A developer’s plans to build a Dollar General store at the southwest corner of South State Road 47 and C.R. 600S came to an end Monday.
Montgomery County Commissioners voted 3-0 to deny a request by Missouri-based Overland Group to rezone the 2 1/2-acre parcel of land from agriculture to commercial. Property records show the farm ground is owned by Mitchell Land LLC.
Six residents spoke against the rezone request during a public hearing before the commissioners. They cited safety and traffic concerns as well as the county’s comprehensive plan that calls for “protecting and enhancing” land-based natural resources, including “prime farm ground.”
Mary Lou Rewerts, who lives directly across from the proposed site, delivered signed petitions opposing the rezone to the board.
“I do not want to see any commercial there,” she told commissioners.
Amanda England, who also lives in the area, said she and her family would like to see the area remain zoned agriculture.
“The rural character is the exact reason why my family moved to this county,” she said. “We intentionally purchased our property away from commercial conveniences and services. We choose to live in an area surrounded by agriculture. This is the appeal of the area, having any commercial building or business in this location will ruin the rural character and drive our property values down.”
Her family purchased their property with a vision for agri-tourism.
“We bought this property with the goal of having an alpaca farm for people to come and visit and we are now potentially facing the fact that we may be saying ‘come and visit our farm, right across from the Dollar General,’” she said.
Other nearby residents spoke, including former New Market Community Volunteer Fire Chief Tracy Budd.
He said the intersection has been the sight of many crashes, and he worries that development there could create more.
“We’re not against Dollar General, we are against the location of Dollar General,” he said. “It’s got nothing to with the retail store, the landowners, nothing whatsoever, it’s purely the location of this project. We live in the country for a reason and where would most of us be without agriculture.”
The Montgomery County Plan Commission gave an unfavorable recommendation to rezoning the land in November 2021. They recommended commissioners reject the rezoning request based on drainage issues and the overall character of the area.
A representative from Overland was not present.
In other business, commissioners:
• Elected John Frey as board president and Jim Fulwider as vice president for 2022.
• Approved contracts for the treasurer’s office with Invoice Cloud for online payments, American Financial Credit Services for collections, GovTech Services for escrow amounts and Master’s Touch for tax statements. Fees are up slightly over last year by $660.
• Approved the following appointments or reappointments: Randy Denhart to the Plan Commission to replace Tommy Myers; Seth Howard to the Board of Zoning Appeals; David Rhoads to the Drainage Board; Rauol Moore and Alan Clouser to the Sugar Creek Advisory Board; Carolyn Snyder and Brian Keim to the Health Board; Rex Ryker to the Redevelopment Commission to replace Howard Rippy; and Tom McCarty to the Jail Facility Building Corp. to replace Russ Ruby.
• Approved an on-call contract with USI Consultants Inc., Indianapolis, for a pavement condition assessment on Constitution Row in the amount of up to $7,000.
• Approved a contract with RQAW to develop a preliminary designand cost estimate for the extension of Purple Heart Parkway from U.S. 231 to Ladoga Road. Payment for the contract will com from the Cumulative Capital Development fund.
• Accepted a quote of $277,000 from Conexco of Brazil, Indiana to remove and install pre-purchased culvert components on C.R. 700N between U.S. 231 and C.R. 100E. Highway director Jake Lough will use this project as a training exercise for the culvert crew in order to perform similar type projects in the future. The company has until September to complete the project. Once work is initiated, the company has 30 days to finish.
Commissioners rejected a second quote of $286,000 from Conexco to remove an existing culvert and install pre-purchased culvert components on C.R. 950S between C.R. 750W and C.R. 625W. County crews will do the work in the future.
