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Council presses for documents and legal clarity on highway land transfer, BOT project and ARP spending
Summary
Councilors asked for the transfer agreement and accounting tied to a highway Build‑Operate‑Transfer (BOT) project after the auditor said commissioners’ counsel treated the transaction as a non‑sale transfer under Indiana Code 36‑1‑11‑3; council members also requested ARP spending details and a fuller project timeline following a highway superintendent’s presentation.
Washington County Council members spent the bulk of their March 2 meeting seeking documentation and legal clarity about a land transfer tied to a highway Build‑Operate‑Transfer (BOT) project and related ARP expenditures.
Alyssa from the auditor's office told the council the commissioners' attorney had explained that the transaction was structured as a transfer, not a sale, and that they relied on Indiana Code section 36‑1‑11‑3. "Because it was not a sale, it was a transfer," Alyssa said, summarizing the commissioners' counsel's rationale and her reading of the statute as it was presented to the council in April.
Several council members said they had not been included in key meetings and asked for the actual transfer agreement and specific accounting records. Council members raised questions about whether project payments were being handled as change orders or as changes of scope under the BOT structure and whether ARP funds and other payments had been appropriately appropriated and documented.
Highway Superintendent Rick provided a timeline tracing events back to an IDEM notice in September 2021 that said fuel tanks were at the end of their service life. He said the county ordered replacement tanks in June 2022 and that the commissioners approved ARP funding of about $440,000 for the tanks — a sum Rick said included money to remove the old tanks. Rick also told the council he had not been provided with the final BOT agreement and that several elements (he cited six bays on an earlier shop drawing) appeared to be missing from completed work; he asked for questions so he could supply additional records.
Kyra (speaker 10) said the county's attorney had advised it was permissible to pay periodically "as they were done" and that one contractor, Miller Heating and Cooling, had been paid and subsequently credited by Temples. Council member Karen and others said they were concerned about apparent secrecy and possible duplicate payments, and asked Alyssa and the auditor's office to review ARP fund usages and come back with specifics.
The council agreed to request the transfer agreement and other records from the commissioners and to have at least three council members attend future meetings about the project to ensure council representation. Alyssa asked councilors to submit specific questions so she can trace which statutes and appropriations apply and report back.
Next steps: Councilors will provide Alyssa with specific questions about the BOT contract, ARP spending and change orders; the auditor's office will review records and return with findings, and the council will seek a copy of the transfer agreement from the commissioners.
