Drainage board OKs auction facility’s plan

A livestock auction facility planned for U.S. 27 is taking steps forward, even though its future remains uncertain.

One step involved presenting a drainage plan during the Jan. 8 meeting of the county’s drainage board, which is composed of the three county commissioners. The board voted 3-0 to approve the plan as Gordon Moore, the county surveyor, recommended.

Maze Design owner David Inderstrodt explained that the 22-acre site’s drainage system is designed for a 100-year storm. It includes a dry detention basin in the middle of the property that’s on the east side of U.S. 27 north of Bockhofer Road. The county will also require as-built approval after construction is completed.

As the auction facility receives state and county approvals, work has begun on the site after the Indiana Court of Appeals denied a requested stay of construction. The court has jurisdiction over an appeal by neighbors John and Tammy Tackett.

Midway Auction Barn LLC and Omer Kauffman first appeared during June 2023 before the Wayne County Board of Zoning Appeals to request a variance of use that would allow the auction facility along Helm Road, immediately west of the Barn at Helm flower farm and event site. The BZA denied that petition during its July 2023 meeting.

Midway and Kauffman returned to the BZA during September 2023 with the variance request to permit the auction facility at the U.S. 27 site. That was approved to include general merchandise, equipment and livestock auctions; however, the Tacketts appealed the decision to Wayne County Circuit Court.

Judge April Drake denied the Tacketts’ appeal during July 2024, but the Tacketts appealed Drake’s ruling to the state appeals court, where the case remains unsettled.

Also during the drainage board meeting, Moore told members that he had received a drainage study from Lochmueller Group of Indianapolis for the area around South 37th Street and Backmeyer Road in Richmond. That study is important for the county’s Scott Ditch and for Backmeyer Trace subdivision residents experiencing drainage problems.

Moore said a retention pond was built for the subdivision, but it’s now undersized for expansions that also drain through the basin.

The Scott Ditch would be the primary recipient of drainage from the Smith Hill development along South 37th Street. The development with 178 single-family homes and 110 townhomes received needed planning changes from Richmond Common Council.

Moore said he would further explore the Lochmueller study and update the drainage board at its February meeting.

Bridge projects

During the regular commissioners meeting Jan. 8, Brandon Sanders, the county engineer, presented several elements of bridge projects for commissioner consideration.

For the upcoming replacement of the Waterfall Road bridge in Richmond, commissioners approved a preliminary engineering supplemental agreement and the right of way services contract. The $29,740 right of way services contract pays consultant fees. The Indiana Department of Transportation covers 80% of the contract, leaving the county’s share at $5,948.

For the Bridge Avenue project in Richmond, commissioners approved reallocating some right of way engineering money to design work at no cost increase and approved accepting a counteroffer of $1,935 for right of way on one property. The original offer was $1,000, but the property owner countered with the higher figure based on the property’s 2024 assessed value.

The North 24th Street bridge in Richmond was replaced in 2021, and commissioners approved releasing temporary easements on four parcels. The easements were necessary to complete the project.

Other issues

• Steve Higinbotham, the county’s director of facilities and development, told commissioners the county received $30,222 from the online auction of five vehicles.
• Commissioners appointed David Renyer of Fountain City to the county’s advisory plan commission.
• HELP the Animals approved and signed its 2025 contract to accept animals from the county’s animal control officer, so commissioners authorized Jeff Plasterer, the board’s president, to sign the contract they’d already approved.