In tiny Gosport, Indiana, they're all Republican and they can't get along

GOSPORT − On occasion, town council meetings in Gosport go off the rails. Downright shouting matches sometimes erupt between citizens and the three people elected to run things in the Owen County town of 850.

Contention surfaced early in the most recent meeting, where back-and-forth shouting could be heard clear out in the parking lot five minutes after a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance kicked off the night.

"You're going to run this town into the ground!" shouted former town council member Melvin Hall, who resigned in 2020, so someone younger "and with more tolerance" could take over.

Current town council president Gerry Lunsford yelled back. "And you, you didn't do nothing when you were on the board, and the town's in the condition it's in now because of all the years you didn't do anything."

Missing Tyler: Gosport woman fights to see her great-grandson. Indiana says she has no right to

Don Garletts, who purchased the downtown's historic Masonic Hall for a possible restaurant, had a front-row seat to the debate. He was at the meeting to ask the council to close an alley so he could offer outdoor seating. He was advised to return in August.

Garletts stayed until the end, not participating in the rowdy banter, but paying close attention. "Thank you for the most entertaining public meeting I've ever attended, and I've been to a lot of them," the Indiana Limestone Fabricators owner said after presenting his plan.

Meetings heat up

It was the second Tuesday in July, the first of two meetings for the month. Temperatures hovered in the 90s and humidity — and the tempers of some of the people present in the room— were high.

Council meetings are held at the Gosport Community Building, where there's no air conditioning. There is central air conditioning a few blocks away at Town Hall, a former physician's office the town bought for $75,000 in 2018.

But when an estimate to renovate the building to include a meeting hall was tens of thousands of dollars more than anticipated, the board arranged to use the community center for their meetings in exchange for paying the $60 water bill.

The clerk-treasurer's office is at Town Hall. A sliding glass window that once separated Dr. John Stearley's waiting room from the receptionist is now where people pay their water and sewer bills.

But board members said elected clerk-treasurer Donnie Hall, in office 10 years, is rarely present. "More often than not, when I go there, he's not there," Lunsford said during the meeting.

Even though the board members and Hall are all Republicans, discord reigns. The town stands divided between the old guard and younger, middle-aged officials now in charge.

"If we had a clerk that was in that office, none of this would be an issue," Lunsford said. "One hour a month is what he is required by law to work. And he makes $38,000 a year. And when we say something, his response is always the same: that he's an elected official and we can't set his hours."

Gosport Town Board members each made $4,256 in 2022.

Meanwhile, Hall sat quietly a few feet away, taking the minutes as council members complained about him and the way he oversees town business. They spoke as if he wasn't there.

"Decisions are made by the town board, not Donnie Hall. He controls the purse strings, and we never know how much money we have because Donnie never tells us," Lunsford said.

"This is a three member, not a four-member, board. We tell him to write checks, and that is the clerk-treasurer's job."

'I'd like to see you all get along'

Hall was appointed to the position a decade ago and has been re-elected twice. "I'm the scum of the earth as far as this town board goes," he said after the meeting concluded.

He said no one in town complains about his office hours. He said he sometimes works in the evenings when he can get more done without interruptions.

Hall hadn't planned to seek another term; his position and all three town council seats are on the ballot this November. "But after the way they talked to me tonight, I just might be going down there to sign up tomorrow."

Owen County's Republican Party will hold a town convention next month, in place of a primary election. Declarations of candidacy must be filed with the county clerk by Aug. 1.

Gosport residents will gather at the community center to hear candidate speeches and ask questions, then vote to narrow the field to three council and one clerk-treasurer candidate for the November election.

"Remember there's an election coming up," resident Mary Craft announced to the disgruntled board members. "There's nothing wrong with the way Donnie runs things."

Another woman at the meeting who supported Hall suggested the board find a way to work in tandem with the clerk-treasurer.

"Have you got together with Donnie to tell him you are displeased?" she asked. "I'd like to see all of you get along."

Getting down to business

The night of July 11, the community center doors were open for ventilation and the hope of a cool breeze that never came. Flies buzzed around the room.

Citizens complained, loudly at times, about issues including water rates, sewer fees and the hiring of a full-time utility clerk. There was discussion of a fallen tree, skateboarders, the condition of a burned-out house, the location of a farmers 'market, renting a stump grinder for $500 and the lack of police presence in town.

The board took heat for voting to hire a full-time utility clerk to be at town hall eight hours a day to take payments. People were less upset after learning the salary would come from $70,000 the town will save by doing its own water testing instead of paying an engineer.

A daytrip nearby: What to see on a daytrip to Gosport, Indiana

Board members deflected criticism for unanimously passing a $5-per-month storm water utility fee, on the heels of a $4 monthly water cost hike last year. Residents fear even higher water bills after a rate study is complete.

Board members contend that since the town's wastewater system is failing and repair costs are exceeding income, they had no choice but to charge users more. That's caused concern in a town where many residents are senior citizens or families living on fixed incomes.

Glass table doesn't sit well

With an annual budget around $200,000, how money gets spent in Gosport matters. For instance, the town board approved spending $7,200 to re-roof the old water plant because they can't afford to build a new one.

They appropriate one or two thousand dollars at a time to repair 100-year-old water lines in the center of town and failing pumps at the water treatment plant.

At one point during the July 11 meeting, board member Larry Norman found himself justifying his Office Depot purchase of a $427 metal-and-glass table for the town hall lobby.

It was on sale, he said, $100 off. "You can't buy a laminate table for that," Norman told residents upset about the purchase, which left just $8 in the office equipment budget for 2023.

"So, yes ma'am, I did buy that table and I had the authority to," Norman said. "We need a place to have a semi-professional meeting and not all be just standing around."

Craft, 79, a longtime Gosport resident, wasn't happy. "Well," she said, "You don't need a $500 table. You can just take it off my water bill."

The town board meets again July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Gosport Community Building, 301 N. Ninth St. It's a public meeting anyone can attend.

Contact Herald-Times reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: In small Indiana town, problems, disagreements abound