Blog

29 Feb
0

Mooresville park board hires contractor for upgrades

by in News, Appointees, News

MOORESVILLE — In recent months, the Mooresville Parks System has been working on preparing for major upgrades at Pioneer Park.

During the Feb. 12 Mooresville Park Board meeting, members approved Meyer Najem as the system’s contractor to work on the project.

Mayer Najem is also the company leading the Morgan County justice center construction at the county seat in Martinsville.

The board has decided to go with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) method to construct the project, which will allow the parks to only need to work with Meyer Najem and keep the cost of the project down.

According to Mooresville Parks Superintendent Phil Cornelius, Meyer Najem was the only company that submitted a proposal to the parks department.

“There were other parties that had at least done initial reach-out contact, but at the point of the deadline, only one had submitted on time,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius told the board that park staff is supportive of Meyer Najem being awarded the BOT contract for the Pioneer Park updates.

Board member Brent Callahan asked what the timeline of the project would be if the board accepts the proposal. “Part of their proposal, there is no up-front fee, it is a zero cost to this board, and this department and town for the scoping period,” Cornelius said.

The scope of work, Cornelius said, would be identified by Mayand a groundbreaking for the project would occur in either late May or early June, “with completion in 2025,” Cornelius said.

Callahan asked if the Mooresville Redevelopment Commission (RDC) or town council would have to approve anything before the project could move forward.

The RDC has dedicated $3.15million of its funds to the project.

“Once we go through this process, scoping period is done, final total project cost has been established, and we award — if we chose to move forward and award the project … that is when we come to RDC, as per our reimbursement agreement, that we have elected to move forward with the build-operate-transfer and it is at this dollar amount,” Cornelius said. “At that point, they would then transfer the funds allotted to then hold in a fund until the completion of the project.”

He went on to note that the town council would not be involved “in any current financial components.”

The scoping period, Cornelius added, would allow the parks to see how much the $3.15 million from the RDC and the park system’s cash-on-hand can go toward the construction at the park. “We’ve kind of identified that $4 million range for this project, and that is including our park’s cash on hand, which we have previously already received a vote in favor from town council to spend down our capital non-reverting fund to $0 to deplete that fund with this project,” Cornelius said. “So, we have received all current approval from town council needed, unless it is identified after the scoping in total project costs that we are over that threshold.”

By using the BOT method, the parks department will only need to work with Meyer Najem on the project, as opposed to working with several different companies.

Meyer Najem may need to hire sub-contractors for the work, but the parks would only deal with Meyer Najem officials.

“With this project, there are no change orders,” Cornelius said. “Basically, the only change orders come to this project is from us, staff and this board.”

A change order is a change in the project that occurs after work has started and can often increase the overall cost of a project.

“This gives (assistant superintendent) Keelan (Simpson) and I one person to call, versus 15,” Cornelius said.

The board voted unanimously, 7-0, to move forward with Meyer Najem for the project.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published February 22, 2024 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
29 Feb
0

Grant money causes disagreement at MSD meeting

by in News, Elected Officials, News

MARTINSVILLE — A long MSD of Martinsville school board meeting, filled with occasionally tense discussion about where grant funding comes from, ended in tears last Thursday after a Martinsville teacher gave an impassioned plea for more mental health services for the district’s students during the public comment.

The meeting was most contentious during discussion of whether or not to accept grant money from Sources of Strength, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. 

Board member Dan Conway was opposed to accepting the grant money on account of some of Sources of Strength’s sponsors, which include CNN and the National Institute of Health (NIH). He said these institutions were at odds with the conservative nature of Martinsville.

MSD of Martinsville Superintendent Eric Bowlen countered that the nonprofit’s sponsors were inconsequential, since it was still up to the school board to use the grant as the district sees fit. 

Despite Conway’s objections, all of the other board members voted to accept the grant, and the grant money was ultimately approved.

During the public comment, Shannon Adams, a science teacher at MSD of Martinsville who gave a presentation on STEM earlier in the meeting, spoke before the board about the need to adopt more mental health services for the community’s children. Through tears, she recounted how she’d been to the funerals of students who had taken their own lives and subtly voiced disagreement with Conway about the Sources of Strength grant.

“I appreciate the research on where funding comes from, I do that, too,” Adams said. “And it is my honest opinion that the National Institute of Health is a very reputable organization.”

