Ordinance 3742 establishes rental fees for the enclosed shelter houses in Baker and Osborne parks. The ordinance establishes a rental fee for New Castle residents of $35 and a $50 fee for non-residents. The ordinance stipulates that 100 percent of all fees generated by the rental of shelters shall be deposited in a non-reverting fund.

Ordinance 3741 establishes a cumulative non-reverting fund. This fund will be used by the city to temporarily hold money received from park fundraisers or donations until such time as the clerk-treasurer deposits the money in a recently-created fund at the Henry County Community Foundation.

Mayor Greg York previously stated that by creating this non-reverting fund, the city ensures that 100 percent of the money from fundraisers or donations remains available for park use; otherwise, only 20 percent of the monies would be available for park use and the remaining 80 percent would be placed in the city’s general fund.

Ordinance 3743 establishes rental fees for the old armory, which the city owns and plans to convert into a community center, and creates a cumulative non-reverting fund in which those fees will be placed in order to provide for future operation and maintenance of the facility.

The fees were set at $100 monthly for basement and second floor office space; $200 monthly per office for main floor office space; $200 per day for banquet parties (renter does set up and break down); $250 per day for banquet parties (city does set up and break down); and $500 per day rental for shows and booth events.

Charitable and not-for-profit organizations may rent the facility free of charge provided these organizations do not interfere with existing rentals, provide a damage deposit in an amount to be determined by the Board of Public Works and Safety based upon the nature of the use, and provide the Board of Works with proof of their not-for-profit or charitable status.

Council member Jerry Walden noted he and Mayor Greg York recently toured the armory and said moving forward with renovating it for use as a community center makes sense.

“The building itself is in fantastic shape and I’m pretty excited about it being put to use again, especially after hearing what (Mayor York) envisions it being turned in to,” Walden said.

“I’ve had a lot of people on Facebook who think this is a silly idea, but I feel it’s better to do something with it than for it to just keep costing the city money,” council member Mary Pierce-Abbott said.

Council member Aaron Dicken said he also recently visited the former armory and voiced his support for moving forward with putting it back into use.

“It’s exciting to think about the breath of life that building will get. I think for too long we’ve been a little short-sighted in this community and this is something that could impact our kids and our grandkids,” Dicken said.

“We continually hear from people who are upset that buildings can’t be saved or haven’t been saved. Anybody who has ever walked through the Hoosier Antiques building (in the 1400 block of Broad Street), it’s a dilapidated mess and there are people who think that should be saved. On the other hand, there are some people who think what we’re doing with the armory is crazy, but what we’re doing with the armory is basically going to get it to the point where it’s not going to ever going to be like (the Hoosier Antiques building), so that’s a pretty good thing,” council member Rex Peckinpaugh said.

When asked when the former armory would be ready for public use, Mayor York said before it’s ready to rent, the building needs to be made handicap accessible and the heating and air-conditioning systems need to be replaced. The interior also needs to be repainted.

The mayor pointed out that there has been some concern expressed via letters to the editor published in The Courier-Times about the presence of lead and asbestos in the former armory. He said the facility has been tested for both and neither creates a hurdle that can’t be cleared.

“We’ve already done all that testing, we did that first,” he said, adding that contamination levels were minimal and would be addressed during the renovation process.

The mayor also thanked Vectren, Duke Energy and REMC for financial support from their foundations that will defray the cost of making the building more energy efficient.