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A public meeting on the Western Route Project will be held at 7 p.m. April 29 in the Kosciusko County Justice Building.
The Kosciusko County Commissioners approved the meeting today.
Rob Ladson, Kosciusko County highway superintendent and engineer, said the meeting will be held to discuss the purpose and need statement for the project. The meeting will not present any corridors for the project. There will be future public meetings to review the alternate routes and discuss the corridor plan document. Key elements of the public meeting April 29 will be to review the project to the public, review the results of the traffic study and traffic modeling, review the purpose and need statement and encourage public input into the process.
The commissioners also approved a letter to the new Indiana Department of Transportation commissioner requesting a meeting with him and all parties interested in addressing the Claypool overpass.
Over the years, there have been many accidents at the overpass. Ladson said he met with the state personnel a few years ago to discuss the matter, but nothing has been done. A developer to the north of the overpass wants to see the overpass' problems also remedied as does the town of Claypool, which sent a letter to the new INDOT commissioner. Ladson said they may have a win-win situation with the overpass if the new INDOT commissioner is interested.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved an agreement with Syracuse for maintenance of roads.
• Approved a resolution to pay the appraised price of a piece of property the county is seeking to gain through condemnation for Bridge 290, on Venetian Way, Syracuse. The three appraisers still must present a single value to the court and then the county can pay that price and begin construction, even if either side contests the appraised value of the land, according to county attorney Mike Miner. Since the appraised price is yet undetermined, the commissioners agreed not to set an amount at this time for the check.
• Heard from county administrator Ron Robinson that every office in the Justice Building has moved back to their proper quarters. Some glitches in the building are still being worked out but everything is still going fine.
He said he is working with the Historical Society on a dedication ceremony for May 4 for the Justice Building. Part of the dedication will include placing a time capsule in the building. Exact details will be released later.
Commissioners present at today's meeting included Ron Truex, middle district, and Avis Gunter, southern district. Not present was Brad Jackson, northern district. The commissioners meet every other Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the Kosciusko County courthouse.
