New Harmony Town Board takes aim at unsafe property

By Lois Mittino Gray

Members of the New Harmony Town Council addressed the issue of two unsafe properties whose owners have still not responded to letters warning of fines sent to them by the Town Clerk on May 22, 2026. Councilors approved the dates the fines will begin and established a three-person Unsafe Building Hearing Authority at their August 18, monthly meeting.

Certified letters went out to three properties enforcing the town’s new ordinance abolishing unsightly homes. Owners were given sixty days to clean up cited problem areas or be fined. Fines are $100 per day, up to a $2500 maximum. Two did not respond at all in the given time. “I drafted a letter to these two people telling them when their fines will start. The Kevin Reed property at 818 East Street will begin fines on August 29. The Jason Woods property at 1112 Lynnwood in the Woodlawn area will start on September 8,” said Councilman Rod Clark, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Town Council President Jeff Smotherman.

Councilman Tom Williams thanked the owners of the third property who received the notice in May about their old car wash at 908 Church Street. “They handled it quickly and beautifully,” he said. “I thank them very much.”

“At some point we need to plan on how to file a lien on these properties At what point do we declare them abandoned? If these owners continue to thumb their nose and ignore us, we can take action. It’s all in Indiana code to do it. We can petition our hearing authority to make that decision,” explained Clark. “The owners had ten days to ask for a hearing. No one asked. Attorney Nathan Maudlin will draft letter for the clerk to send. They can accrue more fines up to $1000 for 90 days. Then we can go through the process of selling it like a tax sale.”

Williams asked how to handle the mortgage and bank concerns if the property is to be sold. “We will need to have someone go to the courthouse and find all the mortgage holder records and contact them,” Clark said. Council members unanimously voted to create the Hearing Authority consisting of Annette Buckland, John Foley, and Matt Rebeck.

Councilman Clark also raised the question, “Should fluoridation continue in New Harmony? Most of the area cities have done away with it, such as Poseyville and Mount Vernon. Fluoride is now so prevalent in toothpastes and products.” He said it costs the town $900.00 annually to put it in the water. A vote may be taken later on, but for now he wanted to inform the public and asked for feedback from residents. He said to think about it as it is an expense “we probably don’t need.”

Clark said the pavement collapse near the Working Men’s Institute has taken a long time. Three other pipes are involved, and it will require a measured custom-made manhole that just now came in to repair it. He noted the other side of the street is not draining well either. “We’re wanting to look at it with the camera and two or three other water breaks in last few weeks.” It is hard to work on the breaks with just the mini-excavator.

Councilman Clark said they will be required to do a Lead Pipe Survey in 2027. “We need to check ten percent of all lines and dig up the road in parts, too” he said. “It is going to be a big deal. We are looking at doing one per block. If it is galvanized, we have to get rid of it. If galvanized pipe sits for a long time, it has lead in it,” he stated. Clark assured that every time a water line breaks now, they will test it for lead while they are repairing it in anticipation of the requirement.

Councilors voted to renew the town’s property and casualty policy due on August 26. With an added cybersecurity policy, it will cost an extra $3800.00 for a total $65,754.00. Tom Williams was reticent to vote for it since he was not happy with how the EMC company handled the town’s claim on the Boy Scout Cabin damage. He was hoping to shop for companies before the renewal is due, but realizes there is little time to shop. “I don’t know if it is a good deal,” he remarked. He did concur with the unanimous decision but thought next year it would be a big project, but they should shop. He thanked Tim and Leanne Wiley for paying reimbursement to the town for the $15,000.00 paid for damages incurred at the Boy Scout Cabin.

In other Council action:

--Street Chairman Connie Weinzapfel said she will have to call the guy she found who takes care of skunk problems after all.

--Lochmueller Engineering is working on maps of pipes. It is a problem as some are too close to the surface.

-- Three attended the county meeting to discuss fire protection for the county. Some areas depend solely on volunteers and response time can be twenty minutes. It may cost from $30 to $80 more per household in New Harmony. “It will cost more money, but we want fire protection,” Weinzapfel declared. Councilman Clark added, “We have no fire tax here or fire hydrant charge so this may be new for us.”

--Town Council members were named to a Wellhead Protection Committee as required to meet once a year so the town will be in compliance.

--Town Clerk Anne Huselemann Brought in plans for remodeling the office to look at.

--There will be a meeting on September 11 to possibly change gas suppliers.

--During Open Forum, Diane Sanders discussed plans on where to launch and watch for the September 5, “Lights of Liberty” drone show with flooding of the trails a possibility.