Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Declaration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Warrick County declares local disaster emergency and closes several parks after chemical fire
Summary
Commissioners’ president Sarah Seton read a local disaster emergency proclamation under Indiana law and announced immediate closures of Van Park and Amex Fields while the EPA and partner agencies assess conditions.
Warrick County President of the Board of Commissioners Sarah Seton declared a local disaster emergency Sept. 8 after a significant chemical fire and announced immediate closures of Van Park and Amex Fields, including baseball, softball and pickleball courts.
Seton read the emergency proclamation into the record and cited the county’s emergency powers under Indiana law. She said the Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring conditions and developing a response plan and that the closures are effective immediately until further notice to protect public safety.
The proclamation invokes provisions of Indiana Code cited in the reading, including IC 10-14-3-29 and related sections governing local disaster emergencies, travel advisories and the designation of emergency management workers. The text read to the record directs public officers and employees to limit travel to that essential to public safety and emergency duties and authorizes the activation of county disaster response and recovery plans.
Seton said the declaration will be filed with the county clerk and publicized, as required by statute, and noted the legal limit that a local disaster emergency cannot be continued beyond seven days without the consent of the governing body.
The commissioners did not record a separate roll-call vote in the transcript at the time the proclamation was read; Seton presented the declaration as the president of the board and entered it into the record.
