Tippecanoe Township Trustee Chris Francis listens to advisory board members during Wednesday evening’s monthly meeting. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — During Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board, Trustee Chris Francis presented his reasonings for wanting to possibly sell the township-owned building, 102 S. Morton St., North Webster. In addition to the trustee’s office, the building currently houses the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce, North Webster Lions Club and North Webster Area Community Services, which oversees the community’s food pantry. The township took ownership of the building in 1987.

Francis said he has spoken to Emily Worrell at the North Webster Community Center who quoted him an annual price of $15,000 to lease space in that building for both the trustee’s office and the food pantry. This would be an all-inclusive price, including utilities, maintenance and internet. He estimated that the current expenses at the present location are nearly $27,000 annually, including approximately $700-900 paid each month to NIPSCO.

“In the past, the building was what the (North Webster) Community Center is now for the town,” Francis said. “We used to host library programs and SPEC (Senior Primelife Enrichment Center). We don’t have that any more.”

Francis said he has talked to the other residents and current users of the township building and they are “all good with it.” An additional benefit is that the move would allow the NWCC to recoup some of financial resources it lost when the library moved out of the building.

“Rentals (of the township building are down), we had no graduation parties here this year,” he said. “Taxpayers are paying to heat and air condition a building that is empty 90% of the time.”

He added he has had two inquires from local businesses about purchasing the building. Because it is a government building, there are numerous steps that have to be taken in order to sell it, including receiving two appraisals. The building could be sold in one of two ways, either through a real estate agent or by public auction with a minimum reserve price.

The three township advisory board members gave unanimous approval to Francis to pursue appraisals and the other steps necessary to put the building on the market. Francis said he would contact the two people who previously inquired about purchasing the building to gauge their current level of interest.

In other business, Francis informed the board that Brian Likens has sold his equipment used to dig graves at the townships cemeteries. Francis proposed hiring Scott Meadows, who services the cemeteries in Pierceton, to take over the role. It was noted Meadows’s services will come at a higher cost than they had been paying Likens, partially because of the rising cost of fuel and other expenses.

The advisory board approved raising the cost of cemetery plots to $650 each, as well as the price for burial to $650 during the week, $700 on Saturdays and $750 on Sundays and holidays. The township would earmark $100 from each burial to its perpetual fund for various expenses related to the cemeteries.