Commissioners Again Table "Illegal" Planning Commission Membership Accusations
- Nathaniel Smith | Editor-in-Chief
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
On the morning of April 1 at 9:00 AM, the public gathered at the Salem Courthouse to attend this morning’s Washington County Commissioners Meeting. Items on the agenda included public comments from William Saylen and Gregory Letzeisen regarding a stop work order and permission to utilize a Porta-Potty during the Farmer’s Market. In addition, however, was the infamous discussion regarding the legality of the Planning Commission. I attended the meeting and also obtained exclusive comments from both Commissioners Ewen and Cardwell.
The meeting began like most others: the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a word of prayer was spoken. Then came time to discuss the hot topic. Two community members came forward to make comments regarding the Planning Commission. The first being Washington County Democratic Party Chairperson Aiden Minton, followed by Libertarian Lucy Brenton.
Aiden began by introducing himself to the commissioners and stated his reasoning for being in attendance this morning.
“I’ve had several concerned citizens come to me regarding the Plan Commission, and I would just like to speak on behalf of the party if I may,” said Minton. “As you know, the Planning Commission may have five members with no more than three representing the same political party. There have been questions raised regarding individuals being identified as the Democrats on the commission and whether these appointments would align with the requirements outlined in Indiana Code. I would like to just say, as far as I’m aware, there are two ways to establish party affiliation: either voting in the two most recent primary elections in Indiana where the individual casts a ballot for the party they claim to be, or certification by the chairperson of the county party confirming the individual’s affiliation. I believe it is essential that these statutory guidelines are followed to maintain the integrity of local government in regard to the Planning Commission. As you consider reappointments to the commission, and as county chairperson, I would be happy to work with you to make sure that if someone is being identified as a member of the Democratic Party, state law is followed. Doing so would help preserve the public trust and uphold principles established by state law.”
District 2 Commissioner Todd Ewen responded by saying, “I would be interested in that. Could you provide me with a list of maybe… I don’t care, two, three, or a dozen people who would be interested in serving their community on the Planning Commission in your party? Hopefully qualified people who might have some knowledge of property, know the ways of the world and have experience dealing with land issues and things like that. That would be great. Either send that to the auditor or just drop it off here at the auditor’s office, and we’ll be more than happy to take a look at the list,” concluded Ewen.
Lucy Brenton followed Aiden as a speaker on the agenda, and she herself is interested in joining the commission.
“Good morning, I’m so happy to be here," she began. "So, I would like to start out by reading something that Adam Dufour posted on Facebook, which I think is absolutely phenomenal. He said:
A critical decision is on the table for the Washington County Board of Commissioners, and you have the option to do one of two things. Option one is to reappoint all the same people that were on the Planning Commission before, provided they are eligible for reappointment. Option two is to take this golden opportunity of the Planning Commission being mostly vacant, and use it to put together a Planning Commission membership that will not only restore public trust, but will also be committed and capable of doing the work that needs to be done. Option one would be an endless cycle of distrust, scrutiny, confrontation and public outcry. After the total debacle with the recent proposed zoning ordinance and the chaos that ensued, the vast majority of people in Washington County are not likely ever going to trust or have confidence in those members.
"Option two of course is to move forward with people who are eligible and legal for the Planning Commission. I say there is a third option," she continued.
"The third option is to restore freedom; the freedom over the property that people buy. Put freedom back into the hands of individual property owners so they don’t have to worry about this sort of thing again. Now, I realize that’s probably too much to ask for…" she said. "The most that I can hope for out of this debacle is that we would simply be left alone as property owners… Aiden mentioned putting somebody on the commission from the Democrat Party, but there are more parties in this world. I’m a Libertarian, and I would like to submit myself as someone who should be on this commission. I’ve been a mortgage broker since 1996, I ran the largest real estate investing association in Indiana – I was on the board – for nearly 10 years and we had 350 members when I left. I’ve dealt with a lot of planning and zoning commissions, so I would like to submit myself for this position.”
The commissioners then moved on to approve the minutes from the March 18 Commissioners Meeting, which included the accusations of illegal membership.
“I believe that [proposed resolution of the Planning Commission] was the motion that was tabled at the last meeting,” said Ewen. “And our attorneys were going to investigate that, but April and Lisa had been on vacation last week, and naturally, when we’re accused of doing something illegal it’s up to our attorneys – that’s why we pay them – to make sure that if there is something that is in error that it’s corrected. So, I’ll make a motion to table that again until we hear from Lisa Fleming, our attorney for the Planning Commission, and April, our attorney for the commissioners.”
The motion passed despite Commissioner Tony Cardwell voting against it.
The meeting concluded with updates from the Highway Department and related projects by Rick Voyles and Paul Eckart and was promptly adjourned.
Following the meeting, I was able to speak with Commissioners Ewen and Cardwell on their opinions regarding the Planning Commission.
“This needs to be taken care of,” said Commissioner Cardwell. “I believe new members need to be appointed, and I was very surprised that the issue got tabled once again. I was not expecting it, and as you heard this morning, I voted against it.”
“It’s up to whatever the law says,” said Commissioner Ewen. “The attorneys are looking into it, and it just seems very strange to me because no one had heard about this before. I’ve spoken with other people in other counties, and we’re not the only ones. They weren’t aware that Planning Commission members were required to be sworn in, so we’ll just have to see what happens. If there does end up being an issue, I would assume we would just get a list of those vacancies we currently have and fill those positions. I’m sure the people who are sitting on the board now will probably want to continue to serve because they’ve put a lot of time in this while trying to get some very subtle rules in the county so we can protect people. There’s a lot going on in the county that people don’t hear about; people complaining about this and that. It simply could be resolved if we just had some rules."
"One big thing that’s coming up that people may not be aware of is these solar farms," continued Ewen. "They are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of ground in this county that certain individuals have signed up for, and no one is aware of it. So that’ll likely be a big issue whether you’re for clean energy or not. These people do have rights to do as they please with their property, but maybe my neighbor doesn’t want a solar farm right next door. That’s where there’s going to be a problem: whose right is it? This is what we get into a lot with any kind of zoning ordinance. The rules are fine and dandy until they affect you personally.”
Commissioner Ewen went on to describe the kinds of threats he has received since the beginning of the zoning ordinance controversy. Ewen has received numerous calls, totaling more than 200 in the course of a month.
“I answered some of them, maybe seven or eight. Once I actually explained what was going on, some of them actually apologized,” said Ewen. “We’re just trying to help and protect people. That’s my number one priority as a commissioner. I’m a property owner, and I don’t want people telling me what I can and cannot do. However, I also respect my neighbors too.”
Commissioner Ewen stated that he plans on discussing the topic at the next Commissioners Meeting.
“I’m assuming our attorneys will come up with an answer by then because our county attorney was actually on spring break, that’s why it was tabled again. We’re not trying to put anything off because it’s not going to go away. We need to find out what the law truly says. If we were in the wrong, then so be it. Personally, it doesn’t make much sense to me for a citizen who is giving their time freely, without compensation, to need to be sworn in. To me, it all goes back to the people who appoint them. The elected officials I understand because that’s always been done like that. To me, requiring a citizen who sits on a board to be sworn in seems a little silly,” Ewen concluded.
The April 1 Commissioners Meeting did more than set the stage for the upcoming meeting in two weeks, it set expectations as well. Barring another decision to table, the fate of the current Planning Commission will likely be decided on April 15.
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