“I ask you to please do everything in your power to put as many mental health services in front of our children as possible,” Adams said.

Multiple board members were left in tears after Adams’ comments, with board member Jacque Deckard offering her support to Adams.

In other news

  • The board approved the adoption of the Morgan County Multi-Hazard Mitigation resolution. The resolution will make Martinsville eligible to receive FEMA hazard mitigation grants.
  • The board recognized the district’s spelling bee champions and runner-ups at the beginning of the meeting. The room was packed with the students and their families as their achievements were honored. Each student was given a medal by Bowlen and board president Matt Hankins.
  • The board gave approval for Martinsville High School to get updated Chromebooks for students and staff to replace the current models, which are nearly five years old.
  • Approval was given to Paragon Elementary for a tornado siren installation.

The next MSD of Martinsville school board meeting will take place March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Central Education Center.

~ By Jared Quigg | Reporter | Published February 22, 2024 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
05 Feb
0

MCC Party Perspectives

by in News, News, Opinion

MCC Party Perspectives – TIF Districts

Q: TIF districts: Looked at as a boon to local economic development by proponents, who point to the many improvements enjoyed by the citizenry and projects that would otherwise go unrealized; opponents, however, often label them as a dangerous slush fund for local government while taking tax dollars from other local entities that could use the money. Still others contend TIF districts are well intended but ripe for abuse and wasteful spending by local officials. So what say you? What is your view of TIF districts, and their increasing use by local government entities?

Morgan County Libertarians

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has some good uses, but the potential for misuse is all too common.
The TIF concept is a government tool used to reinvigorate a neglected part of town or to implement infrastructure upgrades. Money is borrowed against the improved future value of the district to make these improvements. This “locks in” the tax revenue to the taxing entity for that district at the current level. This base levy is frozen until the TIF bond is repaid, or until the agreed upon contract expires. This often has the side effect of pushing additional future tax levy increases to the properties outside the district.

Any additional tax levy above that area’s locked-in amount is diverted to the redevelopment commission in order to pay the loan. In theory, this is a good way to borrow the necessary money to improve the infrastructure and overall value of the district. When the additional TIF revenue pays off the bond, the newly improved property tax level is released back to the taxing entity. This allows those tax dollars to be
used for things like school systems, police and fire services, while normalizing the tax burden that had
previously been shifted away from the district.

Unfortunately, TIF is often used to give handouts to businesses so they relocate within the taxing district. This allows companies to shift the startup risk to taxpayers. The governing bodies can be allowed to pick winners and losers by helping company A, but not company B. When a deal falls through, as recently happened in Mooresville, it leaves taxpayers holding the bag.

TIF originated in California in the ‘50s, but they have recently begun severely limiting the use of TIF as many municipalities over-districted their towns and overspent, driving them to the brink of bankruptcy.
It quickly became a government piggy bank used to fund a variety of frivolous projects. As citizens saw
their taxes rise, those taxes were being diverted to TIF, drying up the revenue available for the towns to
operate their basic services. This can be especially problematic in Indiana, where we have constitutionally limited property tax rates.

TIF can be used to fund larger, much needed projects, which couldn’t be financed any other way. To be used responsibly, however, the bonds related to those TIFs need to be paid off, not extended, and district revenues returned to general taxing units as soon as possible.

~ Response by Danny Lundy, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Morgan County

Morgan County Democrats

I count myself among those who believe that TIF districts are generally a good thing for rural communities such as ours, if they prove in the long run not to be detrimental to the needs of other taxpayer funded entities, and they are managed well.

I believe ultimately time will tell how the story plays out in Morgan County. The Morgan County Redevelopment Commission has more than met the mark over the last many years in preparing for these projects, holding public meetings, providing opportunities for citizens to have a voice, etc. There will always be a faction of people who believe that no taxpayer money should be used for projects such as these. There’s not a lot you can do to change those minds.

But TIF districts, on their face, have all the elements of a good thing for small communities in desperate need of economic development projects, which would otherwise be impossible to attain.

Indiana law states that Indiana’s TIF districts must pass the “but for” test, in that but for the money allocated from TIF, the money would simply not be available for said projects. TIF funds provide an
avenue for development in otherwise blighted areas. The potential problem is that tax revenue that is allocated for projects in the TIF districts is not going to other areas such as the school district.

