Common Council approves Parks Department's request to purchase warehouse near Sunrise Park

The Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Department wants to purchase two parcels of land at 441 E. South St., near Sunrise Park, that would become warehouse space for work and storage.

Purchasing the one-plus acre parcels would add parking spaces for Sunrise Park as well.

Parks department representatives appeared at Monday’s Shelbyville Common Council meeting at City Hall to discuss the opportunity.

The temperature-controlled warehouse (photo) that currently sits on the property has no major issues, according to parks department maintenance supervisor Doug Conner. He envisions the site becoming home to storage and maintenance for the department’s bike share fleet (now up to 25 bikes) as well as the department’s CNC program machine.

The building would also serve as additional storage space.

Two appraisals of the property came back at $550,000 and $575,000. The owner, according to parks department board president Gary Nolley, is firm in the asking price of $550,000.

City of Shelbyville Clerk-Treasurer Scott Asher stated during Monday’s council meeting there is the potential for funds to meet that price but it would take time to pull that amount of money together.

Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson advised the council it did not have to take a vote on purchasing the building Monday although Nolley stated that the owner mentioned there is another buyer interested.

Councilwoman Linda Sanders made the motion to approve the purchase. It was seconded by Mike Johnson and approved 6-1 with Betsy Means-Davis as the lone no vote.

Monday’s council meeting began with a presentation on a proposed Wheel and Excise Tax for the City of Shelbyville.

To receive funding from the Indiana Department of Transportation to assist with road work and bridge repairs, the city needed to adopt a Local Option Highway User Tax (LOHUT) that includes both wheel and excise taxes.

Recent legislation altered the distribution of Community Crossings Matching Grants funds, which has forced cities to find new ways for funding moving forward.

The Wheel Tax is assessed to trucks over 11,000 pounds, recreational vehicles, semis and large trailers. The minimum the tax can be is $5. The maximum is $40.

The Excise Tax is assessed to passenger cars, motorcycles, mopeds and trucks under 11,000 pounds. The fee minimum is $7.50 while the maximum is $25.

Shelby County already has both taxes assessed to residents, who cannot be assessed twice. The city’s adoption of a wheel and excise tax means those taxes will now come to the city instead of to the county.

To receive 2027 funding, the LOHUT must be approved by Aug. 31 to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

The two taxes could bring nearly $500,000 to the city to assist with road and bridge repairs.

Both taxes were approved at maximum value ($40 wheel tax, $25 excise tax) by the council, 7-0.

The new taxes will not affect Shelbyville residents who were already being taxed by the county. The funds are already captured by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and then sent to the city and county.

The county does have the option of raising the wheel tax to as much as $80 and the excise tax to $50 if it so chooses to cover the loss of funding.

The mayor closed the meeting with discussion about the creation of a new police station within the city limits. The department has outgrown the current facility, according to police chief Louie Koch, who talked about the need Monday with council members.

The mayor had identified a site along Miller Avenue on the city’s west side that used to house Hubler Collision Center. That facility has sat vacant for some time, according to Furgeson, who believes the site can be purchased for just over $2 million.

A general estimate has been set at approximately $20 million to build the facility although the mayor stressed there are no architectural designs or plans in place.

The overall size of the property would allow for a detention pond to be built on site which would help with flooding problems in the area.

The mayor stressed that a plan needs to move forward soon or there has to be discussion on how to manage the police department’s needs at its current location.

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