Council approves D.C. trip

Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman will be heading to Washington, D.C., for three days in June to speak with a variety of legislators and federal agencies on behalf of Portland.

Portland City Council approved $2,300 at its meeting Monday night to be used for transportation and lodging for the mayor’s trip.

Council also approved a rezoning request for a new asphalt production facility, tabled a decision to purchase land near the Portland Municipal Airport and adopted a supplement of the code of ordinances.

Geesaman will travel to Washington with other officials in the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District. Already scheduled are meetings with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, Economic Development Authority, Army Corps of Engineers, Senators Donnelly and Young and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City). Geesaman plans to push for funding for infrastructure improvements in the city, including more funding for wastewater projects and work to improve the flow of the Salamonie River. Geesaman traveled to D.C. last year, at the cost of $2,250, and said the trip was helpful in increasing a grant from the Economic Development Authority and made headway toward additional funding for a Brownfield rehabilitation grant from the Environment Protection Agency.

Council members Judy Hedges, Janet Powers, Bill Gibson, Judy Aker, Michele Brewster, Kent McClung and Don Gillespie also approved a proposal from Milestone Contractors to rezone an area southwest of Portland, from agricultural to industrial. The rezoning is part of an effort by Milestone to install an asphalt production facility near the quarry. An initial proposal to construct the plant north of the quarry was stymied by a stipulation by the Portland Board of Zoning Appeals that forced Milestone to direct truck traffic through the quarry, something that the Mine Safety and Health Administration would not permit. Milestone now proposes a new facility south of the quarry, allowing traffic to utilize county road 200 South without having to travel through the quarry itself. The proposal will return to the Portland Board of Zoning Appeals as Milestone seeks a special exception for the facility.

Geesaman presented council with a proposal to purchase land west of the Portland Municipal Airport by a willing seller.

Diana Micheals had offered to sell the city her home and 1.35 acres that lies directly west of the airport’s hangar, adjacent to new land that was acquired for a planned runway extension. Hedges and Powers expressed skepticism of the purchase without a set plan for what the land would be used for. Gibson proposed and council accepted a motion to table the purchase decision and conduct appraisals of the land and home.

Council also approved a new ordinance that would add ordinances passed in 2016 to the city’s ordinance book, with wording checked and edited by Cincinnati-based American Legal Publishing Corporation.

In other business, council:

•Heard from Geesaman that two local organizations have already volunteered to participate in the annual cleanup week. He will announce the official date at next city council meeting on April 3.

•Was told by Geesaman that representatives from Dynamic Business Solutions will present plans for the city’s new website at the April 17 city council meeting.

•Discussed the prevalence of styrofoam cups in the city’s parks. McClung encouraged individuals to throw away their trash and pick up litter when they see it.