Winchester Mayor outlines recent trip to Japan

By BILL RICHMOND

City editor

Winchester Mayor Steve Croyle Monday opened Monday's city council meeting with a report on his recent economic development trip to Japan. Croyle, County Economic Development Director Greg Beumer and Tomasco officials Eric Fields and Tim Peterson went to Japan Sept. 19-26 to strengthen ties with the local manufacturer and promote economic development.

"Overall it was a very positive and enlightening trip," Croyle said. "Everywhere we went we were treated very graciously. Even people on the street were kind and helpful. It was a unique, eye-opening trip."

Beumer said the sponsorship of the Masuda family (Yasuharu Masuda is president of Tomasco, Indiana, parent company Masuda Manufacturing.) was unbelievable.

Peterson presented a slide show of photos from the trip which included scenes from meetings with government officials of Winchester sister city Otaki, Japan, and the tour of a local school.

Croyle said after the recent Roger Brooks tourism presentation, a group of community-minded citizens got together to recommend the city apply for a planning grant to work on sprucing up the business fronts of downtown buildings.

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs downtown facade improvement planning study will cost an estimated $48,000. It will include a complete basement to roof analysis of approximately 31 buildings in the downtown historic district.

The proposed study will include:

€ Analysis of the structural integrity of each building, prioritization of needed improvements and historical research for each building;

€ Prioritization of needed improvements for each building within the context of the entire district;

€ Preliminary design of improvements in phase one of the facade renovation to maintain the historical integrity of the downtown;

€ Cost estimates for all phases of the facade improvements; and

€ Recommended funding options.

Croyle said the citizen group has offered to fund the match for this grant. The city agreed to apply for the grant on behalf of the citizen group.

Council member Todd Schroeder expressed concern that the County Commissioners' CAFO Panel does not include anyone to represent the interests of local cities and towns. The panel was appointed by the commissioners to create a plan to be considered for adoption as a county ordinance providing local control of large scale livestock operations. The committee has met twice monthly since June 2. Committee members include the three commissioners, three representatives of the county Farm Bureau and three members of Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Randolph County (ECCRC). The meetings are facilitated by Indiana Environmental Institute director and Indiana Earth Day chairman Bill Beranek.

"Cities and towns account for 1/3 of the population of the county and we're not at the table," Croyle said.

Council member Bob McCoy, who attended the CAFO Panel's most recent meeting on behalf of the city as a non-participating observer, said it seems as if the best interest of the city is losing ground in the ongoing discussion.

"And we're losing more ground everyday we don't have something in place," McCoy said. "I don't think either side is going to agree on something."

McCoy said he is also concerned about how proposed best practices standards would be enforced by the county.

In other business:

Council approved vacating a disused alleyway that proceeds south from Ann Street to the CSX railroad track.

In a public hearing on the alley vacation, neighboring landowners David Sloan and Lisa Hartsock disagreed over the proposed installment of a fence. Hartsock said she intends to install a 2-foot high fence on Sloan's property.

"I don't want a fence there," Sloan said.

Croyle said the neighbors are going to have to get beyond these neighborhood issues.

"You're going to have to figure some way to work this out," he said.

The alleyway will be owned jointly by the two adjoining landowners and the railroad.