ANDERSON, Ind. —
A meeting that included the mayor condemning the actions of a city employee and chastising the park board president ended with a win for a local milk company.
During Tuesday’s meeting of the Anderson Board of Parks and Recreation, members considered a $10,000 bid from Prairie Farms to buy a 0.6-acre slice of land on the south end of Shadyside Park.
The deal was a controversial one, drawing criticism in past meetings from former judge Fredrick Spencer, who felt that cutting off a piece of the park for the local dairy disrespects the veterans for whom the park was dedicated.
Prairie Farms wants to buy the section of adjacent land in order to expand its Anderson operation.
Prairie Farms plant manager Harry Carter said the expansion is necessary to retain the 160 local jobs at the plant.
Spencer also took issue with the fact that the sale of the land violated federal protocols regarding park property receiving federal grants.
Shadyside has received federal grants, so city officials must replace the land sold with another piece of land, converting the newly acquired land into park property.
On Tuesday, city attorney Evan Broderick said the city could approve the sale conditionally, allowing the city to back out of the deal if federal park entities do not approve the conversion of the replacement land.
With the “good faith” agreement on the table, Prairie Farms offered to buy the 0.6-acre for $10,000, adding that it would donate a total of $50,000 over the next five years to the Anderson Parks and Recreation Department.
The park board voted unanimously to approve the sale and the city should get approval to move forward with the Prairie Farms expansion in about 60 days.
While the expansion will occupy much of the current space used for sledding at Shadyside, Prairie Farms has pledged to rebuild the hill slightly north of the expansion point.
Spencer could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
About 60 Prairie Farms employees and family members filled the seats at the meeting.
After the sale was approved, Mayor Kris Ockomon spoke publicly, condemning the actions of a city employee who allegedly harassed Carter.
Ockomon said a city employee left a message on Carter’s phone, harassing the plant manager regarding the land sale.
“Prairie Farms means nothing,” Ockomon read aloud from a transcript of the message. “You don’t promise people jobs to get what you want.”
Ockomon said the note also accused Carter of illegal activity and degraded the company.
Speaking out against the note, Ockomon was red-faced and tense, raising his voice and directing his attention at the Prairie Farms workers in the audience.
“It’s a sad day when a company wants to stay in our community and people are fighting them to stay here,” he said.
Ockomon said the message does not represent his administration and the person responsible for harassing Carter will be disciplined.
“The person will be dealt with sternly and swiftly,” he said.
Ockomon then turned his attention to park board president Darin Foltz who had earlier made an announcement that no one from the parks department is handing out free golf passes.
“Where is the consistency that this time last year the former superintendent was passing out passes to everyone. Let’s be consistent in what we do for all superintendents and not for one,” Ockomon said.
He later stated that he felt Foltz’s comment implied that the practice of handing out free golf passes was ongoing in the department, even though Ockomon had replaced the park superintendent in January.
Foltz didn’t respond to the comment.
Contact Brandi Watters: 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
