District and care center receive approval

Plans are in place for Jay County Solid Waste Management District’s new building.

Portland Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception use request Tuesday for the district to build a new office and recycling facility along Tyson Road.

It also approved a use variance request for Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County to potentially relocate to the former South Side Church of Christ.

Portland Economic Development Corporation is donating approximately 9.18 acres of its 75-acre parcel on the southwest side of Portland — west of Tyson Foods and Community Fiber Solutions — to Jay County Solid Waste Management District for construction of a new office and recycling facility.

The new building would replace the district’s current site at 5948 W. Indiana 67, Portland. That building is leased from Waste Management, which operates Jay County Landfill.

Plans call for a 60-foot by 140-foot building with a 40-foot wide driveway. It would sit approximately 100 feet away from Tyson Road. Jay County Commissioner Rex Journay explained the district intends to leave the wooded area to the west of the property, allowing trees to cover the front of the building and avoiding the wetlands in the area. (Jay County Commissioners signed a letter of intent in April to commit the county to conduct a wetlands survey and a land survey, which helped determine the proposed placement of the building.) 

Journay also noted trash will be collected inside the building, where it will be compacted before being transported out of the county.

Board member Ron Laux asked if equipment would be outside.

Jay County Solid Waste Management District director George McGinnis explained that the building will include a drive-thru door for visitors to unload their materials inside, where items will be inserted into a chute that will go directly into the sealed compactor.

“There’s no chances of anything getting blown away (or) making messes on the ground,” he said.

Once full, compacted units will be hauled to the recycling center in Muncie.

McGinnis estimated the facility will see approximately 125 cars dropping off materials weekly, along with a monthly visit from a truck to empty the trash compactor and a visit every three months from a semi truck to pick up cardboard.

He pointed out that recycling operations will be similar at the new facility to how they are conducted now. Currently, the facility acts as a drop-off location for electronics, cardboard and lightbulbs, and offers paper shredding, among other activities. It also provides containers in locations around the county for residents to drop off their materials for recycling.

McGinnis added that the facility doesn’t accept hazardous materials or chemicals regularly — that now includes batteries — although they are taken on Tox Away Day. The one-day event this year is slated for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, in the north parking lot at Jay County Junior-Senior High School

City attorney Wes Schemenaur asked if the new facility would result in noise. McGinnis said the compactor is no louder than a car engine.

Schemenaur also asked if the area will be lit, with McGinnis noting plans to light up the entire facility and parking area as well as install security cameras.

“I definitely do not want any kind of illegal dumping,” said McGinnis.

Board members Larry Petro, Virginia Burkey, Ron Laux and Aaron Loy, absent Kyle Cook, approved the request.

Also Tuesday, the board approved a request from Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County to potentially move its operations into the former church at 1209 S. Shank St., Portland.

Amy Schlichter, president of Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County’s board of directors, shared hopes to relocate from the nonprofit organization from 216 S. Meridian St., Portland. The former church’s larger size and parking options would provide more space to grow.

“We want to start some new programs and services, and we just don’t have the space,” she explained.

Schlichter said the organization has made an offer on the building and hopes to hear back soon. Jay/Portland Building and Planning assistant director Pati McLaughlin noted if the Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County does not purchase the building, the board’s approval of the request would be voided.

Former employee Linda Peters aired concerns about a lack of foot traffic at the facility since former executive director Patty Johnston retired in January 2023. Schlichter, who has been involved with the facility for about two years, said the organization has been working with others in the county to address gaps in the community, such as looking into offering coaching and counseling to address issues such as mental health, addiction-recovery trauma and domestic violence.

“We have talked pretty seriously about not changing what the pregnancy center does, but adding onto it (these) services that would meet (the needs of) men and women when it comes to emotional and spiritual support,” she said.

Board members then approved the request.

Also, the board approved a use variance request to construct a 30-foot by 40-foot storage building in a vacant lot along Vine Street south of its intersection with Union Street. Fred DeHoff of Jay County Christian Home Builders shared hopes to put another house on the property in the future.