Price seeks Putnam County Commissioner's seat

As a lifelong resident of Putnam County and a firefighter for the Madison Township Fire Department for three decades, Lee Price knows a thing or two about serving and giving back.

Those reasons are why he has put his hat in the ring for the Putnam County Commissioners, challenging incumbent Rick Woodall in the May Republican Primary. The winner will face Democrat Denver Sizemore in the November general election. 

"I was never one to think I was going to get into politics, but seeing some things from the fire service, I think it is time for a change in our county," Price told The Putnam County Post. 

Among the things he saw, Price said the emergency services does not have enough put into it as a county.

"I think we need to put more into it as a county. Also, we need to look at our departments being united instead of separate departments. I am a firm believer we need more ambulances in our county. We have areas in our county where from where we house our ambulances at, it is still a 20 minute response. I am firm believer we need more ambulances and more stations," Price said. 

Price said he knows what he is facing, going up against an incumbent who has spent 12 years as a Commissioner. 

"I think Rick is a great guy, and I think my bid to run is nothing against Rick. I think we need new eyes and new ideas in the seats. I have always been one of those people to believe time runs certain limits, and it is time to make some changes," he said. 

Price said as he has met with voters, he has heard about solar farms, but that is a non-issue for the time being with a moratorium in place. 

"I understand that is still one of the big things on people's minds. That has kind of dropped with the company pulling out of it," Price said.

In addition, Price said Putnam County will see some movement as a result of Senate Bill 270, which paves the way for townships to merge. 

"That is something we should have been trying to jump ahead of a long time ago. Township trustees have been here for a long time, but the State is trying to get rid of them. That impacts fire departments, and I always thought we need to be more of a district, territory area. We have talked about this in the past, but it's never gone anywhere, but we need to focus and better all of our emergency services for the residents of our county. Ambulances and the fire departments, if you look at it, Greencastle Fire is the only paid department in our area. You have to depend on volunteers, who may not show up, and have Greencastle Fire fill in. For example, Madison Township is three miles from here, and you have a longer response time if you have Greencastle Fire fill in. It's a big ball of wax," Price acknowledged. 

Price said he has begun looking at budgets, where money is spent and what money is spent on.

"I have begun that. Senate Bill 1 is a big thing, and it is going to take a big hit on a lot of things. My trustee in Madison Township and I have already have conversations, and it is going to hurt a lot of departments. We have approved $12 million for an annex, and that makes me say, "Wow, we can go for that, when we should be looking at something else." I think the annex is a want and a need. I think we need it because the courthouse is jam packed. I think it is a want when it comes to how elaborate we are going to make it," Price said. 

In addition, growth is something Price has heard about, especially when it comes to housing in Putnam County. 

"Housing is a big thing with us. There is not enough here. I know the city is getting apartments and such in here, and we need to take that further out than just the city. We have wooded areas that would be good for housing areas. Bringing people into our county and if they see how well we do with emergency services, it will make them feel safe to live in our community. We have factories, but I think one thing anytime we have a new building built for a restaurant, people say we need this or that. We need to look at why we are not bringing in restaurants that people want to see in Greencastle, and some of the stores people want. If we can start keeping our revenue here instead of other communities, that would be great. As Greencastle grows, it is going to have to go somewhere," Price admitted. 

As for what Putnam County looks like in five years, Price said it depends what the Commissioners "do with our county."

"If we start bringing in a lot of people into Putnam County, we are going to have to start building more. Madison Township is three miles from here, and it is all country side. There is a sawmill and a bed and breakfast there. When I saw the bed and breakfast come in, I was shocked. I look to see it grow that way. I think as we bring more population in here, these outside areas are going to be bigger," he said. 

Price said people should vote for him if they want different ideas and eyes on the board. 

"I think it is time for a change in our county, and I think sometimes after you have been in a spot so long, you can get comfortable. If we are going to running things from a county standpoint, we don't need comfortable, but rather different ideas," Price said.