By TODD HARPER

For The Lebanon Reporter

Lebanon -- Car pooling and trip sharing could help a county transit system get rolling.

According to the Boone County Transporation Committee, the county could have them both, and keep its ozone, too.

Committee member Brent Cardin of ARC Rehab Services told the Boone County Board of Commissioners Monday morning, Feb. 3 that the committee has talked to a number of people throughout the county and has held meetings in both Lebanon and Zionsville to get feedback from residents.

"We are trying to see what is good for the entire county," he said. "There is an unmet need of transportation services."

Those conversations were part of a study completed by RLS Associates of Dayton and funded by the United Way of Central Indiana. Some of the points and goals mentioned in the study include coordinating transportation efforts with land use planning countywide; utilizing future transportation planning activities to help Boone County meet long-term air quality requirements; and continuing work toward practical, common sense strategies to make more efficient use of transportation resources.

Greg Smallwood, Lebanon grant administrator, said that with concerns over the county's air quality, public transportation is one possible solution.

"It is going to be imperative to preserve the transportation corridors," he said, such as the overlay zones planned for Michigan Road and Interstate 65, which also will be major thoroughfares for a public transit system.

One of the main goals, according to Smallwood, is to pursue local partnership through car pooling and trip sharing. The study called for obtaining, eventually, federal, state and local funding to create a transit system for Boone County. The local system then would link to other transit systems, such as IndyGo buses in Indianapolis.

The study calls for a limited transit pilot project to begin within three years.

About a year ago, a county transportation committee began to examine more efficient ways to move residents from where they are to where they need to go.

The committee, which is made up of representatives from the Boone County Chamber of Commerce, Boone County Economic Development Commission, Witham Health Services, Boone County Senior Services and United Way of Boone County, in addition to several other organizations, was commissioned to monitor local transit issues.

In 1997, the City of Lebanon completed a study into its transportation needs. The countywide study is intended to complement Lebanon's study, as well as other regional efforts. A transportation plan that connects Boone County to other counties may be a glimmering hubcab in the future.

COMMISSIONERS STILL WEIGHING OZONE PROGRAM

If the question of funding has kept the commissioners from signing on to the Ozone Flex Program, an Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored program intended to address air quality concerns in Central Indiana, the question has been answered.

According to John Chavez of the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, the funding will come from the federal government, Indiana General assembly and permit fees placed on businesses.

Air quality data collected by the EPA has indicated Boone County, along with seven other central Indiana counties, are in violation of federal clean air standards. The other counties include: Hendricks, Hamilton, Morgan, Shelby, Johnson, Hancock and Madison.

Indianapolis officials have been seeking other central Indiana counties to join the Ozone Flex Program, aimed at maintaining attainment standards for ground-level ozone.

In previous meetings, the board voiced concern about who would pay for the program and how much it would cost.

Loveless said the board will consider the proposal and respond with an answer before the end of the month.

IN OTHER NEWS

* Loveless stressed that the Ford Road project, which will replace the bridge at 96th Street with a federally-funded bridge, will not disturb a wooded area known as the "tunnel of trees." According to plans by Beam, Longest and Neff, the firm chosen to complete the job, the project will widen the sharp turn to the south of the bridge and smooth the road. The current bridge will be replaced with a stronger and more durable bridge.

n Lebanon resident and former Boone County Council member Roy Wood was appointed to the Boone County Health Board. Wood was defeated by council president Charles Eaton in a close November election. The two incumbents faced each other after the district lines were redrawn.

"I have been trying to get Roy on this board since after the election," said board president Jo Baldauf.

The board also appointed former county commissioner Thelma Theobald to the Thorntown Library Board.

n Two Zionsville residents now belong to the Boone County Tourism Board. Joining Country Gables Bed and Breakfast owner Jean Elmore, who was appointed to the board in January, is David Knepp of Zionsville, who co-owns Akard's Village Hardware. Knepp becomes the sixth member on the seven-member board. The commissioners still are looking for one more board member.

A decision to expand the board from five members to seven was made last month.

n Boone County Area Plan Commission Executive Director Steve Niblick informed the board that the APC received an application for an adult bookstore along Interstate 65 in Lebanon. He said because of the moratorium that has been placed on zoning requests for any adult entertainment business within the county, the APC is not proceeding with the application. A letter will be sent to the applicant informing them of the moratorium.

The APC plans to examine specific zoning requirements for adult entertainment businesses at its monthly meeting Wednesday.

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