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Markle Town Council spares Draper Street home from demolition

During a public hearing Wednesday, Oct. 19, members of the Markle Town Council voted on the fates of three properties, including one that could be the oldest house in town.

Councilmen Mark Hamilton and Eric Bower were unanimous in releasing an order by the Huntington Countywide Department of Community Development on the property at 190 Draper St., owned by Thomas and Alicia Broyles. Councilman Jeff Humbarger was absent.

The Draper Street property contains a log cabin thought to be the first house built in Markle. DCD representative Marla Stambazze told the council that after they received a quote for demolition, her department received a phone call from a Markle resident asking for preservation of the structure because it is believed to be of historical value.

“I understand that this is in the process of being transferred over to Indiana Landmarks. They’re going to move it,” she said, adding the owners plan to move it to a location on Wilt Street.

Stambazze added the owners would have to get a building permit in order to place the structure on a new location. But she added that there are other reasons for caution over the proposed relocation.

“They will have to be very careful, because if they put it in the river land, the town owns that river land,” she said. “The department’s concern is, once you set it there, Indiana Landmarks could sell it and it could become a residence … I’m hoping they deed it over to you guys as a historic landmark.”

Town Marshal John Markley said the owners plan to donate the house to the Markle Parks Department — not to the town outright.

Clerk-Treasurer Carolyn Hamilton said she was unable to find any evidence that the Draper Street cabin was Markle’s first house. Markley and Town Superintendent Rick Asher also said they could find nothing to determine that the house was an actual landmark.

Stambazze asked the town to release the DCD order, saying the owners made the repairs needed to bring the structure into compliance. But she emphasized that if Indiana Landmarks sells the house, it could cause major problems if the house sits on land owned by the town.

“I would be very careful on getting some kind of a plan from Indiana Landmarks before you take a house you don’t want,” she warned. “I think it’s a great thing, but you guys can’t even prove it was your first house.”

A second property, located at 145 E. Morse St., a commercial building that once housed a pizza place, received the go-ahead for demolition after a notice published in area newspapers received no response from the owners.

“They had until the 12th of October and no one has corresponded at all,” Stambazze reported.

She said if the structure is demolished, the property title would stay in the name of the current owners. However, the town could send a bill to the owners to pay for the demolition charges. They would have 30 days to pay the bill. If it’s not paid, the town can place a special assessment on the property taxes.

She added that if the property goes to tax sale, the town could possibly recover the demolition fees. But if it goes to a commissioners’ sale the town will likely lose money, since most properties sell for $50 to $100 per lot.

The council decided to go with an outside contractor to tear the structure down because of a shared wall. Stambazze said law enforcement may have to break the door down to allow workers to get inside and determine how to preserve the wall before the building is demolished. Councilmen also directed Stambazze to obtain quotes for the project.

Councilmen gave a six-month extension for rehabilitation of the third property, located at 425 N. Clark St. Stambazze reported the owner’s sister called DCD and asked for the extension.

“As far as I’m concerned, they’ve worked really hard painting this property up,” Stambazze said, noting the family cited financial difficulty in paying for the costs of the repairs.

“That’s all we ask for, is that they’re making progress,” said Bower, as he and Hamilton unanimously voted to extend the deadline.

On another matter, Jay Stankiewicz of JPR provided an update on the Community Crossings 50/50 matching grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation, saying the agreement between the town and INDOT is in the amount of $346,605.50. The council approved the agreement 2-0.

The agreement clears the way for improvements to Novae Parkway, from Tower Drive to CR 50N. The roadway will be reconstructed to two 12-foot lanes with one-foot shoulders. The drive approaches and culverts will also be improved.

A second project in the agreement involves a section of Tracy Street between U.S.-224 and CR 600N, which was removed from the original INDOT project.
The town has until the end of 2017 to complete the project.

Councilmen also heard from Phillip Ellet, of DLZ, with an update on the Tracy Street project. He told them that a redesign to alleviate concerns with storm drainage on the north end of U.S.-224 was overpriced on items needed to make the changes by the construction company, E&B Paving. The four 24-inch pipe catch basins were priced at $2,565 each, when INDOT said the average cost is $1,450 per item.

“We reviewed it and we also reviewed it with INDOT, and we believe that their unit prices were excessive,” Ellet said.

Since the cost of the extra work could not be agreed upon, Ellet said the town could force the contractor to perform the work, called a “force account.”

“Both parties agree that the work needs to be done, but neither party can agree to the cost of that unit price,” Ellet explained. “I think by doing a force account, if it’s a fair price for the town, because it only covers their cost besides some marginal profits, though we basically can’t tell you how much that’s going to cost.”

The council voted to put the force account in motion 2-0.

Ellet added that the construction company will not make its completion date of Oct. 21 to finish the project.

In other business:

• The town approved by consensus the purchase of a new autoclave machine for the Wastewater Treatment Plant, after Wastewater Supervisor Scott Spahr said the autoclave, used to sterilize glass testing equipment, broke down. The unit was purchased in 1992 and there are no repair parts available.

• Councilmen gave the go-ahead for the town’s new website to go “live.” Carolyn Hamilton said it has been updated and is ready to be unveiled.

“It’s got a lot of neat changes, and it’s very, very nice,” she added.

• Turnpointe Community Church of the Brethren has asked the town to write a letter on behalf of the daycare ministry, which is applying for a grant to buy the Expectations building downtown in order to expand the daycare.

Carolyn Hamilton said she drafted the letter stating the town is in favor of the move.

“I think it’s a really good thing to have somebody downtown in that building,” she said. “I’m just really pleased.”