Published: July 04, 2009 09:41 pm      

New police chief starts July 13 in Georgetown

Temporary town hall being used

Georgetown will soon have a new police chief.

Dennis Konkle has been hired to replace Larry Potts, who is retiring July 13. Konkle has more than 20 years of police experience, according to Georgetown Town Council President Billy Stewart.

Potts has been Georgetown’s chief since 1993, but has worked for the town for 26 years.

“I have truly enjoyed my job as marshal and have attempted to set a high standard for the department and Georgetown officers, so we could serve our community well,” Potts said when announcing his retirement in April.

Police headquarters in Georgetown, at 1636 Henriott Road, bears his name.

Stewart said Georgetown’s police department, which now stands at two, will grow to four once the town receives its 2009 taxes. He said a third officer will be hired soon after Konkle comes on board.



In other Georgetown news

• The town recently received an appraisal on one of three possible sites for a sewer plant. Once the board receives the other two appraisals, the town will make an offer to the owners. If the owners accept the offer, the town could have its own sewer plant in 16 to 18 months.

All three sites are west of the town limits.

Stewart said since the town will be using a Rural Development Loan from the federal government to purchase the land, there is a lot of “red tape” to go through.

• While the sewer plant issue has taken most of the council’s time, Stewart said finding a new town hall needs to be a priority. He said the old hall, along Ind. 64, is literally falling down.

“We have had to put everything on the back burner,” he said. “But we need a town hall.”

Recent town council meetings have been held in an empty strip mall along Copperfield Drive. The town is only responsible for paying utilities for the building.

The new address of the temporary town hall is 1070 Copperfield Drive.

• The council recently passed a resolution which would allow the town to file for bankruptcy. Stewart said he doesn’t see that happening, but said the council had to do something to protect itself and its residents.

Should New Albany or the contractors pursue legal action against the town over the delay in building a sewer plant, Stewart said there would be no money to pay those two entities.

Georgetown signed an agreement to be off New Albany’s sewers in February and has already had three extensions. The town faces a $450,000 penalty from New Albany.

“If we did have to file, we won’t lose anything. The town still has to provide services to its citizens,” he said.

Stewart said New Albany officials are negotiating a long-term solution to providing sewer treatment to the town with council members while the plant is being constructed.