In the 2019 Winter edition of the Indiana School Board Association’s, The Journal periodical, Sherri K.
Flynn, MBA and Department Chair of Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Campus, gives a detailed and relatively easy to follow explanation of the potential problem. In short, money allocated for schools can be capped for the life of the TIF project, so that school systems are not able to keep up with costs that increase year after year due to typical inflation. Money that would be given to schools is essentially “harvested” for the TIF projects.

Even still, in my opinion, the various TIF projects throughout Morgan County have been a positive thing for our communities. We have needed to step up our game for quite some time.

To me, it goes beyond political parties and affiliations and is more about what is good, overall, for a community. So long as the projects continue to be managed properly, and the funds are used for the intended purpose, I see no problem with TIF districts as a whole.

~ Response by Natalie Coffin, Chair of the Democrat Party of Morgan County

Morgan County Republicans

Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is one of the few economic development tools we have as Hoosiers to attract jobs and capital investments to our communities.

In addition to my role as Republican Party Chair, I also serve as the President of the Morgan County
Redevelopment Commission. Here’s my top takeaways on the value of TIF:

  • For a TIF Allocation Area to be created or expanded, it must meet the “but for” test. It requires a finding of fact, supported by evidence, that the adoption of the allocation will result in new property taxes in the area that would not have been generated but for the adoption of the allocation area.
  • Once the “but for test” is met and a TIF Allocation Area is created, a base assessment date is established. Once that is set, no tax increment is realized by the redevelopment commission until there are improvements made to the property. It’s an “eat what you kill” situation. If we don’t draw new business or capital investments, there’s no tax increment created. The underlying taxing units receive the same taxes they would have received otherwise.
  • There’s a lot of misconceptions that TIF revenues and pass-throughs are a 1:1 situation. That’s simply not the case. If a redevelopment commission would pass through some of the assessed value the TIF Allocation Area captures, it simply lowers the tax rate nominally. That doesn’t equate to more tax dollars generated in most scenarios outside of nominal increases to cumulative funds.

TIF is incredibly convoluted and confusing. A redevelopment commission can take the lead on behalf of the county to assist in funding-needed infrastructure, such as roads and public utilities, for economic development projects. This helps by not burdening the other taxing units throughout the county. We’ve been able to make significant improvements to Waverly Town Park, including the Greenway Trail, and have built the Waverly Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another area we are working on is Westpoint Business Park, north of Monrovia, where the commission just amended the plans to ensure additional phases of development are possible in addition to the existing 1Msf building.

It is imperative we, as redevelopment commissioners, are cognizant of the projects we support and are good stewards of the TIF revenues we receive. If not for the creation of TIFs, the projects redevelopment commissions are supporting wouldn’t be made possible.

~ Response by Carole Snyder, Chair of the Republican Party of Morgan County

Opinion published January 25, 2024 in the Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
01 Feb
0

MSD case denied

by in News, Elected Officials, News

High court sidesteps transgender debate in schools for now

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has opted not to hear an appeal from the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville (MSD), effectively ending its legal battle.

The local school district hoped to challenge a lower court ruling that said a transgender student in the school district must be allowed to use the restroom that aligns with the student’s self-identified gender. 

The SCOTUS announced Jan. 16 it would not hear the school district’s challenge to the Seventh District Court of Appeals, which ruled in August 2023 that the district must accommodate the student’s preferred gender. 

Later that month, the school board voted to appeal that court’s decision, hoping the Supreme Court of the United States would settle the matter.

“The MSD of Martinsville School Board of Trustees chose to appeal the Seventh Circuit ruling because there is disagreement among federal courts around the country on whether federal law mandates certain actions or whether school boards have discretion to enact policies addressing who may use what facilities,” school board member and former board president Jacque Deckard said last fall in an emailed statement.

But the SCOTUS will not be settling the issue, and last week’s decision means the end of the road for MSD’s legal options. 

On the heels of the court’s decision last week, MSD superintendent Eric Bowlen said in a prepared statement he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision that leaves “school districts across the country in disarray.”

“As the education system continues to evolve rapidly, local school boards must be empowered to navigate sensitive emerging issues with discretion to serve the best interests of students,” he said in his statement. 

Case history

The case against the school district goes back to December 2021, when a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Indiana Legal Services on behalf of a then seventh-grade student at John R. Wooden Middle School — who was born a female but identifies as a male — and the student’s mother.

According to the complaint, the middle school failed to accommodate the student’s male gender identity by not allowing the student to use the boys restroom, join the boys soccer team or address the student using male pronouns.

