Apc - Regular Meeting

Okay, we'll go ahead and get started for this evening. Uh, welcome everyone. This is uh what is today?

This is uh September 10th, 2025. We're going to start this evening uh by opening up a public hearing. Uh this is going to be a public hearing on the flood damage prevention ordinance. So Corey, if you could run through a couple of those changes real quick. In your book, you will find it right up against the miscellaneous tab to the left. Yeah. Uh this was an ask by uh indirectly by FEMA through Indiana DNR. Um there just were some amendments to our uh flood damage prevention ordinance that we just updated back in 2023. Uh it was basic uh definition changes that were needed. Um so from what I could see, Floodway did change. They added in um some verbiage right at the end that last sentence that says uh in no case shall the designated height be more than 0.14 foot at any point within the community. Um and then hardship they deleted a sentence the letter of map change. Uh they added in several different things uh especially under the Clomar Clomar F and then uh the LMA but it was just basic little revisions there. Any questions for the board for Corey during this public hearing on the changes that are being requested? Hearing none, I will ask for is there any public comment? Uh, anybody that would like to comment on the the blood damage prevention ordinance? Do they want to be heard? Uh, do I have a motion to adjourn the public hearing?

Second that. Second. All in favor say I. I. Oppos. Okay. We'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. This is a September 10th, 2025 meeting of the Miami County Plan Commission. Roll call, please. All Dan Hunt. Brad F here. Scarlet Graves, Brent Palmer here, Brad Muscleman, Jamie Hopper here, Lynette Smith here, Greg Wilkinson here, Courtney Smith. Okay. Uh, we'll go ahead with the approval of minutes. Uh, this was emailed out. This is from the August 13th meeting. Any comments on those?

Have a motion to approve. Approve. present. I would second that. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. We'll go ahead with the staff report, please.

Looking at our staff report and what we did in um August, we did issue 40 permits um which was up 54% almost doubled our the amount of permits that we did last year at this time. Um, those 40 permits did include one addition, two commercial buildings, a demo, three new dwellings, eight electric, two fences, one garage, a leanto, three livestock barns, one manufactured home placement, a personal solar energy system, seven pole buildings, one remodel, uh, six roofs, and two storage sheds. Uh you also have on the docket here in just a few minutes three a permits that have been requested. So you'll be looking at those. Uh we did close out 28 permits. Uh completed five split applications, assigned six new addresses, and then uh we did have one petition filed for an alley vacation. Uh that is not something that you guys will see, but it is something that we do in the office. Uh I will take that to the commissioners at their meeting Monday. Um, so kind of a new or resurrected feature that we are now offering again here in the office.

Um, looking at our revenue from permits, we did bring in $33,232 um, in one month.

In one month, um, one of our commercial permits was like $25,000. So, we had two commercial buildings in there. So, did bring in substantial amount of money. Um, we had six variances that are applied for that were applied for Four of those variances though, we're only hearing BCA will hear two tonight uh because they do not have a full board. So, four of those applications decided to push to October. We did have seven contractors registered. And then looking at our unsafe buildings, we had five unsafe building complaints issued or um that came in within I think a 10day stretch. Uh and then all five of them did turn into cases. I did issue one order to rehabilitate uh and issued uh two separate civil penalties for willful failure to comply with rehab orders um totaling $5,000 um bringing us to a grand total of 38 active unsafe building cases that we are working through right now. It's been busy. Um I think this is the push right there before it starts to get cold out there. So everybody's scrambling. um looking at the violation side of things, I'm going to kick it over to Brooke and she can kind of fill you in on um what she did in a August.

Yeah, sure thing. Uh we received 26 complaints and 25 of those did turn into violations. I resolved 10 violations and that brings us to 145 active violations that we're working on. And then one of my violation faces was sent to the attorney. um that $20 in his hand. We had one lean placed for unpaid violation fines, $160. Um and then three fines were issued for violations, bringing us to 175 for that one. And then I had three mowing orders issued um for a total of $4,225. I see that there's uh some unsafe building complaints that came in uh within about a two week stretch there. And it says that the complaint reporter was Miami County Plane Commission. Was that from being out and about? Was that from somebody on the board? Where did those where did those come from?

Those came from um I think most of those were from violation cases. Um and it's kind of one of those that we were out on a violation and it's kind of hard to turn your head on. Uh I know one of them also was from uh that we had been waiting to work through until we knew the outcome of the two-mile discussion as well. Okay. Any questions on the staff report? Okay. Finance.

