By Jason Michael White, Daily Jounal of Johnson County staff writer
Center Grove area residents will learn how their property taxes and services such as street maintenance will change if the township merges with Greenwood.
The White River Township Advisory Board voted 2 to 1 on Monday to approve studying a merger with the city, and the board delayed making a decision about studying a partial merger with Bargersville.
Board member John Ebert voted against the study with Greenwood because it didn't call for any participation from Bargersville, he said. He wanted the town involved with a study of the entire Center Grove area.
But Bargersville isn't interested in studying the entire Center Grove area along with Greenwood, board member Mark Messick said. The town's proposal called for a merger between the town and White River Township south of Stones Crossing Road and says nothing about the area north of Stones Crossing Road.
A study group should develop a comprehensive plan for the entire township, which is what Greenwood proposed, Messick said.
A joint study committee among Greenwood, Bargersville and the township would be awkward because of an ongoing lawsuit between the city and town for land they both want to annex, Bargersville Town Council member Lee "Mike" Kehl said.
About half the audience of 50 people left the meeting after the board made its decision to study a merger with Greenwood.
At least seven people said Bargersville and Greenwood both should be involved with a study for the entire township area, most of which is unincorporated, meaning not part of a city or town.
Center Grove area residents get most of their services, such as street maintenance and police protection, from the county and pay county property taxes.
Property owners still would have to pay the taxes they pay now if the Center Grove area merged with another community. But they also would pay an additional city or town property tax, and the city or town would provide most services instead of the county.
What's unclear is the cost and property tax impact of providing those services, which is part of what a study committee would find out.
The study should include options, such as merging with Greenwood or Bargersville or splitting between the city and town, Center Grove area resident Jody Veldkamp said.
"Moving forward with the most options we have is the best thing for us," Veldkamp said. "Let's investigate both options. Each entity can make the case they may be the best. Let's form a committee that investigates both Bargersville and Greenwood."
Center Grove area resident Michael Cheerva suggested including Bargersville in a comprehensive plan for the entire township instead of approving the town's proposal and Greenwood's proposal separately.
In the end, he would want the township to merge with either the city or town, and a study committee could find out which option was better for residents in terms of property taxes and services such as police and street maintenance, he said.
"We have always felt we were Center Grove," Cheerva said. "We need one plan that keeps all of Center Grove together."
Board member Joe Acker said Greenwood's plan is the only option that's been presented that studies the entire township, which is why he supported it. The town's plan is partial and ignores half of the township, he said.
Studying a merger with Greenwood seemed like the only remaining option, Acker said. No one in the community has organized to study the possibility of the Center Grove area incorporating as a town or city. And most Center Grove area residents seem to want something done, such as a merger, instead of staying unincorporated, he said.
The township board plans to consider a separate study with Bargersville at a Dec. 17 township meeting, Messick said.
State law doesn't say the township can have two different studies going on at the same time, but the law doesn't prohibit it, either. The Department of Local Government Finance has advised the township to consult with an attorney.
Kehl said he was disappointed that the township delayed making a decision about Bargersville's plan, regardless of the status of a study with Greenwood.
The township's decision Monday followed more than a year of discussion about the future of the Center Grove area.
Discussions were prompted by an Indiana University study that showed that Greenwood and Bargersville would surround unincorporated areas of White River Township and collect property taxes from businesses along the township's major corridors. The communities would not be responsible for providing services for residents in the unincorporated area.
As a result, property values would drop, roads would deteriorate and no leadership would exist to plan for the future of the township and its residents, according to the study. White River Township residents would lose their ability to control growth, according to the study.