By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
ROANN, Ind. – Demolition of the old school at Roann may begin as soon as 2018.
Pending a resolution by the Roann Town Council, the Wabash County Board of Commissioners has agreed to seek a grant through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) Blight Clearance Program with the Town of Roann. The agreement is that, once ownership of the property is transferred, Roann will be the lead applicant for the grant in exchange for the county becoming joint owners of the property with the town.
Roann Town Clerk-Treasurer Bob Ferguson spoke at the commissioners’ Monday, April 24, meeting in order to ask again for their assistance with the structure.
“Right now, we can’t do anything. The building just sits there. There are grants that we can put in for, and we can talk this thing to death and nothing can ever be resolved until we establish a new ownership,” Ferguson said.
An issue brought up in October was the ownership of the building. Ferguson asked then if the county and town could become joint owners of the property, and was told that the commissioners would consult with County Attorney Steve Downs.
During that meeting, it was determined that the property is currently in the name of the Roann Family Recreation Center, a defunct 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Due to this, a court-appointed receiver holds the title to the property. Downs said then that the town could either restart the organization, or seek a court order requiring that the title be transferred to the town.
The issue arose again at Monday’s meeting with the same concerns regarding ownership and liability as were discussed in October.
“The old owners… did not follow all the processes after they lost the 501(c)(3), and now the school has become a real problem for our community,” Ferguson said.
He told the commissioners that the roof of the building has flipped off and is hanging down the side of the structure, presenting additional danger from the last time he spoke to the commissioners.
“We want to make sure that we can try to do this as expedient as possible, because now it’s getting to the point where it’s really, really bad,” he said.
Roann Town Attorney Kristina Lynn also attended the meeting.
“I think that the town board is also reluctant to take on the liability, especially the full liability, for this building. Considering the size of our town, the financial situation of our town, it’s certainly a big bite for them – a huge bite for them,” she said.
“At Bob’s urging and request, despite my advice, the town has been willing to share that liability with the county. I’m not sure they’re ever going to be willing to take it on fully be themselves, and they’re only willing to share the liability, I think, with the expectation that these grants are available and this is all going to work out.”
Ferguson brought OCRA’s North Central Community Liaison, Jennifer Vandeburg, to Monday’s meeting to help answer questions from the board.
“One of our programs is specifically targeted at clearing blighted properties,” she said.
“OCRA operates that program, and the grants are made to local units of government: towns, cities or counties. It is done specifically to bring down blighted structures, razing and taking it down to at least no threat… razing buildings like this is what the program is for.”
Chairman Scott Givens asked what the funding ratio for the grant.
“Under current application rules, we have it established that minimum match is 10 percent of the total project,” Vandeburg said.
Ferguson said that the cost of the demolition has been quoted at $400,000, which means that the grant recipient would have to provide at least $40,000 toward the project.
According to Vandeburg, the maximum amount for the upcoming round of grants is around $350,000.
“Right now, we know we can anticipate two rounds next year, but we do not know the funding levels available. We’re waiting to see what the federal government does with their budget,” she said.
Roann’s annual operating budget is $172,000, Ferguson said.
Another issue raised was who would be the lead applicant. Vandeburg said that towns such as Roann are allowed three open grants through OCRA, while counties can have four. Both Wabash County and the Town of Roann have one open grant through OCRA. By the end of the meeting, a verbal agreement was made that the county would become joint owners pending a resolution from the town council saying that the town will be the lead applicant.
Letters of intent to apply for the grant are due in early July, with applications being due by Sept. 1. According to Vandeburg, the title to the property must be in a government entity’s name by the application deadline.
Additional news from the meeting included the weekly jail report and opening bid for rock salt.
Wabash County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Tyler Guenin said that the Wabash County Jail has 80 prisoners, with an additional 60 in Miami County, five in Elkhart County and eight in Wells County. He said that there were 24 new book-ins last week.
Bids for calcium chloride or rock salt were received from Compass Minerals, Cargill and Morton Salt.
Compass Minerals bid at $81.63 per ton, Cargill at $78.34 per ton and Morton at $81.22 per ton. The county seeks to purchase 1,600 tons of material.