Wayne Bailey, an engineer with Commonwealth Engineers out of Indianapolis, approached the Ripley County Commissioners at their regular meeting on Monday, July 17. Bailey attended the meeting, along with Roger Lang of Sunman, in an informational capacity regarding the proposed Sunman regional sewer district project.

Bailey informed commissioners, Robert Reiners and Chuck Folz (Lawrence Nickell was not present) and Attorney Neil Comer, that the original boundaries of the project included a sliver of Dearborn County. Those boundaries have now been narrowed to run from I-74 west to 600 and east to the county line.

Bailey commented that the I-74 corridor included in the proposal has not been commercially developed due to a lack of infrastructure that the sewer district would enhance.

He also reported that at the June 28 meeting of the Rising Sun Regional Foundation, a $35,000 grant was approved to fund the engineering feasibility report. There is an advisory committee in place working on putting the petition to IDEM together.

Principal players in this project have come before the commissioners previously requesting that they take the lead in advocating for the petition with IDEM. Bailey stated, “The potential is county-wide. Your support is critical,” adding, “We hope you’ll give strong consideration to being the lead.” Commissioners’ president, Robert Reiners pointed out that the town of Sunman or the township trustee could legally represent the district and were a logical choice. Reiners stressed that the commissioners are not opposed to the project, but wants to ensure that it gets support from the proper agencies.

Reiners asked, “What kind of a burden are we going to put on the landowners?” He warned that this kind of project could turn into a nightmare, recalling the volatile situations that have occurred in other counties. Bailey responded that the key to success with a sewer project lies in the population density in the area. Reiners reminded him that much of the area shown on the sewer district map is very rural with homes spaced widely apart. Reiners reiterated, “My concern is what the cost of it is to the people.” Bailey replied that the smallest scenario possible would encompass only the 126 acres of commercially viable land.

Attorney Neil Comer asked that if the commissioners agreed to take the lead they would have knowledge of project details prior to submission of the petition. Comer queried, “Is this one of those things that if you get it started, is it hard to stop?” Bailey said that they would be kept informed, that the feasibility study will contain alternatives, and assured that, if at any point, the commissioners decided the project was not moving in the right direction, and would not benefit the people in the area, “Their thumb is on the button every step of the way. We won’t get to the end and there be surprises for anybody.”

Bailey summarized by saying, “It positions us for economic development and community development for new industry making property values increase and stabilize.”

Commissioners Reiners and Folz thanked Bailey for coming in. Folz offered, “This is just one step in a long process.”

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