Sure thing. Looking at um our expenses um pretty typical. We did have variance uh reimbursement fees. Um, we had two developmental plan reviews um that were we worked through there. Um, I apologize developmental plan review. I was a little late getting you paid, so that should be coming through. I just submitted it Tuesday with your payroll, so it should be coming through. Um, don't spend all that in one place there. Um the other thing we did have to get a new battery for the truck and um extension or extension jumper cables. Uh the other thing that you will probably see on here Oh, it didn't come through yet. Never mind. Disregard. Um you will also see several of those mowing orders that we have contracted out. And so those we have already used all of our line item for our mowing for the year. Uh and so there is an abundance in the attorney fees right now. So uh started taking that out of there. Uh and then the last thing that I did see um

you need to get a mower mark. I know. Yeah. Um we did keep Mark pretty busy just with several different um different tasks there. So, he had a bill and then we did have a judgment um from one of our violation cases that went to court. Uh they did pay $600 uh to us. So, part of that gets moved back into our attorney fees. Overall, looking at 26% of our budget spent, so very healthy um amount left for the end of the year.

Okay. Any questions on that? I see we've obviously not acred any expense yet in the comprehensive plan. No. Um so with the comprehensive plan, I just fin got the final draft of that um beginning of the week and I will be taking that to the commissioners Monday to get signed. Um I don't know what the next steps are at that point. I assume some point I'll get a bill for that. I will say the other thing with uh as we're talking budgets, we did have our budget workshops going through there. So, we're finalizing all of that here hopefully soon. Okay. Any questions on the expenses?

Okay. Any committee reports for today? Okay. We'll go ahead with old business then. Uh we've got a couple of unsafe building cases here. Unsafe building case 20-23. Stronger Family Trust 467 East 800 South and Bunker Hill. This is a 60-day progress check.

Um before you do that one, I didn't have it on the agenda, but just wanted to loop back. We had talked last month about um Christopher Hudson's case uh and you wanted the inspector to go back out and see if that wall sllean to slash makeshift whatever uh was structurally sound. Inspector did go out there. He said it doesn't look pretty obviously um but it is structurally sound. You can see there is that lean to out the backside there. So I guess um if you want to since it's structurally sound, we can close the case or we can pursue on with getting it removed.

That was a topic of discussion last month, Mark, about the unsafe just the unsafe building order. I remember right point was the trailer that had burned. This is apparently garage. Um, so the wall itself is structurally sound, then it's technically not really unsafe, even though it's unsightly. Um, but it's up to you since it was part of a whole building that was unsafe.

You're looking for a resolution from the board to a direction, I guess, on which way. But structurally sound, but does it lean to what is holding it up? I don't Kenny said that it was structurally sound down at the foundation, so or whatever. I don't know what it's sitting on exactly, but I think it was concrete, so it's anchored in. Yeah. He said the lean to isn't what was holding it up. The issue at hand is has it is is it is it complied with the original unsafe building order as a unsafe building?

So you're you're telling us that according to the inspector that it is. What our inspector says it seems like it's kind of feudal even though it's unsightly. I think we got bigger fish to fry. Do I have a motion from the board? I make a motion to close case by one-24. Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries.

Thank you. Unsafe building case 20-23. Um, this was an update. Um, if you remember back in July, um, I believe you had given him 60 days to start working on getting this demolished. I believe there was supposed to be an excavator that was or something coming in, piece of machinery coming in to start demolishing the house. Um, yeah, these were pictures as of this morning, uh, at about 10 o'clock or 10:15. Um, I did not notice any changes. The barn's still in a pile. The house hasn't Windows are gone, I believe. The windows were gone last time.

Yep. Um, even I thought the roofing might have been off the shingles, but still in the same spot we were last uh time we met. So, not sure where to go here. Anybody here from the family trust? Yes, sir. My advice. Sure. You can do whatever you want. That was part problem. So, no worries.

