Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MENTONE - No new stance was taken by the Mentone Town Council in regard to the library's pursuit of a grant to purchase and renovate the Frank Mfg. building.
A hearing on the matter with officials of Bell Memorial Library during Monday's council meeting was more or less an informational session to update interested parties on the proposed plans.
The downtown building, owned by the Saemann Foundation, is too large to house just the library, and plans for the extra space include a senior center and a 40- to 50-child day care facility. Six senior efficiency apartments could be incorporated in a later phase of the project.
Tim Kelty of R.P. Murphy & Associates said the plans resulted after a feasibility study to determine the best uses for the building.
The library plans to apply to the Indiana Department of Commerce for a $500,000 grant toward the renovation of the building. A proposal is due by Feb. 6, with the full application due in April. However, Kelty said, he doesn't expect to make the deadlines for this grant round and the application likely will not be processed until the fall round.
In the meantime, negotiations are expected in the purchase of the building. The asking price is $75,000, but cleanup of environmental contamination on the southeast corner of the property could cost $100,000 to $150,000 or more. Kelty said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management suggested additional testing of the contaminated area to determine if there is risk to health or human welfare. A "plume" of contamination was found about 7 feet deep from solutions used during several years of manufacturing processing there.
In addition to the grant, Kelty said, the library has about $670,000 to spend on the estimated $1.4 million project and there also are plans to apply for a grant from the Dekko Foundation. A contribution from the town is also being sought. Kelty said he would like to have an amount nailed down from the town prior to the April deadline for grant applications. Another hearing is set for Jan. 20.
Ed Rock, council president, said he was of the belief during the past three years of discussion that the town would be nothing more than an administrator of the grant, since such grants can only be sought by government municipalities.
"We decided to include money from the town in the proposed budget," Kelty said, "because it is a 'community' center."
While the town took no new position at this time, Rock said he is "not adamantly opposed" to contributing to the project.
The only other council member present, Ed Lamar, did not comment on the proposed project.
Lamar and Mike Diemer are the new council members who took office Jan. 1. Rock and Lamar were sworn in at the start of the meeting, but Diemer was absent due to illness. He will be sworn in sometime prior to the end of the month.
Rock was appointed council representative to the fire control board and Diemer will be the council representative on the EMS board.
In other council business, approval was given for Brian Reed and Darrel Miller to attend a water works conference in Indianapolis in February.
The next meeting is at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 in the town hall.
