CLARK COUNTY ELECTIONS: Veteran, former surveyor to tangle

Clark County

WHAT THEY DO

Clark County Surveyor’s office
The Clark County Surveyor’s office must prepare, maintain and keep in their office a legal survey record book showing maps of sections, grants, subdivisions or groups of such area in sufficient detail so that the location of each is shown.
The office is responsible for maintaining the original government corner stone record book, the information is the basis for determining parcels within the county, of which there are about 900.
In addition to keeping parcels and survey books on file, the surveyor’s office is responsible for investigating drainage problems outside of incorporated areas and must repair any problems with drainage structures within any platted subdivision approved by the county.
As part of the role serving to address drainage and parcel issues the county surveyor is a member of the Clark County Planing Commission and the Clark County Drainage Board.
The surveyor also issues all alcohol beverage permits.
If a county resident were to have a drainage issue in the county they would need to file a complaint with the county surveyor, who would then investigate the issue.

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October 24, 2010

Isgrigg, Blankenbeker have differing views on lawsuit, other issues

By BRADEN LAMMERS Braden.Lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sun Oct 24, 2010, 02:08 AM EDT

CLARK COUNTY — Incumbent Bob Isgrigg, a former Democrat running as a Libertarian, is seeking his fifth term as county surveyor. Isgrigg will be facing off Nov. 2 against Democrat David Blankenbeker, who has also previously held the position of county surveyor.

Blankenbeker, 47, decided to run for another term as county surveyor — his previous term ran from 1999-2002 — because he is disappointed in how the office has been operated.

“Sitting on the sidelines for the past eight years it disappointed me to see what that office has done,” he said.

Blankenbeker decided to not seek re-election following his first term because he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family while his children were young, but is willing to jump back into the county office now that they are older.

Blankenbeker will run against the incumbent Isgrigg, who has been the county’s surveyor for the past eight years.

Lingering issues

During his time as surveyor Isgrigg, 62, said he has exposed irresponsibility in county government.

“I was the only elected official that stood up against and exposed this reckless spending,” he said.

Isgrigg filed a lawsuit two and a half years ago against the Clark County Commissioners and the Clark County Drainage Board to address how the county is handling its drainage issues.

“I filed the lawsuit because they were violating state laws by the way in which they were approving drainage projects,” he said.

Blankenbeker does not believe the county is improperly handling drainage issues and he said if Isgrigg has his way, it will cost the county more money.

The pending lawsuit against the county commissioners and the drainage board claims the county has regulated drains, Blankenbeker said. If the county does have regulated drains, then it would be on the hook to do an assessment in order to maintain them.

“The county would be forced to initiate property taxes on the citizens for drainage assessments,” he said.

If elected, Blankenbeker said his first action would be to remove the surveyor’s office form the lawsuit.

“I always believe in working with people and in compromise,” he said. “You certainly won’t have any lawsuits from me.”

As a result of the pending lawsuit, Isgrigg has not been attending the county’s drainage board meetings, something else Blankenbeker said has been hampering the surveyor’s office, adding he would participate in every meeting.

Isgrigg explained that he stopped attending the drainage board meetings — he still attends the Clark County Planning, Zoning and Building Commission meetings — because the board is violating state laws.

“I fully expect to attend drainage meetings when the judge rules on the issues,” he said.

Until then, Isgrigg said he will continue working with the Indiana State Board of Accounts and his attorney to monitor the board and will deal with them in a written report form.

“I’m not going to lend my presence to these illegal activities,” he said.

Surveying work

The most important task the surveyor has every year is to map the county’s corners. According to state statute, the county must conduct surveying work to find or set 5 percent of the corners, which is essentially a mapping procedure, each year and recheck another 5 percent per year.

Isgrigg said he has completed more corner maintenance — up to 300 to 400 percent more — than any other previous county surveyor.

And the corner work has been completed by “my people under my supervision,” he said. “I have not hired anyone to do that work.”

Blankenbeker said while he was surveyor, he used money in the surveyor’s perpetuation fund — which is gathered through a payment for the recordation of deeds that goes into a nonreverting fund — to undertake state-mandated outlining of corners of deeds in the county.

He said that surveying company Jacobi, Toombs and Lanz was hired and paid for out of the perpetuation fund to complete corner surveys.

“My opponent has done the exact same thing and asked for a $15,000 contract to do the same work,” Blankenbeker said.

Isgrigg maintains that his fiscal responsibility is one of the benefits of his administration.

“The way I manage the office is extremely efficient,” he said. “I have never gone to the county council in four terms of being the county surveyor to ask for more money.”

Isgrigg said he supplements the county’s service by using his private business, which is across the street from the county government building, to carry out the office’s functions.

Looking ahead

Having a more open and approachable office is one of the issues Blankenbeker would like to see change if he is elected to the office. He said he has been told about problems with the office not being open to the public and would also like to develop a website for the county surveyor’s office.

“None of that is being done right now,” he said.

When asked why he is the better choice for surveyor, Blankenbeker said, “I think I’m the best choice because I am the best surveyor.”

He said that in addition to his surveying experience he also served for four years on the Indiana State board of Registration for Land Surveyors, which was in charge of monitoring land surveyors and their licenses.

“My opponent has been brought in front of that board,” Blankenbeker said.

Countering Blankenbeker’s claims that he would be the better choice, Isgrigg said he has been watching out for the people of Clark County.

“I believe I’ve proven myself to be an advocate for the taxpayers in Clark County,” he said. “I am the only one to document the reckless spending of the county council. I think voters can be assured that I will continue to do that.”