County Council supportive of Commissioners request to fund purchase of Bowen Center property on Illinois Street

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Marshall County Council supported the County Commissioners' request to purchase the Bowen Center property at 990 Illinois Street in Plymouth.

Last week County Commissioner Stan Klotz attended the council meeting with Sandy Dunfee, the administrator of the County Health Department. He told the council the building purchase would be a joint project between the county and the health department. Klotz said the Marshall County Health Department will put $250,000 toward the $450,000 offer price using their Health First Indiana funds. He said they will also put in $100,000 for improvements to the building including updating the AC and caulking the metal roof. Klotz said the county would put in the remaining $200,000 and the CEO of Bowen Center indicated the county could spread those payments over a couple of years.

While the County Council supported the purchase, they motioned to spread the $200,000 payments to the Bowen Center over 4-years interest-free. During the council’s discussion, they also thought the health department may have additional Health First Indiana Funds available each year to help pay a substantial amount of the county’s share.

Councilman Jim Masterson warned Klotz and Dunfee that improvements to the building shouldn’t be made until the title has been transferred to the county.

The square footage of the Bowen Building on Illinois Street has more space than the health department needs. During discussions, it was mentioned that the space could be shared with another county department which would share in the utility costs that are currently included in the health department’s rent in the Community Resource Center.

Dunfee said the Board of Directors may not want to put additional Health First Indiana funds toward the purchase since it’s the county’s responsibility to provide them space for their operations.