Commissioners Table the Elimination of Fairgrounds Groundskeeper Position and Discuss Possible "Wheel Tax"
- Nathaniel Smith | Editor-in-Chief
- Aug 21
- 13 min read
Updated: Aug 25
The Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, August 19 turned out to be quite an eventful one. Rumors and comments on Facebook leading up to the meeting ruffled many feathers throughout our community, and it ensured a very unusually populated courtroom with many people eagerly anticipating what would occur. For instance, the elimination of the groundskeeper position at the fairgrounds, currently held by Randy Lee, was certainly a hot topic of the morning.
As per usual, the top of the agenda included the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, and the approval of the agenda, which was followed by public comments. The lineup for public comments included Lucy Brenton and Randy Lee. However, Lee was unable to attend the meeting due to a medical incident involving his wife earlier that morning. So, Brenton read a written statement that had been provided by Lee. The board allowed Brenton to utilize her own three minutes of speaking time as well as Lee’s three minutes.
“Air… water… Those are the two most important things that a human body needs. Air and water,” Brenton began. “And yet, here we sit in a town without clean water. We are literally poisoning the citizens every time they open up their tap. I’d like to remind you all that your skin is the largest organ in your body, and all of those chemicals – when you take your shower, when you take your bath, when you put your precious babies in the bathtub – what’s happening? They’re getting poisoned by the water.
“Now, politicians should have a couple of things,” she continued. “Stepping up into the role of a politician and putting yourself out there as a public servant means that there should be radical honesty, complete transparency, and higher standards. Our egos have to be put aside for the good of the citizens and taxpayers, and there certainly shouldn’t be any retaliation. But I’ve been reading Facebook recently, and what I see is a lot of retaliation on this water issue. Specifically with the Salem water fiasco, the Mayor of Salem claimed that the water was okay. But Randy Lee called the next day to the exact water companies that the mayor claimed were having the exact same issues that we were having here in Salem, and Randy shared with me that during these conversations the other water companies said that they were not having these problems. Randy then got a letter on August 13 saying that his position was going to be eliminated in ten days by the 23rd, and that is one of the things on the agenda today. So, it seems to me that there is a little bit of retaliation there…
“When I spoke with Randy this morning,” continued Brenton. “One of his biggest concerns – now that he’s sitting in the hospital with a wife who passed out and hit her head this morning – is that the elimination of his position actually affects his housing. For those of you who aren’t aware, the Groundskeeper lives on the Fairgrounds property. That means that Randy’s housing situation, as well as his insurance, is at risk… Now, Randy mentioned to me that a consultant has been put forward to replace him, or as an idea to replace him. But, Randy only makes $20,000 per year, and even if you count the small utility advantage that he gets, it’s about $26,000 per year…. I would say that he’s currently undercompensated. I cannot believe that anybody would work for as little money as he’s making. That’s literally $400 per week.”
At this time, the three minute timer set by Attorney April Geltmaker alerted, signaling that Brenton had used her allotted time.
“Okay, so now I can go to Randy’s time?” asked Brenton. “So this is what Randy sent over to me to go ahead and read into the record:
Hi, my name is Randy Lee. I’m the Fairground Attendant and have been ever since 2010. I’ve never been written up or reprimanded for anything or any kind of disciplinary action. On August 13, I received a letter from the Fair Board saying my position would be eliminated as of August 23, and that I would have 60 days to remove all of my personal belongings. I feel this is an unjust and untimely decision made by the Fair Board. As a county employee, I’m curious as to how a non-elected board would have authorities such as this. At this point, I feel there is a more weighing purpose behind this revengeful and tactical decision. Do I feel this is a political move? Absolutely, 100% I do. I know there are certain Fair Board members that don’t like me, and to top it all off, certain authority figures have made me feel insecure in my job. With this coming to a head on March 3, I received a threatening and intimidating phone call from Commissioner Todd Ewen, which led to a state police investigation where two other witnesses, and Mr. Ewen and myself, were interrogated by state police detectives which led to petty intimidation charges. At this time, I feel this is the reasoning behind this latest display of authoritarian tactics. I would like for you all to record this decision, and I believe that Mr. Ewen should be excluded from any decisions pertaining to these topics while these charges are pending.