The suit claims the school violated Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and was enacted in 1972, spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana.

At the time, Bayh explained the legislation was put forth to fight against “the continuation of corrosive and unjustified discrimination against women in the American educational system.”

In recent years, however, proponents of the transgender movement have used Title IX to argue that transgender students should be covered under those same protections based on their identified gender, not necessarily their biological sex.

The school district, however, argued that Title IX is, in fact, based on a biological understanding — or “the genetic sense” — of two genders due to the common understanding and application at the time Title IX was made into law.

What’s more, the school district contended that “school boards — locally elected representatives of our communities — should be afforded discretion in making these decisions,” it stated in its August 2023 resolution.

The 2021 suit also claimed the school district violated the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. First ratified in 1868 on the heels of the Civil War and traditionally used to prevent racial discrimination, the Equal Protections Clause is now often used in gender-based cases. 

On April 29, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued its preliminary injunction, ruling in favor of the student and the student’s mother while denying the school district’s defense and ordering the district to allow the student “use of the male restrooms and … treat him as a male student in all respects.”

In August 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denied MSD’s appeal, maintaining the District Court’s decision. 

Last week’s SCOTUS decision, in effect, does the same. 

Local reaction

The ACLU of Indiana, which helped initiate the lawsuit, cheered the Supreme Court’s announcement it wouldn’t weigh in on the case, thereby letting the lower court rulings stand. 

“This case is about the fundamental right of every student to a safe and inclusive learning environment, and the freedom of transgender youth to be themselves,” the organization said in an online statement. “We’re thankful the court allowed this momentous victory for the transgender youth of Indiana to stand.” 

But opponents of the lower court rulings decried the court’s unwillingness to hear the case and clear up the confusion in the lower courts.  

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita came out in staunch support of MSD throughout the court proceedings, and his office was not pleased by last week’s decision. 

“The Supreme Court did not take a necessary opportunity to provide clarity, particularly with such a split among the appellate courts on this issue,” according to a statement issued by the AG’s office. “It makes little sense for SCOTUS not to resolve the difference in federal cases.”

In his statement, Bowlen echoed the sentiment, disappointed the SCOTUS didn’t settle the contradictory rulings in the lower courts.

“Federal courts are hopelessly in conflict over how to decide these issues, and the District hoped that the Supreme Court would have resolved this important conflict,” Bowlen said. “The district will now consult closely with legal counsel to determine appropriate next steps that are both in compliance with the law and what is best for our students and community.”

When reached by phone, MSD school board president Matt Hankins declined to comment on behalf of the locally elected board — a board that has guided the district and made the decisions throughout the case’s journey through the court system, including the decision to appeal in the Seventh District and later, the Supreme Court. He, instead, deferred to Bowlen’s prepared statement. 

“The superintendent’s statement represents the communication from the board and superintendent on behalf of the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville,” Hankins said.

But Martinsville resident Shelley Campbell, who attended the school board meeting last Thursday, offered a comment of her own, giving a word of encouragement to the board. 

“Myself and a lot of people are standing behind the school as it pertains to the transgender issue,” Campbell said. “(I’m) praying for the school and I like the stance MSD is taking.”

The stance MSD has taken, however, is the wrong one in the eye of the courts, and until the SCOTUS decides to weigh in on the issue, transgender students must be accommodated according to their self-identified gender. 

And if the SCOTUS does decide to take up the transgender issue in the future, it would be with different litigants — and MSD would not be one of them. 

~ By Stephen Crane | Reporter | Published January 25, 2024 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
26 Jan
0

Mooresville Parks board moves ahead with BOT process

by in News, Appointees, News

Mooresville Parks board moves ahead with BOT process

MOORESVILLE — The Mooresville Parks and Recreation District is continuing to work through its planned
improvements for the years ahead.

During the Jan. 8 park board meeting, the board approved for the department to release a request for proposals and qualifications for the project.

“This is the first step in releasing information to collect data proposals from the certified firms that would be interested in participating as our bid operator,” Mooresville Parks Superintendent Phil Cornelius said.

The parks have decided to go with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) procurement method for the improvements at Pioneer Park.

Town attorney Chou-Il Lee explained that once the board receives proposals back, a committee will review and score the proposals. Then the committee can either accept one or more, or decline all proposals it has received.