There are some things that would happen, but there's comedy of errors that I can't control. You remember the last time that the fella that's been helping me had a hand injury. He's had to go through hand therapy and so forth. He's back to work. The white car that you see there in the driveway, we burned up he burned up a couple of winches trying to get that up on there, but that's he's got a bigger one. We've got a bigger one coming on the back on the the roof. There's been a lot more stuff taken off, but you can't see it because it's on the on the east side. And that picture was the west side, but there are there's been a fair amount of product, but that's not as much of a problem to be honest with you. Um, what was previously a nonadversarial situation with the inc with the of the habitants of the house as now I've been trying to get them out of there and move their stuff. Get their stuff all the way out. Get it out all the way out. It's been going on now quite about three weeks since it's become now adversarial to the point where uh and three days ago and two days ago and and then uh yesterday um on each of those days a verbal argument about look I'm trying to work with the planning commission and you're standing in my way because that flat came out and said well you're going to have to do the eviction then never expected us to be in that situation but that's a new twist that I am going to now have to go to the sheriff's office after the cardiac healthy appointment and then go start the the pro the legal proceedings to and get you get just the last two days you come on my on this property again and touch any of these tools I'm going to call state police on so many of the tools are mine but then some of them are his tools and frankly you know I don't want to be standing on there being accused of anything the reality is it's kind made a stalemate for me. So I am intending to go get the sheriff come out there and have a face

to face talk with him about what he can do and what he can't do as far as accusing and so forth and then then we have to go from there. But the point is I'm sure I'm going to have to go I'm sure they're going to advise me to go ahead and do an eviction.

So how about do you have a strategy or a plan to get the rest of the structure down? I can't even I mean I was I was standing there by the door and he had the dog on there, you know. I think have to get rid of them first, but yeah, then we go forward. We have same plan. But I don't copy, like I said. I said, listen, I'm trying to cooperate with the planning commission and do this solid and then you're standing in the way and you weren't before. Before everything was fine, we're going to move and now I'm not, you know, we don't you're going to have to evict me. But that's a 180 degree turn. And so I am going to have to go that route. Unfortunately, it's me having, you know, being threatened. You pick up a piece of you pick up a tool here. I'm going to call cops on you. You know, I don't need.

So, what's your what's your what's your timeline here? Tomorrow, I'm after the doctor, I'm going to go to the sheriff. I'll presumably I'll have somebody go out there tomorrow with me. Then I'll then I'll take their I'll take their indication of what I should do. But I'm going to suspect that they're going to I don't know. I'm just suspecting they're going to say you're Yeah. Well, we've already condemned the condemn the property. So, u there shouldn't be anybody in it to begin with. So, um yeah. I mean, is this uh you think you're going to have it done by the end of the year?

Yes, but I'm going to be gone for a couple weeks for order of judge judge. I'll be gone. around the end of the month for a couple weeks or something else unless I have a room here. But uh but yeah. Yeah. So by the end of the year we should see some progress. Yes. Where do you have any status update on where your piece of machinery is that you're supposed to be taking this down with?

Well, the the fella in Cooko that had access to it, they uh he had access to it. If you recall, I said it wasn't his. It was he had access to it. And that has that situation has changed somewhat. And I don't know exactly what happened, but apparently there was a a falling out. And so that means that that piece of my may or may not be and I had I don't know the I know nothing about the story. I just heard a little bit about it, but I can't answer that truthfully and know tell you everything about that's all I know.

So what I'm what I'm hearing the plan is to have it done by the end of the year. Can we I mean I would push for some sort of penalty here. I mean this just keeps getting strung along and strung along. I mean at what point do we say enough's enough and get something done? I mean it just seems like excuse after excuse. I mean I would I would think a civil penalty would be apt at this point. I I don't know what else to do to push progress here. How long has the case been open for?

Been working uh well since the most recent order I think was put in January. Um I've been working on it for three plus years or did we issue the order to the owner and the occupant or just the owner?

Okay. I would suggest I I hear Corey's thought on civil penalty, but just from the standpoint of it seems like it's just dragging on, but I would suggest a 30-day up or status update next month. We can see if an eviction has actually been filed or if they've left or not, and I can then monitor the eviction case to make sure that is proceeding. Like an eviction, you should have somebody out likely within 60 days. So that way we can at least see if it's filed by the next hearing in October and then by November they should ideally be out and then it can be really be how are you moving this forward?

So the suggestion is to wait for him to file for the eviction. that does not occur then consider civil penalties. Any other questions, comments, concerns? Motion. What's What's your point about filing it on the owner and inhabitants? So we didn't if we didn't file it on the inhabitants then we likely I don't know if we actually just calling it an unsafe building actually means I shouldn't be living but if we didn't order directly to them to vacate then it's I mean

I believe we did not know at the time there was somebody living in the property do that as well that a person in possession I think a lot of the ones that have gotten this far have been either nobody's living in them or it's somebody buying it on contract. Um, and usually we issued that at that point we issued to both. Um, I know with this one it took a while to even get the order because we had to go through the inspection warrant process and we knew there was somebody had been moved in at that point. But, um, we can issue orders to vacate. So, but if we haven't done that, and I don't think we did, um, that's where he would have to go through the eviction process to make sure to properly get them out. Okay. So, I hear wait for 30 days to verify that the eviction list and you're filing it.