“And again, those are Randy’s words, not mine,” concluded Brenton. “So, I think it’s really clear that as a county we need to make sure we hold our politicians accountable, and that our politicians come before us with, as I said, radical honesty and complete transparency… I just really hope we can do better as a county. I can’t think of anything more important than clean water. Can you?”
As Lucy Brenton stepped away from the microphone, the gallery began to erupt into applause. The commissioners then proceeded by approving the minutes of the previous meeting and claims and payroll.
“I’m sure this is what everybody is here for: wheel tax discussion,” said Commissioner Phillip Marshall.
“I just passed out some information to the council and commissioners,” began Councilman Mark Abbott. “It’s a breakdown of what the state is doing with this wheel vehicle excise tax. It basically states that a town or municipal wheel tax and vehicle excise tax are local options available to any municipality with a population of 5,000 or above… How this all started was the state has said that if you don’t have this in place, then your Community Crossings grants could possibly go away. Now, what the timeline for that is, we’re not really sure. We made several calls to the state legislators, and it looks like it wouldn’t affect 2026 but could affect 2027 in regard to those Community Crossings grants. It’s a discussion that we needed to have. If this is something that we are going to try to pass, then it would need to be done by September the 1st in order for us to get that into play for 2026.”
“Can we not put it on the ballot in November to be voted on?” asked someone from the gallery.
“Right now, it’s just a discussion,” replied Abbott. “But like I said, they did put a timeline on it. If you want it to kick in by 2026, you have to have it passed by September 1… But right now, this is just to get the information out to the county commissioners.”
“But shouldn’t the people know about this first?” asked someone from the gallery.
“Ma’am, I just want to say that this is not an official public comment period,” interjected April Geltmaker.
“We pay your taxes, so I think that we should be able to talk and have a right to say what we pay for,” the gallery replied.
“I’m just saying we are going to follow regular procedure,” Geltmaker replied. “And if this comes to the point that the council has an ordinance in front of it where it is going to actually take a vote – which no vote is happening today – then I believe it is their intent to take public comment. But right now, we’re not going to let people just shout out during the meetings. We are going to follow normal procedures and let the council and commissioners have their discussion. When it is time for public comment, we’ll let everyone know.”
The council then invited Rick Voyles to approach the stand to shed light on the situation.
“Some of the terminology gets confusing,” Voyles began. “We deal with Community Crossings and have for several years… The state will be coming out with a new grant in 2027. It’s “Lane Mile Direct Distribution” referred to as LMDD. That won’t affect our Community Crossings. They’re very similar and related, but our eligibility for Community Crossings won’t change and won’t for the foreseeable future – at least through 2029. This LMDD does require you to have a wheel tax to be eligible. But one thing to keep in mind when trying to get that grant is that you have a $1 million cap regardless of which grants you go for. Community Crossings maximum is $1 million, and LMDD’s maximum is $1 million. You can’t get $1 million from both.
“So, if we go like we have been for the last seven or eight years and get $1 million from Community Crossings – which you do not have to have a wheel tax for – then the LMDD would be useless to us,” Voyles continued. “So, there is still a way for us to get a $1 million grant without having a wheel tax… If we decide to have a wheel tax, then we’ll have a wheel tax. But I just want it to be for the right reason and for everyone to understand why we have it. But it’s not to qualify for Community Crossings.”
“Can I ask something?” asked a man from the gallery. “You’re taxing all vehicles, how about the Amish buggies? They tear up the road more than a vehicle does.”
