County leaders discuss a new highway garage

Bartholomew County leaders are still working on a plan for a new highway garage. During Monday night’s County Council work session, members debated the scope of a new bond needed to get the facility built. County Commissioners have been adamant for years that a new garage is needed. They say the current facility on State Street has largely outlived its usefulness. The property is also land-locked, making expansion next to impossible. The commissioners are looking at purchasing property owned by the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District. That property is just outside of city limits on 25th Street.

The council offered guidance to commissioners several weeks ago as to how large of a bond it was willing to take on. That amount was set at six-million dollars. There was some debate about possibly lowering that amount to five-million dollars, but Council President Mark Gorbett argued against it, citing cash flow concerns and a slew of other needs throughout the county that need to addressed.

A final decision on the bonding amount won’t be made until early 2019. Commissioner Rick Flohr says that final figures on purchasing the land won’t be known until November. Engineering and architecture plans for the new garage won’t be ready until this January.