Michigan-based planning firm says deal not enough By ANNIE GOELLER Staff writer Sept. 26, 2007 A consulting company hired two weeks ago to update the county’s master development plan wants more money. To cover costs of work that was not included in the original proposal and expenses that weren’t included in the contract price, LSL Planning is asking for nearly 9 percent more money. The Michigan-based company, which was selected by county commissioners Sept. 10 for a contract price of $147,000, has raised the price to $160,000. The county hired the company to help update and prepare a new master development plan, which will guide growth in unincorporated parts of the county. Commissioners were surprised by the request and could choose to hire another company. But planning director Brian Waterman thinks he can reduce the amount of money the company asked for and said he still is negotiating. Paul LeBlanc, a consultant for the company, said the increased cost was because of two factors: - The company will do preliminary work with the community group that has been conducting public meetings, which wasn’t included in the original proposal, for a cost of about $5,000. The county can’ t sign a finalized contract with the consultant until grant money is available in January, but Waterman wants the process to update the master plan to continue to move forward by adding this work. - The rest, or about $8,000, comes from expenses that were not included in the original contract amount. The group’s bid specified that they would be paid $147,000 plus expenses. The biggest part of that will be printing, but it also will include mileage from the company’s office near downtown Indianapolis to meetings in Johnson County. LeBlanc said he is negotiating and looking for ways to reduce the cost, such as by having the county take on some of the printing costs.Commissioners said they already agreed to a price, and it wasn’t $160,000. “I signed at $147,000,” commissioner Tom Kite said. Commissioners and Waterman said they didn’t know the original bid of $147,000 didn’t include additional expenses. That information was not clear in the proposal, Waterman said. Kite thinks the company should stick to its original price and provide all the work included in the original agreement. If the company can’t do the work, commissioners can find someone else, Kite said. Commissioners Troy DeHart and Mitch Ripley agreed that the company should stick to the original price. LSL Planning was one of four consultants on a narrowed list the commissioners selected from this month. LSL Planning did not offer the lowest price. The company was the second lowest, with bids ranging from $131,000 to $149,500. DeHart and Kite voted to hire the company. Ripley voted against LSL Planning and said he had been more impressed with a different company that made a presentation to commissioners. The county has not finalized a contract with LSL Planning and could select a different consultant, Waterman said. He hopes to have that decision finalized as soon as possible so as not to delay work on the updated master development plan.
By ANNIE GOELLER Staff writer Sept. 20, 2007 Center Grove area residents and developers will have a new tax next year. The county is implementing a stormwater utility, which will manage soil erosion, pollutants in water and storm runoff around homes and businesses. To pay for four employees and supplies for the new department, the county will add the increase to the property taxes of residents and businesses and implement new fees for developers. What the county will charge has not been finalized, but an estimate Monday showed Center Grove area homeowners would pay $48 a year, or $4 per month. Only Center Grove area residents and businesses would pay the new tax because most development and drainage problems occur in that part of the county, commissioner Mitch Ripley said. That decision was made by the commissioners and Johnson County Surveyor Doug Lechner, who will serve on the stormwater management board. Drainage problems, which can come with development, are also most common in the Center Grove area. Once the department is running, the county can begin to set aside money for projects to fix drainage issues in the area, such as flooding. And since businesses and residents from that area are paying the tax, other areas of the county won’t feel shortchanged, Ripley said. Developers also would pay new fees when planning a subdivision or business anywhere in the county. The department will be in charge of inspecting new developments and their impact on drainage and stormwater runoff countywide. With the new tax, businesses would typically pay a higher amount than residents, depending on the square footage of their building. For example, Marsh supermarket would pay more than $4,300 per year for its 228,000-square-foot building, according to figures from H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, the accounting firm helping the county estimate the rate the utility would need to charge. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required the state and county to manage stormwater runoff and quality in 2003. Johnson County was fined $860 in 2006 for not meeting state deadlines and has to submit a plan for minimizing pollution that gets into streams and creeks from stormwater runoff by the end of the year. Part of the county’s response is to set up the utility by the end of the year. The state has granted extensions on deadlines but likely won’t grant more, said Don Larson, vice president of Indianapolis-based Commonwealth Engineers, which is helping the county with the studies and plans for the utility. Some of the work could be done by the county, but other parts, such as making sure developers meet the stormwater runoff guidelines both before and after development, require more time and work, Larson said. To manage the workload, the county decided to form a stormwater utility, which would have four employees, including an assistant engineer, an inspector, a coordinator and an administrative assistant. The department’s 2008 budget is $263,000, including money for uniforms, printing and $40,000 for vehicles. Commissioners will vote on a proposal next week to create the utility. They will also need to create regulations for addressing stormwater runoff in developed areas, said Jeff Eggers, county attorney. Once that is finished, the county must create a funding source, which likely would be the monthly rate charged to property tax bills, Eggers said. The county is still working with the accounting firm to develop finalized rates, Ripley said. Accountants estimated the rate to be $4 per month for residents. Businesses would have the same rate, but would multiply that by a ratio relating to square footage. Here’s how the calculation works: Accountants estimated an average-sized house to be 2,500 square feet. So for each house, the rate is $4. But for businesses, the calculation takes the total square footage divided by the 2,500 and then comes up with a ratio. That ratio is multiplied by the rate. So for Marsh, the 228,000 square feet is divided by 2,500 for a ratio of 91. Multiply that figure by the rate of $4 per month, and Marsh will pay $364 per month, or $4,368 per year. In other counties and nearby areas, the rates are typically higher, said Dave Frederick, an administrative partner in the Umbaugh & Associates Indianapolis office. For example, the rate in Bargersville is $9.46. In Marion County, the rate is $2.50. The county will be required to conduct public hearings before finalizing the new department, Eggers said. |
| White River Citizens United |
| White River Citizens United |