“I don’t disagree with you, but we’re not to that point yet,” replied Mark Abbott. “We’re not to the point where we are ready to do anything at all. This is not something we’re voting on today… It wasn’t our intent to come here this morning and pass a wheel tax. That’s the last thing we want to do. But, we also want to make sure that we have good roads. With Rick’s help we have been able to secure Community Crossings grants over the years, and it has really helped us out here in Washington County with the miles of roads that we have.”
“I don’t want anybody to get the impression that anybody wants to raise taxes,” remarked Commissioner Todd Ewen. “I think we’re taxed to death the way it is. The state gives with one hand, and then they take with the other. It seems they are putting a lot of this burden back on the counties so their bottom line looks better. There’s really nothing we can do about that except complain to our state legislators. I would like to take the liberty of answering this gentleman’s question regarding the horse-drawn vehicle fees. Currently, they are $67.50 per year.”
“Yeah, but half of them ain’t putting no tags on their buggies, and half of them have five or six buggies and just switch the tags from one buggy to another,” replied the man from the gallery.
“That could very well happen, but that comes down to enforcement. So, I’m not going to get into that,” said Commissioner Ewen.
“For anyone out there who wants to know the house bill that the wheel tax stuff is being discussed in, it is House Bill 1461.08,” added Councilwoman Karen Wischmeier. “I encourage you to read it. It’s boring, but it’s informative.”
The bill can be found by visiting this link: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/house/1461/details
The meeting then pivoted to the next item on the agenda: the elimination of the groundskeeper position, currently held by Randy Lee, for the fairgrounds.
“I just want to clarify and point out that the county is allowed to hire a groundskeeper to assist at the fairgrounds, but the Fair Board ultimately has control over the groundskeeper’s daily activities and decisions regarding its employment. Including retention, up to and including termination,” said Geltmaker.
“So, my understanding is we’re going to change the structure, am I understanding that right?” asked Commissioner Marshall. “Subcontracted help?”
“Yes, that’s the intention,” replied Commissioner Ewen. “Nobody likes it when a position is eliminated. It’s basically their decision, and we have to honor that decision. Everyone on the Fair Board works very hard to maintain the fairgrounds. They are not compensated in any way, shape or form, and it’s getting harder and harder to find people to serve. So, this is their decision, and we have to honor their wishes. Based on that, I’ll make a motion to eliminate the groundskeeper position.”
“Who is going to pay the difference?” asked Commissioner Tony Cardwell. “Is there a difference between what we pay the groundskeeper now versus subbing it out?”
“We stand to save close to $10,000,” said Ewen.
“Where did those numbers come from?” Cardwell inquired. “I’ve never seen any numbers or anything. If we’re going to foot the bill, then I think we need to more thoroughly investigate it.”
“The mowing aspect is probably going to cost the county $20,000 per year,” Ewen responded. “That’s mowing, weed-eating, and spraying.”
“Well, I think before we decide this, we need some hard numbers,” Cardwell said.
“You’re not going to get the ground maintenance for that place for $20,000 per year,” added a man from the gallery. “I mean seriously, I used to run a lawncare business. There’s no way for $20,000 per year to take care of that property.”
“I own a landscaping company, I wouldn’t do it,” added another. “Sounds to me like retaliation against Randy.”
The gallery then grew louder with comments such as, “postpone the voting” which prompted Geltmaker to once again say, “This is not a time for public comment.”
“I’ll second that motion to subcontract it out,” Marshall said.
His second was met with uproar and laughs from the gallery.
“So, now that it’s moved to a second, we can properly discuss it,” said Cardwell.
“Can the council ask a question?” asked Councilwoman Wischmeier. “Have we got quotes from new contractors? Has the Fair Board turned that over?”
“Verbal,” responded Ewen.
Once again, this reply was met with audible groans and laughs from the gallery.
“Rick, clarification: did the county not have to go over and mow and spray this year?” asked Marshall.
“We’re limited on what we can do, but we do go over there before the fair and knock out the big stuff,” answered Rick Voyles.
