Road talk halted?

Action on vacating a section of county road was deferred this morning until Jay County Commissioners can meet with affected landowners and make certain that necessary easements are in place.
The commissioners had scheduled a hearing for this morning to vacate a section of county road 650 East from Limberlost Creek to county road 400 North.
But landowners Troy and LaVaughn Muhlenkamp expressed concern today about access and ownership of the road if it is vacated.
The potential for vacating the road was “kicked around” by the commissioners because the bridge over Limberlost Creek is out and will not be replaced, commissioner Milo Miller Jr. said today.
Comissioners directed their attorney, Bill Hinkle, to coordinate a meeting with the affected landowners at 9 a.m. on Aug. 20 so that easements can be arranged.
Three properties are affected by the proposed closing of 650 East. The owners are the LaVaughn Muhlenkamp Revocable Trust, Steven and Patricia Braun and Alvin Muhlenkamp Farms.
Troy Muhlenkamp approached commissioners in June and said he was interested in developing a livestock operation between 400 North and Limberlost Creek. That request was the start of a discussion that led to the commissioners voting to vacate the road and schedule today’s hearing.
The commissioners gave unanimous approval today for Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur to use $2,250 in Title IV-D child support funds to set up a website for his office.
Schemenaur will seek to use another $2,000 from deferral money for the project, pending approval by the Jay County Council. The commissioners also approved adding a line item to the prosecutor’s annual budget for web hosting costs.
Craig Frazee will set up the site, which will provide information on child support with links to Indiana.gov and other relevant sites. “Seventy-five percent of our phone calls are about child support or city court,” Schemenaur said.
Acting as the county drainage board, commissioners also gave unanimous approval to a drainage plan submitted by Rock Ridge Properties for an expansion by Inman U-Loc at North Wayne and East Lincoln streets on the north side of Portland. Work on the project had been stalled until drainage plans could be approved, county surveyor Brad Daniels said.
In other business, Miller said that work on the courthouse elevator is complete and it will be back in service as soon as it receives approval from state inspectors.[[In-content Ad]]