If the committee sends recommendations to the board, the board can then decide to go with one proposal or decline them all.

“Let’s say you decide, ‘Yes, we do want to move forward with these proposals; here is the person we’re going to put out there,’ then you get into the phase where you are going to negotiate a contract, essentially,” Lee said.

According to Lee, the BOT procurement method for the project allows the parks “to negotiate a maximum-guaranteed price for that contract.”

“So the risk is all on their end,” Lee added.

He also noted if an agreement with the maximum-guaranteed price can’t be met, the negotiations
would not move forward.

Lee told the board that developers would make the assumption that the board will
want to move forward with the project.

“But they understand you may not,” Lee added.

Park board president Matt Saner asked Lee what the “point of no return” would be for the parks department with a company.

“When we sign that guaranteed-maximum price contract,” Lee responded.

Lee was asked if any money would exchange hands before the contract is signed.

“No, this is all stuff that they are going to take in … that’s an at-risk part,” Lee noted.

Park board member Mark Taylor explained one concern he had with the BOT method.

“It’s like going to a car dealership and saying, ‘OK, I want to buy a brand new car and I’ve only got this $20,000 to spend,’ and them knowing the price before you even go in there, ‘OK, we’ll charge you $19,999,’” Taylor said. “It just seems like it’s a different process,”

“It is a different process,” Lee explained. “It is a process that has become available to municipal entities just over the past few years.” He told the board the BOT was first available to school districts in Indiana before it was allowed for municipal governments.

“What we have found is that it has been a great way overall to design and get the project you’re looking for, because you’re doing all the scoping and estimating at the right time,” Lee said.

The board approved releasing the request for proposals by a vote of 7-0. Cornelius explained that he anticipates proposals would be ready to be brought back to the board at its February meeting.

In other business

  • The board selected to have Saner continue as its president in 2024, Taylor to
    serve as its vice president and Danny Shaw as its secretary.
  • It decided to table a decision on awarding its five year master plan contract
    until a future meeting. The next regular meeting of the Mooresville Parks Board is scheduled for 6:30
    p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published January 18, 2024 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
21 Dec
0

New taxes and more hypocrisy

by in News, Letter to the Editor, News

A recent mailer from State Sen. Rodric Bray is centered around a three-question, multiple-choice constituent survey.

The first question asks what Indiana should do about the increasing amount of electric car owners, with each answer choice representing either an increase in a current tax or the establishment of a brand-new tax (not to mention the privacy rights-squashing tracking elements of those plans, but that is another topic).

The third question asks what constituents believe should be his main concern. One choice, lo and behold, is “cutting taxes.”

How much more contradictory can one public servant be?

Personally, I’m not “charged up” for electric vehicles, but a (allegedly) fiscally conservative, Constitutional rights-supporting lawmaker wanting to track down citizens to extort more money from them — simply because they prefer a vehicle with an alternative fuel source — is the pinnacle of hypocrisy.

After all, having the fourth-highest gas taxes in the country — totaling around 72 cents per gallon, including federal — is apparently not enough.

It is so bad that Democrats wanted to temporarily suspend the state’s portion in 2022, and Republicans said no.

Indiana — and Morgan County, in particular — should prefer new alternative candidates at as many levels of state government as possible.

Blessings and best regards,

~ By Eric Allen | Letter to the Editor | Published December 14, 2023 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
14 Dec
0

City BZA denies billboard request

by in News, Appointees, News

MARTINSVILLE — The Martinsville Board of Zoning Appeals has denied a request from JR Promotions LLC to update an existing billboard along I-69 in Martinsville.

The board met Nov. 28.

The property is owned by Faith Missionary Church and has been rented by the sign company to use for the billboard.

The state of Indiana took a section of the church’s property for the construction of the interstate.

Around a quarter of the sign was located on the property the state took. The interstate fence runs under a section of the sign.

A representative from the company told board members the company is currently involved in a lawsuit with the state over their actions.

According to the representative, the company wants to move the sign completely onto the church property, raise it around 10 to 15 foot, use one pole instead of multiple poles, make it a little bigger, and have the sign displayed on both sides.

The company felt that by raising the sign up, it would stop the vandalism that has occurred to it.

The size of the sign would go from 8 foot by 32 feet to 101/2 feet by 36 feet.

It would be similar to other signs the company has.