No, no, I'm not. They're your tenant. So, you need to file the eviction. I'm not a tenant. No, they they are your They're your tenant. Yeah. So, basically, the suggestion of the motion would be uh to wait 30 days for you to file the eviction. If you don't file that eviction, then the board will consider civil penalties. Do I have a motion? assessing 30 days to see if he's filed in I may not be back by I have a motion. Do I have a second? We have a second. Any other discussion? All in favor say I. I.

Opposed? Motion carries. second if I'm not backed by them because I'm still on under a judge's order. You need to you need to provide some sort of documentation to for you don't have to probably physically be here but we need to see you need to give it to a probably that sound good. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh the next one for old business is unsafe building 23-23 and Heidi Hill 6835 North 100 West in Denver.

Yeah. Um these next three cases here are just adopting. Um we had those up well no the next two cases I apologize uh were cases that we had heard. Let me back up. Last the next three uh we heard last month and they just need to we need to adopt a continuous enforcement order against those. I have a motion to approve all three in continuous enforcement orders for 23-23, 72-25, and 75-25. So second second.

Any discussion, comments, questions? All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Okay. Uh, new business for tonight. We got a couple a permits. The first one is a permit 309-25 for Lynn Weaver on Macy Gilead Road in Macy. Go ahead. Staff report on that, please.

Lynn Weaver brought this request from the office on August 21st. Um he would like to construct a 38,880 ft calf barn that will house approximately 280 calves. This barn will be set back 180 ft from Macy Gilead Road. Uh the walls on the side of the building will be covered with flexible curtains and the ends of the building will be covered with metal. Um one end will have I'm assuming three doors for the drawing. Is Lynn here tonight? Yes. Yep. Anything you want to add on your project here? Well, not really.

Okay. And you don't need a This falls underneath the KO, right? 280. Yep. So, there's no KO that's required for my demo on this. Okay. Any questions for Mr. Weaver? Make motion approve. Second. Any questions? All in favor say I. I opposed. Motion carries. A permit 310-25. David and Linda Schwam, 13653 North, 500 East in Rome.

Uh, this is brought into the office on September 3rd. David and Linda would like to construct a 3200 foot pool building to move the storage for their tractors and other equipment. This structure will go up in place of the previous pool building that was damaged by trees and a storm. Um 960 ft of the building will be used as a woodworking shop and the remaining 2,240 ft will be used as equipment storage. It will sit on concrete and have 200 amp electric service. Will not be heated or contain any bathrooms. Okay, are you here tonight?

Thank you. Any questions from the board on this? No bathrooms, no loading quarters. I have a motion. I'd make a motion to approve this. Second. Any other discussion? All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. a permit uh 311-25 for Mike and Heidi McDonald, 4464 West, 500 South in Peru.

Yep. This permit uh or petition was brought in office by Mike McDonald um on Monday, I think it was September 5th. Mike would like to construct a 40x 56 roughly 2240t pole building on his property. Building will be used for tractor and mower storage. Uh likewise, it could be also used for hay storage as Mike grows hay adjacent to his property. Building will tie into the existing barn on the property. No bathrooms or living quarters will be added. The proposed structure will sit on 10 acres of a one zone.

By 56, you must be buying more tractors. Hey, any other discussion on this ax permit? Do I have a motion? I'll make I'll make motion to approve. I'll second.

First and second. Any other discussion? All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Okay, we've got a couple. We got one unsafe building hearing for tonight. This is K74-25. James and Ra Boon, 553 West State Road, 218 of Bunkerville. this adjacent to the property that we heard last month just down the Byebye. [Music] Okay.

Okay. Perfect. So, uh, like you said, unsafe building case 74. Um, looking at this property, um, owned by James and Ra, uh, Boon. Here are the, uh, ordin uh, the inspection request and the order to demolish. Uh, looking at the timeline and events uh, of events. So, April 9th was when that complaint came in just uh claiming the property was a disaster. Basically, it had a building uh that was in rough shape and was falling in and had a lot of trash and debris around the property. Uh so, we did send out a May 2nd inspection request uh and they did make contact make contact on May 15th uh and to schedule that inspection on June 4th. Then Kenny and I did go out uh for a formal inspection and did find the house to be in uh rough shape there and then issued the order on August 4th. Um I did complete an inspection this morning and doesn't look like much has been uh going on since that order was issued. Uh and we're here tonight. So let's look at some of the things that make it a little