“But it’s been getting harder and harder every year to put on the fair,” Marshall stated. “And this year, we had another thing with the state fire marshal coming in. A lot of stuff that had not been corrected over the years had to be made up so we could put the fair on. Now that being said, I do have to agree. I think subcontracting it out could come out cheaper for us than trying to do what they’re doing.”
“Just lining somebody’s pocket,” laughed a man from the gallery.
“Since we’re not spending any extra money,” began Councilman Brad Gilbert.” My question is since this is a county position and was funded by the last council last year, why does this position need to be eliminated now as opposed to at the end of the year when the funding runs out?”
“To give Mr. Lee plenty of time before winter to remove his personal items is what the Fair Board stated,” replied Ewen.
“I’ll piggyback off of what Brad said,” said Wischmeier. “I guess I’m confused too because if we have budget hearings next week – and let’s say that we’re presented with contracts showing us how much it is going to cost us – and we as a council decide to eliminate that position, wouldn’t he still have ample time to move if they decide not to fund it next year? I mean, we’re meeting tomorrow for budget hearings for next year’s budget. That would give them time to bring us quotes so we can see if it is going to be cheaper or not.”
“We already know it will be cheaper,” Ewen stated.
The gallery again erupted at this, with comments like, “How do you know?” and “That’s just your word!”
“I’m going to pull a Todd and make a motion to table this for the next meeting so we can do an investigation on it,” said Cardwell. “You guys table stuff all the time on me.”
“There is a motion on the floor. Can’t have two motions on the floor at the same time,” said Ewen.
“Phillip, can you take back your first motion and then table it?” asked someone in the gallery.
“I will table it. Just to appease everybody else,” Marshall said. “Wherever we can save money, I am out to do it. And to be honest with you, I don’t feel like you’ll probably get the satisfaction of the work to be completed, and I think we will be throwing this money away if we wait until the end of the year. Like Todd said, he will have time to get his facilities straightened out. I do have a few questions myself regarding how they [the Fair Board] plan on doing this.”
“Now, am I going to pay somebody to do something that I don’t feel will get done?” continued Marshall. “This year, and back when Rick Roberts was a commissioner, he jumped me quite a few times saying that the grounds weren’t being addressed. Spray was not being done, and mowing and weed-eating wasn’t being done. I’m all in favor of paying somebody to do a job, and I’m not going to get into personnel matters, but we are here to conserve and save money. We haven’t tried to hide like everybody goes on about. We just discussed water, which is not our business. That’s city business. In this case, there are other things that have to be done. I haven’t seen the reports from the Fair Board. I don’t know who is going to maintain the buildings, I don’t know what their plan is… I will table it for another month to get some further discussion of what is being done.”
Following Marshall’s comments, the commissioners voted to table the subject for further discussion. Cardwell and Marshall voted in favor of tabling, and Ewen opposed.
“I’d like to hear who you got the bids from,” commented one man from the gallery.
“Is there an RFP (request for proposal) and bid notice?” asked another.
“We’ll have to see what we got here,” replied Marshall.
“You said you already had bids!” exclaimed one man as the gallery erupted for the final time in the meeting.
“This isn’t about the money, this is about Randy’s job!” stated another individual.
With no response to the commotion, the commissioners moved on to various project updates courtesy of Rick Voyles and Paul Eckart. The meeting then promptly came to a close as the commissioners made a motion to adjourn. Following the meeting the Washington County Times spoke with Commissioner Ewen, and he stated that Randy Lee’s salary comes out to $48,733. He said that the $20,000 that was stated in the meeting was inaccurate information.
The August 19 Board of Commissioners meeting was one of the most contentious in recent memory, drawing a packed courtroom and sparking heated debate over both the proposed wheel tax and the elimination of the fairgrounds groundskeeper position. While no final decision was made on either issue, the commissioners ultimately voted to table the matter of the groundskeeper for further review.
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