Commissioners Meeting: Temple Clashes with Commissioners, Hardinsburg Dissolution Reversed
- Nathaniel Smith | Editor-in-Chief
- Jun 19
- 5 min read
The Washington County Board of Commissioners held their regular meeting this past Tuesday, June 17, following the special meeting last week regarding the reversal of the controversial paving contract that was originally awarded to Temple & Temple. During that meeting, the contract was awarded to Harrison County-based company C&R Construction.
The meeting began with an approval of the agenda, followed by public comments, and things began to get heated when Ken Temple, of Temple & Temple, stepped up to speak.
“I’m coming to you as Ken Temple, and not Temple & Temple,” began Ken Temple. “I’m doing this in a personal manner, and I think it’s that important that I don’t want the company to be involved. So, we’re going to start out with Tony [Cardwell]. Tony, you were at the Republican dinner soliciting for C&R, am I correct?”
“No,” responded Cardwell.
“Then why did you try to introduce them to the county officials?” asked Temple.
“You’ve been introduced to myself, have you not?” replied Cardwell.
“Do you work for Harrison County?” asked Temple.
“Yes, as a carpenter,” Cardwell said.
“So, bringing $2 million worth of economic development back to Harrison County, where you work, would put quite a feather in your hat, wouldn’t it?” Temple asked.
“Nope,” Cardwell replied.
“It wouldn’t? Wow, that’s amazing,” Temple remarked. “I think you should have abstained from voting with your connections in Harrison County. I’ve never seen anybody be so upset as when we [Temple & Temple] got the bid the first time. You were extremely upset, and all of this seems very mysterious to me… So, we changed the bid after C&R sued all of us. I noticed you weren't there in the suit, which was kind of strange… The letter that we got from the state was just really mysterious, and all of this is just not adding up. So, my question is, who approached the state about writing the letter? She didn’t wake up one morning and decide to write a letter. Who was behind the letter that was really written in response to somebody’s request? We’ve been busy defending ourselves because of all of the social media and all the horrible things that were said that are untrue, unwarranted, and probably create liability. So, to cure this-”
“Timestamp three minutes,” interrupted Lucy Brenton from the gallery (public comments are limited to a maximum of three minutes).
“Okay, do we need a special meeting like we had last week?” asked Temple.
“I know you got ten minutes last time, and you’re not special,” Brenton remarked. “If I only get three minutes, you only get three minutes.”
“Okay, can we set a special meeting then? We had one last week, can we set another to be able to go through all this?” said Temple. Turning to Brenton, he continued by saying, “I am so glad you don’t want to hear the truth and you don’t want to hear the facts.”
“These meetings are livestreamed and recorded,” Brenton replied. “The state is responsible for listening to these.”
“Are you running the meeting?” remarked Temple.
“No, I’ve just got a big mouth,” said Brenton.
“So, to cure this-” started Temple again.
“There is no more additional time for your comment,” interjected Attorney April Geltmaker.
“So can we have a special meeting since we had one last week for C&R?” asked Temple. “Because, there is a lot of stuff here that you need to know. The facts that have not come out.”
“I bet the Washington County Times would publish it for you,” said Brenton.
“Let me get back to you again,” concluded Temple. “I think everybody would be very interested in the rest of this.”
Moving on in the meeting, the commissioners approved the minutes from the previous meeting (June 3, not the special meeting held on June 10). Then, after approval of claims and payroll, the commissioners moved further down the agenda regarding a resolution authorizing Commissioner Marshall to execute all necessary documents regarding the INDOT-LPA contract.
“INDOT has requested a resolution on authorizing a commissioner to execute documents on behalf of the commissioners for their contracts,” said Geltmaker. “This is a resolution that is usually done every couple of years to update their records. The commissioners would need to appoint a commissioner to execute the documents with respect to INDOTs paperwork. It is requested that Phillip Marshall be appointed by Washington County Commissioners to execute documents on behalf of the commissioners as it relates to INDOTs contracts.”
After very brief discussion between the commissioners, Commissioner Todd Ewen made the motion to approve this appointment, and Commissioner Tony Cardwell seconded.
The following item on the agenda was in regard to rescinding the ordinances that aimed to dissolve the town of Hardinsburg.
“I make a motion to rescind the Ordinances 2022-8, 2022-10, and 2022-11,” Cardwell said.
“Tony’s made a motion, is there a second?” asked Marshall. After a long silence, Marshall then said, “I’ll second it. All in favor, say ‘aye.’”
“Aye,” said Cardwell and Marshall.
“Opposed?” asked Marshall.
“Nay,” said Ewen.
With that, the motion passed with Ewen being the only one in opposition.
“One of my main concerns of the town not being incorporated would be the loss of the property,” said Cardwell after the meeting. “Now, it can be preserved for the enjoyment of the future generations to come. I just feel as though putting Hardinsburg back was long overdue.”
The final item on the agenda dealt with a construction bid sent by Temple & Temple regarding rehabilitation for South Main Street bridge 238.
“We received one bid from Temple & Temple: South Main Street Bridge 238, sidewalk concrete curve and bridge deck rehabilitation for the amount of $88,340.00. The board will vote to accept this for review,” said Geltmaker.
“I’ll make the motion to accept for review,” Cardwell announced.
“I’ll second,” said Ewen.
The motion for review then passed.
After some brief updates from Paul Eckart and Rick Voyles regarding a highway project and regular bridge inspection, the meeting was adjourned.
The June 17 meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners was marked by continued tensions over the reversal of the paving contract originally awarded to Temple & Temple, now reassigned to C&R Construction. Things started to become tense, with Ken Temple openly challenging the integrity of this decision and raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Despite the contentious exchange, the commissioners proceeded with their agenda, approving a resolution related to INDOT-LPA contracts, rescinding ordinances aimed at dissolving Hardinsburg, and accepting a new bridge repair bid from Temple & Temple for review. Although the meeting addressed a range of county business, the lingering controversy surrounding the paving contract suggests the matter is far from settled in the eyes of some in the community.
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