Volume 1, Issue 8 - Free Edition

Redevelopment Commission Approves Pool Funding

Noelle Maxwell

Greensburg’s Redevelopment Commission approved committing $250,000 to the new pool. The Parks and Recreation Department has raised $3,978,056.20 out of their $4.5 million goal. They expect to reach $4.1 million via fundraising once that campaign is complete and would still need $400,000. The $250,000 committed by RDC would be payable over a three-year period for an annual investment of approximately $83,000.

The RDC discussed whether to commit the funding, noting the pool is outside of their allocation area. While the commission used funding for the baseball and softball diamonds previously, before committing that funding, they explored the impact the ball diamonds would have on local businesses, particularly restaurants and hotels.

Parks and Recreation Director Gabriel Nobbe said the pool is “a massive quality of life improvement,” that could draw people from outside the community. Nobbe also noted that while jurisdictionally, the pool is on county property, it is closer to the city than the county and “a major quality of life improvement to the residents of Greensburg.”

Decatur County Community Foundation Marketing Manager Jenni Hanna took the podium, saying the pool will be zero-entry, meaning wheelchair users will be able to access the pool and splash pad. The new pool is being designed, Hanna said, “to allow kids to be kids no matter who those children are. If that’s not bringing quality of life to this community, I don’t know what is. This is for our kids and that’s why we really are just asking for your support. We’re trying to teach these kids life-saving lessons, teach them how to swim, teach them how to save their lives, teach them how to play with other kids who have special needs.” Hanna noted the inclusion playground at Rebekah Park has attracted visitors from other communities and the pool could potentially do the same.

Direct of Public Projects Zach Wirrig provided an update on the retail gap analysis – StructurePoint has submitted a draft of their report. The city reviewed the draft and met with the firm March 31 to go over comments and changes that need to be made. The final report is expected by April 30.

Iron Men has presented a sales and transfer agreement establishing all ground rules for transfer of the former jail property to their company.

Airport Board Welcomes New Member

Noelle Maxwell

Robert Humphrey was welcomed as the newest board member at the April 7 Greensburg Airport Board meeting. There were two agenda modifications made at the start of the meeting – a farming contract with Jay Hatton was added under old business and the date for May’s meeting was amended to Wednesday, May 6 due to the primary elections.

The financial report was approved as presented, Greensburg Clerk-treasurer Amy Borns reviewed the report, sharing that the JCB loan payoff is getting smaller. Borns said the city is still awaiting approximately $53,000 in federal and state money for some pay requests. All invoices related to that $53,000 have been paid so anything remaining can go to pay off some outstanding loans once it arrives.

In old business, there was a small revision to the farming contract between the airport board and Jay Hatton that was approved at the last meeting. The contract as approved was $125 per acre for a 55-acre plot, but the actual plot is 56 acres. Clerk-treasurer Amy Borns presented the contract amendment which would change it to $125 per acre for 56 acres, explaining “this is just clerical dotting ‘I’s’ and crossing ‘t’s.” This was approved.

Paul Shaffer with Butler, Fairman, Seufert presented an engineering report about the airport. There were no action items. Most projects have been completed, including runway pavement and lighting. The airport is awaiting a final closeout letter from the FAA. Shaffer also suggested the airport explore some state grants as local airports are expected to face funding challenges due to state-level tax reforms, particularly the property tax reforms introduced by Indiana Senate Bill 1.

In new business, Airport Director Gary Bailey provided updates on several items. The airport passed their Indiana Department of Transportation inspection in February. There have been two inquiries regarding hangar space – the hangar currently has a waitlist. One person who was interested in hangar space is already waitlisted at Columbus and North Vernon. “If we could find a way to build hangars, we would fill them in a heartbeat,” said Bailey.

The mandatory annual report of aircraft based at the airport was completed and submitted to INDOT. MotionInfo, a program the airport uses to track operations, isn’t working well according to Bailey. “I can’t get much information out of it,” he said, “I can go in and I can get a report but it’ll just pull up a random day,” and there’s no way to select a specific date. Bailey has tried to reach a MotionInfo representative by email and phone but they’ve been difficult to contact. A subscription to MotionInfo is $1,800 per year – given the cost and challenges using the program, Bailey wants to explore other avenues to monitor airport operations. Paul Shaffer briefly spoke, sharing that INDOT has a traffic counting grant for airports, though the grant would require the airport to send a monthly traffic report to INDOT. Shaffer offered to email information about this grant to Bailey.

Bailey reviewed maintenance and noted he has signed up for a recommended fuel safety course. A lot of equipment used at the airport is older and going bad, according to Bailey. He recently replaced a radio that wouldn’t hold a charge and the airport’s truck is over 20 years old and could be plated as an antique vehicle in 2027. Bailey emphasized he isn’t asking for a new truck, yet, but was putting this on the board’s radar because it will need to be replaced eventually.

The board discussed crop duster fueling – a crop duster from Illinois has already used the airport this year and brought its own fuel trailer, using the airport’s facilities without buying fuel. The airport is exploring changing its lease rules so it’s more difficult for planes to bring their own fuel.

Quotes for a mower were reviewed – the current small lawn mower is 13 years old and has needed a new battery, plugs, air filter and fuel filter so far this year. Even with maintenance, “it’s still running rough,” said Bailey, “the seatbelt won’t fasten – if I take it off of high throttle, it dies.” The runway was 2,000 feet shorter than it currently is when this mower was purchased. The runway currently has seven miles that need mowing, excluding hangars and the taxiway. The current mower is a 26 horsepower Ferris mower with a 60-inch cut, all potential replacement mowers have a 72-inch cut. The lowest quote is for a Ferris Mower from Tri-County Outdoor Power Equipment, where the current mower was purchased. Other quotes were a John Deere mower from Koenig and a Grasshopper mower from Miller Equipment. The board will discuss the Tricounty Equipment quote further at their May meeting.

Water Board Approves Two Contracts

Noelle Maxwell

The City of Greensburg Water Board met April 7 and approved contracts with HydroCorp and 120 Water. The Hydrocorp contact is a five year agreement paid annually with a total cost of $33,383.71. HydroCorp is being contracted for backflow service and Indiana Department of Environmental Management-mandated inspections. The 120 Water contract totals $32,808 and  is a two year contract ending November 1, 2027. 120 is being contracted because they’ve partnered with IDEM on lead and copper inventory – state regulations around lead and copper will get more strict in November 2027, requiring more sampling. Contracting with 120 Water, the board noted, will help the city navigate the transition and ensure they are in compliance.

Director of Public Projects Zach Wirrig provided a brief update on the Main Street project – the final field check was performed the week of March 30. Indiana Department of Transportation changed a pavement section from asphalt to concrete which will delay letting the project to January 2027. According to Wirrig, INDOT didn’t provide a reason for the change.