District 1 candidates discuss distribution of county money

Long-term, in-depth planning is what Vic Kelson has in mind for the Monroe County Council, District 1 if he is elected. \nSome of Kelson's planning would include a juvenile center for Monroe County, he said.\n"We need to come up with a plan that is cost effective but also provides good treatment for the center's juvenile members," said Kelson, a Democrat.\nKelson has plans for the currently overcrowded Monroe County jail. He doesn't see expanding the current jail as a likely option, but a new facility needs to be built within the next five to 10 years, he said. The proposition is expensive, and the county is always in a tight squeeze for money, Kelson said.\n"The council will need to be creative, pay close attention to expenditures and work with other governmental bodies to make it happen," Kelson said.\nFurthermore, Kelson said the income gap in Monroe County is too large. He believes that, though unemployment is low, more people are working low-paying jobs because of the loss of several industrial plants in the county such as the closing of Thompson's RCA facility in 1998.\nAlong with encouraging economic development, Kelson wants to protect and maintain the landscape. He fears urban sprawl could damage the ability to market the community to businesses, he said.\nKelson said central Indiana is beginning to reach the limits of its water capacity. An Indianapolis city planning proposal to pump 90 billion gallons of water a day from Lake Monroe is one of the first signs that water competition is growing strong, he said. Unlike some states farther west where water has always been scarce, Indiana has not had a need for the creation of water allocation laws, Kelson said.\n"It's basically been if you can pump it, you got it," Kelson said. "We've got the biggest puddle in the state, and we've got to take care of ourselves first."\nThe Indianapolis proposal is a result of long-term city planning that includes the possibility of a drought, and Monroe County needs to be doing the same kind of long term planning, Kelson said.