By BRADEN LAMMERS
It’s the second time around for Mayor Bob Hall in Charlestown, as he served as the city’s executive from 2000-2004, then regained his mayoral seat in 2008.
Halfway through this administration’s term, The Evening News is taking a look at his progress and shortfalls the second time around.
The “Five E’s”
At the outset of his second term in office, Hall devised a plan to improve the city and direct his administration, calling it the “Five E’s” — consisting of economic development, emergency preparedness, enrichment to the quality of life, enhancement to the city and enlarging the vision of the community.
“Having been mayor once before and coming back this time [a priority] is establishing a clear vision as a community,” he said.
To direct that vision and address the economic development portion of Hall’s plan, the city is seeking help in determining how to retain and grow businesses by gearing up through technology.
Charlestown’s City Council recently approved a resolution to pay the 10 percent match for Ball State University to conduct a study to create a strategic economic development plan, especially related to advancements in technology.
According to Hall, a Republican, economic development is not at a standstill, as the Charlestown Business Park is at capacity, the city has acquired 13 acres on the north side of the former Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, where it has the potential to add new businesses, and Charlestown also is seeking a place for small retailers.
“[There’s a] focus on trying to create new retail opportunities for people,” Hall said.
By enticing local and small business owners to locate and stay in Charlestown, Hall said the city will meet another goal — enhancement.
“We want to be the best bedroom community in the area that we can be,” Hall said.
A bedroom community often refers to a smaller city outside of a major metropolitan area and its suburbs, that has its own services and often does not base its economy off of major industry.
One way to improve a bedroom community is by revamping its infrastructure. That can include anything from improving sewer systems, to repaving roads, to adding sidewalks.
Improvements to the city’s infrastructure is a need that should be addressed sooner rather than later, especially for road repairs and sidewalk construction, according to Councilman Mark Goodlett, a fellow Republican.
“If we’re not going to pave roads except for [an election year], then that’s a problem,” he said.
Council President Scott McKechnie, a Republican, agreed that minor road improvements throughout the city need to be made, as well as addressing public safety issues in some areas by adding street lights.
One project on the horizon is the construction of a sidewalk along Ind. 3. — which is being funded by a $1 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant — that includes park benches and lighting along the highway between Water and Park Streets in Charlestown, according to the project description.
Improving public safety, under the purview of emergency preparedness, is yet another “E” outlined by Hall’s administration.
While recent natural disasters that have struck Southern Indiana are outside anyone’s control, Hall’s administration is pushing to improve the city’s block watch program.
“We want to create the feel of a gated community in Charlestown to have neighbors look out for one another,” Hall said. “I feel like it’s very much a key in public safety moving forward.”
Goodlett saw a different answer to improving public safety, by improving the infrastructure around the police department.
“I’m hoping that we see ground broke on a new police station,” he said. “The one we’ve got is not up to par.”
The city has recently seen improvements made to the parks, a remodeled city hall and new programs initiated such as movies in the park, which Hall said will enhance the vision of the community and enrich the quality of life for residents.
Enhancing Charlestown’s vision, aside from bricks and mortar construction, has largely been focused a different area of growth, technology.
One-to-One
One project that has epitomized the drive to enhance technology in Charlestown is the one-to-one computer initiative. The program, which took over a year of planning, will give laptop computers to Charlestown high school and middle-school students.
Greater Clark County Schools agreed to pay about $600,000 over three years to implement the program, but it was still not enough money to pay for the laptops for the middle-school students.
In order to allow those students access to their own computer, Hall along with the Charlestown City Council, entered into an interlocal agreement for the city to pay $84,000 over three years, or $28,000 per year.
Though the interlocal agreement was unanimously passed, it did not go through without controversy.
The city council initially decided to postpone passing the agreement because it was presented to the council members hours before they were supposed to render a decision, something that has plagued Hall’s administration, according to at least one council member.
“[For] communication amongst the council, an F,” Goodlett, the former council president, said responding to how he would rate the mayor. “He communicates with some of the council members, [but] I think he needs to improve his communication amongst us.
“I don’t think its right that some meetings we come in and there is an ordinance laid in front of us that we haven’t had a chance to review or think about.”
In addition to the initial lack of communication over the one-to-one program, several council members voiced hesitations because of an ongoing dispute with Greater Clark County Schools over the unresolved land swap.
Land swap
The land swap deal between Charlestown and Greater Clark County Schools is still hanging over the heads of the council and Hall.
The dispute was originally borne out of an agreement where the city would give up its swimming pool in order for a parking lot to be built adjacent to the expansion at Charlestown High School. In return for the pool and two other small parcels of land, the city was offered property near Jonathan Jennings Elementary School.
Originally a verbal agreement, the city relinquished the pool and land before any official contract was in place.
Negotiations with the school board failed to yield results, and the council eventually filed a tort claim against Greater Clark County Schools, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Even following the tort claim, a dispute persisted, with each side claiming substantially different values on the worth of the land being swapped.
The sides agreed to have independent assessments made on the value of the land, then plan to head back to the table to hopefully reach a deal.
A deal would be a welcome relief to the city.
“One of the biggest things I would like to see happen is the lawsuit get settled in favor of the city against the Greater Clark County School system, and maybe we can work on getting a new pool for the kids,” Goodlett said.
However, no date for further negotiations has been set and the deal remains unresolved.
MORE
• This article is part one of two in a series looking at Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall’s administration at the midway point. Read part two in Tuesday’s Evening News.
