The meeting was Called to Order by Mr. Chaffins. Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call- Roger Chaffins, Butch Gerstandt, Deb Mix, Rosie Rose, and Chris Lawrence
The County Attorney, Mr. Martin Lucas was also in attendance.
Minutes -Ms. Rose made a motion to accept the December minutes as written with Ms. Mix seconding it. The motion carried. Minutes from the April meeting were motioned to be accepted by Rosie Rose and seconded by Butch Gerstandt. A vote was taken and the motion carried.
Starke County Forest – Mr. Chaffins stated that the new Surveyor, Bill Crase had received complaints about flooding. Mr. Wakeland insists it isn’t the beavers that are at fault. There is no connectivity to the ditch on 1100 N. The County’s culvert hasn’t been maintained since probably the 1940’s which is 60+ years ago. The culvert is 3 feet below the beaver dam. The beavers are active and busy and they’ve been there since the early 1900’s. The beaver control device hasn’t yet been installed. About 5 years ago a spillway was installed and the spillway is cleaned out about 5 times a week. Mr.
Wakeland was asked to contact the person that’s going to install the beaver control device. Roger will call Mr. Crase along with Mr. Wakeland so they can confer and see how things are going.
Beach and Campground – Roger Chaffins stated that signs stating, “Glass Containers Prohibited” have been printed by the Highway Dept. and the County will install the signs. The Land and Water Conservation Fund sign has been ordered and will be installed by the SC Highway dept.
Mr. Callahan and his attorney, Mr. Wallsmith, were present. Mr. Callahan noted that the minutes reflected an incorrect date for the beach to open. The Campground will open on May 1 and the beach will open on Memorial Day weekend.
Another issue that Mr. Callahan stated that the park board needs to be aware of, is that we’re dealing with infrastructure that is 60 – 80 years old. He was told that patching is considered maintenance and not a capital improvement. It was stated that the last president of the Park Board authorized capital improvement for the beach bath house, and to install a handicap accessible water fountain and access to it. Mr. Callahan was told that the structure and the water fountain needs to be inspected by the County Building inspector before reimbursement can be considered.
Mr. Chaffins noted that permits must be pulled by Mr. Callahan to do work. The County will take care of the permit fees, but Mr. Callahan is required to pull a permit for all work that needs permitting. That includes all electrical, plumbing, and bathroom changes.
Roger will be a contact person for the permitting process. Phone numbers were exchanged.
Discussion with concerns about what is maintenance and what are capital improvements took place.