be under construction and unusable for festival purposes during POP. In reference to the area she called 'food alley,' Carpenter said there would be enough space to include the beer garden but asked about the availability of electricity there. Pasel and Commissioners Brian Wenning both said that was still being worked out. Pasel said that all electrical power, including internet and PA wiring, would be moved underground during construction. The remaining poles would be outfitted with electrical, but final details are not firm at this time. County Councilors Danny Peters and Bill Metz were present in the audience and voiced their concerns about electrical and vendor placement as well. Currently, with asbestos remediation taking place in the Community Building, the building stands without a roof waiting for demolition to begin. No date for the demolition has been set yet, and timing for the project has not been announced.
