NEW PALESTINE — The town’s board of zoning appeals this week rejected a plan by the owners of a popular restaurant to open an event venue in town, ruling against the proposal in a secret vote that flouted state law.
The board voted 4-1 to deny a zoning change that would have allowed Ron and Tamey Adams, who own The Round the Corner Grill, 19 S. Bittner Road, to open the banquet hall nearby. The couple have invested $110,000 in the building at 121 E. Main St., and sought to change its status from “storage” to an “assembly hall.” The couple have been booking events there for some time; they were seeking to formalize a variance after the town received complaints about noise.
The vote was taken by secret ballot at the meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and the board’s president, Adam Axthelm, announced the result without revealing how the individual board members had voted. After that, the board adjourned the meeting, which had been attended by several people to hear the discussion.
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Secret votes by governing boards are not allowed under the state’s Open Door Law. When the Daily Reporter objected, the board released the vote results the next morning. Axthelm and board members Mike Evans, Clint Bledsoe and Chester Mosley voted against the proposal. Kathy Hall voted in favor.
An authority on the state’s public access laws said open votes are important for transparency.
“This doesn’t mean every vote has to be a roll-call vote, but the vote must be conducted in a fashion where a person who is observing the vote can tell who voted ‘aye’ or ‘nay,’” said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, in an email to the Daily Reporter. “I will give them credit for releasing the vote information, so it doesn’t appear they are trying to violate the law, but the system shouldn’t require citizens make a records request to determine the votes.”
Ron Adams told the Daily Reporter after the meeting he was disappointed in the board’s decision.
“I spent a lot of money to get it state approved,” Adams said. “I’m going to appeal this if I can.”
Adams, at the state’s request, said he installed guard rails around the property; added a new sprinkler system; and installed new safety doors. He said he invested more than $110,000 to get the facility ready for the new business.
Adams’ attorney, John Merlau, said he thought the board was biased. He pointed out that Mosley has a family member living close to the site who doesn’t want the new business in the community. However, the board’s attorney, Christopher Isom, told the Adamses there was no conflict of interest in allowing Mosley to vote.
Tamey Adams, who was born and raised in New Palestine, said she doesn’t understand why the board wouldn’t allow the couple to open the new business.
“My point is this would have brought some jobs to the area,” she said. “At this point in time with everything going on, we could have offered at least 15 people jobs. We were trying to do something for the community rather than selling the place.”
Others were pleased with the vote.
Local resident Steve Rainey said he was elated by the board’s decision, saying that section of Main Street is dangerous because of truck traffic. Rainey noted the area is missing several street signs that have been knocked down by passing motorists. Inviting more pedestrians into the area would be dangerous, he said.
“The building itself has been problematic on a noise level with the bands they have already hosted,” Rainey said. “Needless to say, they also had wedding receptions, baby showers, graduation parties, family get-togethers all without being up to fire code.”
Rainey said he was disappointed to learn from Ron Adams during the meeting that former town manager Dave Book had given Adams permission to use the building as he saw fit without getting proper zoning, a claim current town officials confirmed.
Donna Hamm, who lives next to the site, spoke against allowing for an assembly hall-type of business prior to the vote, citing trash issues associated with the proposed business.
“I don’t think we need another bar,” Hamm said. “The value of my home will go down.”