Board attorney Dale Coffey said the city was willing to allow the sign to be moved out of the state right of way but not enlarged. He said they could make some minor changes but could not make it a two-sided sign.

Coffey reminded the board of the “overlays” both the city and county have for display signs along the interstate. Those overlays are very restrictive in what is allowed within them. Billboards, he said, must be around 1,000 feet from the interstate. This sign was in place before the interstate was constructed, so the city is willing to allow it to stay as a non-conforming use.

Board members discussed the request and decided that due to the restrictions on billboards close to the interstate, they should deny the request.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published December 7, 2023 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
04 Dec
0

MCC Party Perspectives

by in News, News, Opinion

MCC Party Perspectives

Today’s Opinion page includes a new addition to the Correspondent — a Q&A with the leaders of the three political parties here in Morgan County. In the future, they’ll be tackling local topics that have local impacts, but in this week’s introduction, I thought it prudent to step back and hear, in general terms, how the leaders of our local political parties define their party, and by extension, themselves. — Stephen Crane, editor

Q: As chairs of the county’s three political parties, you’re certainly vested in your respective party, so what is it about your political party — whether the policies, principles or otherwise — that inspired that dedication? And what is unique to your party that sets you apart from the others?

Morgan County Libertarians

I began gravitating toward the Libertarian Party in 2012. That was when I realized that the old parties lack principles. They campaign one way and govern another. It’s gotten so noticeable in recent years that they don’t represent their once-traditional party values. 

I’m old enough to remember when Republicans genuinely believed in the 2nd Amendment, lower taxes, and keeping the government small. Today they are open about raising your taxes, approving massive deficit spending, and shutting down your business when you don’t comply. It’s shocking to me that they approve of Red Flag laws with no due process.

Likewise, I remember when Democrats were anti-war, pro-free speech, and believed domestic spying was a path to tyranny. Now they openly suppress speech, support domestic spying, and are just as aggressive with military intervention as the war hawks on the other side.

Today both old parties simply throw negative rhetoric at each other in public, while holding hands to achieve their own goals. The two-party partnership puts our nation trillions of dollars into debt. They send our children off to die in endless interventionist wars. They have our own government spy on us, and strip our freedoms away at every level.

The Libertarian party is the only small government option left for people who genuinely want government out of their daily lives. We believe you know best how to live your life and government bureaucrats have no business making decisions for you and your family. We still believe you should be able to financially provide for your family without unchecked government  taxation crippling your paycheck. 

We believe your business doesn’t need a silent government partner that makes your life harder, and takes a cut of your profits. We believe in free trade and non-intervention as a foreign policy. We think the government should have to get a warrant to spy on you, and we believe you have a right to defend yourself, your family, and your property.

Governments’ only three real jobs should be: provide for the national defense, not unnecessary intervention, settle contract disputes via the courts, and protect individuals from force, fraud and abuse. That’s about it. If you aren’t hurting people or taking their stuff, the government should leave you alone.

If you also believe that the government should be small enough to fit inside the Constitution, then visit MorganLPIN.org to learn more and consider becoming a member.

~ Danny Lundy is Chair of the Libertarian Party of Morgan County and lives in Mooresville

Opinion published November 22, 2023 in the Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
01 Dec
0

Pioneer Park to get lots of improvements

by in News, Appointees, News

Pioneer Park to get lots of improvements

MOORESVILLE — The Mooresville Park Board approved an agency reimbursement agreement during its Nov. 13 meeting between it and the Mooresville Redevelopment Commission as part of the town park department’s improvement plan.

The RDC has agreed to pay up to $3.15 million for hard costs related to the park department’s project.

The agreement was approved by the RDC at its Nov. 2 meeting.

Mooresville Parks Superintendent Phil Cornelius gave a brief explanation of the reimbursement process to the board.

“Say it’s the pickleball courts, we will then come to the RDC going, ‘Hey, we are ready to open for receiving of bids of the pickleball courts,’” Cornelius said. “Basically, it is a formality, going, ‘Great, excited for it.’ We will then release the bids. Once we get it and determine the exact bid that we want — so it’s a final dollar amount — we will go to the RDC going, ‘We have awarded the bid to x company for x dollars, we’d like the reimbursement for that.’ We’ll work with the clerk-treasurer and the RDC to move the money to where it needs to go.”

The agreement was approved by the board unanimously, 6-0 with member Brent Callahan absent from the meeting.

