HAYDEN J EMRAH
WZBD.com
In their monthly meeting, the Adams County council convened to discuss the abatement of a warehouse in Geneva, grants from the Adams County Foundation, and some post-eclipse insights from Sheriff Mawhorr.
Councilmembers spoke with County Council Attorney, Julie-Marie Brown, regarding the renewal of an abatement plan with Red Gold. At a council meeting around a year prior, the company approached the council, asking for an abatement plan–a plan to reduce tax collections on a property–so that repairs and upgrades could be made to a 35,000 sq foot warehouse. The warehouse, which is located in Geneva at the Red Gold Facility and provides substantial employment to the area, then went into a ten-year tiered plan, where the rate of abatement changes each year until the contract expires in 2033. Part of the abutment plan requires the company to approach the council annually to show that everything is going according to plan, which it is, so the council approved the continuation of the plan as per their contract in a unanimous vote.
Part of the April meeting also included an appearance from Highway Superintendent Brad Yoder, who approached the council to approve a $3,000 grant in order to receive some equipment for use in the department. The grant comes from the Adams County community foundation, and will be used to purchase the Highway Department 3 volt detectors. These detectors help to determine whether or not downed power lines are still active, helping to reduce the risk of injury when repairs are needed. Yoder commented that interest in the equipment came from an associate at Indiana Michigan Power, who uses the same equipment. The council agreed that the equipment was worthwhile, so went ahead and approved the grant.
Lastly in the meeting was a post-eclipse report from Sheriff Mawhorr, who in conjunction with the city/town departments and multiple state emergency services, helped to ensure that April 8th’s total-eclipse went off without a hitch. Mawhorr reported that heavy traffic within the country started between 9-10 a.m., lasting until about 1 p.m. To facilitate the traffic, the Sheriffs office clocked in about 43 hours of overtime, with the dispatch office at 5.5 hours of overtime.
“We had no issues anywhere, communication was well between the departments. Traffic at the event–starting at about 4 o’clock and lasting until about 6 p.m.–was extremely heavy along U.S. 27. I’ve been here 30-some years and I’ve never seen it like that on 27,” commented Sheriff Mawhorr on the eclipse.
While there were two crashes to report, a serious one in Berne regarding a motorcycle and a minor one where someone drove into a river, Mahorr added that both incidents involved local residents, and didn’t feel they were attributed to the eclipse events around the county. He concluded by saying that car traffic was relatively normal by 6pm, and for thanking the multiple agencies and departments involved in making the eclipse day a success.