Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Barbee Lakes Conservancy District board of directors went about the business of dissolving the entity Friday in the Barbee Conservation Club.
Few people attended the meeting as the board decided how to liquidate the district's assets, make transfers and cease normal operations.
Freeholders in the district voted to disolve the conservancy following an earlier ruling by Judge Rex Reed that allowed the vote to go forward.
Property owners voted 478 to 436 to dissolve the district Dec. 10.
The board transferred $20,000 from the legal expenses account, splitting it up for $600 to legal advertising, $500 for miscellaneous office expenses and $18,900 to engineering.
Secretary Scott Fox said the engineering account was $13,553 "short." The transfer leaves about $5,000 for any additional engineering costs.
Fox said the district doesn't have any real estate and just personal property including five recently purchased laptop computers.
The board decided to sell the computers to O's Computers in Warsaw for $550 to $700 per unit.
Eight months ago more than $9,000 was paid for the computers.
Board member Dick Long recommended that each hard drive be "wiped" of data.
Bart Brugh voted against taking the computers to O's instead of making them available for sale.
The district's old computer has been set up for the use of Boy Scout Troop 726. Fox is one of the group's leaders.
The board sold the computer to the Boy Scouts for $1. Long paid the dollar.
Freeholder David Doctor reminded the board they had an 8-inch sewer line that is an asset and it should be assigned to a successor.
In October the board paid $70,000 to CARR Development to increase the size of a sewer line from a subdivision at Armstrong Road to North Webster, with the idea that Barbee Lakes area residents would eventually hook on to that line.
Board president Barry Hecker said he received an e-mail from county auditor Sue Ann Mitchell indicating a fund can be established to hold the district's money. According to Hecker the account could be interest-bearing and be set aside for any number of years.
How the district funds are kept or distributed will be up to a judge. The notion of establishing a set aside fund is just a recommendation to the court.
Hecker also said the board is still investigating how Build Indiana Funds can be spent. Some recent invoices may be paid with that money. There is about $9,000 left in the fund.
The board approved a claim for legal fees in the amount of $1,782, other attorney fees are expected.
Hecker produced a newspaper article about a sewer district in Steuben County which talked about residents fighting a 10 percent increase. Hecker said the article also detailed increased hook-up fees.
Long took exception to Hecker's presentation saying the district was being dissolved.
"We've already disbanded the district, Barry," Long said. "You have no cause to bring that up now."
Hecker said he just wanted to point out how much the residents had saved by not establishing a sewer district.
"It doesn't matter what we've done. It's over," Long said. "I recommend we adjourn."
The next meeting of the district is Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Conservation Club building.