Site master plan

The board also decided to update its agreement with Lehman & Lehman to move from the concept design for the project to a systematic design.

Cornelius told the board this would allow the parks to move into the first stage of the building phase of the improvement project.

He read an email from Lehman & Lehman about the agreement update.

“Systematic design is going to allow us to study the entire proposed master plan and all phases comprehensively,” Cornelius read.

This will also allow for surveying and soil boring.

“At the end of the systematic design, we will have the preliminary engineering design that will help determine the final construction,” Cornelius added.

Park board president Matt Saner asked for a timeline of the project.

According to Cornelius, the addendum for the current contract with Lehman & Lehman would last through early spring 2024, noting that ground could be broken either during the phase or at the end.

The first step is building a new maintenance facility for the parks.

“If someone said, ‘Hey, when can I play pickleball at Pioneer Park?’” Saner asked. “We could say approximately when?”

“The safest answer is 2025,” Cornelius responded.

He anticipates the total project completion to take up to two years.

The agreement with Lehman & Lehman will cost $106,000,

The money will be paid out of the park’s capital non-reverting fund.

Cornelius was asked if there would be enough money in the capital non-reverting fund to cover the cost of the Lehman & Lehman agreement and pay for the construction of the new maintenance facility.

According to Cornelius, the fund has enough money to cover both expenses.

The agreement was approved by the board, 6-0.

In other business

  • The board approved an agreement with DG Graphics to install a new entrance sign at Pioneer Park.
  • It approved moving forward on the park’s 2025-2029 strategic master plan.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published November 22, 2023 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
30 Nov
0

Pioneer Park OKd for eclipse camping

by in News, Appointees, News

MOORESVILLE — Camping will be available at Mooresville’s Pioneer Park in the days leading up to the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.

During the Mooresville Park Board’s Nov. 13 meeting, park superintendent Phil Cornelius told board members Mooresville Fire Chief Matt Dalton had requested a decision on whether camping would be allowed at Pioneer Park.

Cornelius went on to note that park staff has some concerns with allowing camping the weekend of the eclipse. One concern, he noted, is that weekend is usually the opening weekend for baseball, softball and soccer at the park.

It is anticipated that many people who want to witness the eclipse will start to arrive in the area on Saturday, April 6.

“Homeland Security has identified that we expect, in the past, and this is data that they’ve seen, at the conclusion of the eclipse, it is the equivalent of 80 Super Bowls being released at the same time,” Cornelius said.

He told the board the park staff’s suggestion is to not include camping in the park of any kind that weekend.

Cornelius was asked if the baseball, softball and soccer games could be pushed off that weekend.

According to Cornelius, there have been preliminary discussions with the leagues to push the start of games into the next weekend.

“Even if we don’t allow camping, that weekend – you can’t get through the bottom end of the park,” park board member Mark Taylor said.

The parks will also be the site of the Kid Zone and concerts that weekend, which will hosted by the Mooresville 200 group.

Park board member Danny Lundy said he didn’t want to miss out on the potential revenue from allowing camping, but understood staff concerns.

“I’d hate to miss out on the revenue, but it is what it is,” Lundy said. “If we can’t do it, we can’t do it.”

Park board president Matt Saner said his family packed up their pop-up camper and drove to Tennessee to watch a total solar eclipse five years ago.

“Great family memory, would do it again in a heartbeat,” Saner said. “And, I think we have a unique opportunity that’s a once-in-a-generation thing to do something special here. I think it’s a mistake for us not to do it.”

Saner later asked if the park should have ticketed access onto the property the day of the actual eclipse in order to limit the number of vehicles in Pioneer Park that day.

He noted there were three things the board needed to vote on — including whether the park needed to not allow the sports leagues to begin their seasons that weekend, whether the park would ticket vehicle entrance onto the property and whether it would allow camping.

The board unanimously voted, 6-0, to not allow the sports leagues to play the weekend before the eclipse.

The board also voted to enforce a ticket-only policy for vehicles entering the park on April 8. The tickets only apply to vehicles and not anyone who would be walking into the park that day.

Finally, the board decided to allow camping the weekend before and day of the eclipse.

The eclipse is expected to start in the Mooresville area around 1:45 p.m. on April 8 and be at totality around 3 p.m. and last for more than three minutes. The eclipse is then expected to end around 4:20 p.m.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published November 22, 2023 in The Morgan County Correspondent

Read More
234…69121518