Johnson County officials offer tips for property owners, residents ahead of eclipse

With less than five days to go until the total solar eclipse, agencies across Johnson County are making final preparations for the thousands of visitors expected to descend on the county.

But questions by property owners and residents remain, including how to protect their property from trespassers, whether they can allow people to park at their homes and whether police and fire agencies will be able to help in an emergency.

The Daily Journal reached out to public safety leaders from around the county about these issues and more. Here’s what they had to say.

Protecting property from trespassers

Those wanting to protect their property from unauthorized visitors should post “No Trespassing” signs and/or block off their property. If someone does come on their property, owners should speak to them and tell them they don’t want them there, said Duane Burgess, Johnson County Sheriff.

However, when confronting someone, officials advise homeowners to do so calmly to avoid escalating the situation to the point that a public safety response is needed.

“Don’t try to resolve these issues on your own and create confrontation on what is already going to be a stressful event for first responders, and the community in general,” said Mike Pruitt, Bargersville Fire deputy chief and public information officer for the Johnson County Joint Incident Management Team.

If someone does have an issue that requires a public safety response, they should call the non-emergency line at 317-346-6336. People should keep in mind, however, that emergency responses could be slower than normal, Pruitt said.

On the flip side, if property owners are allowing people to come onto their property to watch the eclipse, they should reach out to their insurance agent and make sure their insurance will cover any damage that may occur, Burgess said.

“Sometimes you may have good intentions, but somebody gets hurt and then you open yourself up for a lawsuit,” he said.

Allowing parking at homes

Depending on where a property is in the county, the rules vary for whether they could allow people to park on their properties for the eclipse.

For unincorporated Johnson County, there is nothing that prohibits property owners from having people park on their property. However, certain homeowners associations may prohibit it, Burgess said.

In Franklin, parking on private property is permitted. But people should not allow vehicles to park somewhere where they would block sidewalks, alleys or fire hydrants, said Kirby Cochran, police chief.

Edinburgh does not have anything prohibiting property owners from allowing people to park on their properties, as long as it’s approved by the property owner. However, property owners should keep in mind they are responsible for any injuries or issues on their property, said Doyne Little, police chief.

To learn more specifically about what is allowed, people should check with code enforcement officials in their city or town.

Police responses

Emergency services will be deployed throughout the county for the eclipse, and the number of people expected, combined with the deployment of personnel, could lead to 911 calls having longer responses. Officials encourage residents to not call 911 unless it’s an emergency.

“You [can] still call 911. If it’s an emergency, a true emergency, we’re going to respond,” Burgess said. “We’re going to have people filter some of these calls because I’m not going to be sending guys out to do a VIN check so you can go get plates for a trailer or vehicle.”

Public safety agencies will do their best to protect people, but if it’s a minor incident where a report can wait, residents are asked to be patient. The key is to make sure first responders are available when true emergencies arise, he said.

“If it’s a true emergency, we’re going to work, we’re going to get there, we’re going to try to take care of the situation,” Burgess said.

Public safety ready for anything

For months, local public safety agencies have been preparing for the eclipse. They are prepared for the worst-case scenarios, but they hope it goes off without any issues, Burgess said.

Officials have worked diligently to make sure all of the shifts and sectors are covered in the county and its unincorporated areas. Now it’s just a matter of waiting, he said.

“I believe everybody’s prepared,” Burgess said. “I met with all the sheriffs (Tuesday) in nine of the counties that surround Johnson we all pretty much have the same plan.”

Franklin officials are confident in the numbers of staffing they’ll have for eclipse weekend, with it being “all hands on deck” for police and fire. An emergency plan has also been created in coordination with other agencies across the county, Cochran said.

Officials have done everything they could to get messages out about the eclipse, along with preparing themselves for the influx of people. Because traffic could become an issue, people need to be prepared to be patient, Pruitt said.

If residents are able to stay home to enjoy the eclipse, they should. If they’re going to one of the festivals, they should be patient with traffic — especially because no one knows what the traffic will be like until it happens, Burgess said.

“We’re gonna do the best we can do,” Burgess said. “This is like having the Indianapolis 500 right here in Johnson County. That’s just Johnson County, other counties are gonna have a large amount of people too.”

The county has been divided into divisions with command posts for emergency response, with a central command at the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center. The plan is for the county to operate normally for as long as possible until extra resources are needed, whether it be from neighboring counties or the state, Pruitt said.

“If we go through the day and the [emergency] calls … come in and we don’t get overwhelmed, then that’s the perfect situation. We won’t have anything else additional to manage,” he said. “But if something does push it over that threshold of what we normally can handle, we have everything backed up and ready to apply those resources where they need to be.”

The issue with planning for this type of event, however, is that officials are planning for the unknown.

“There’s so many numbers out there, potential visitors to the city, we just plan for the worst and hope for the best. That’s kind of where we’re at with it,” Cochran said.

Planning ahead

Burgess and Pruitt also encourage residents to have plenty of supplies on hand. This includes making sure cars have a full tank of gas.

“I’m going to call it maybe [like] a day of a snowstorm. Just be prepared for that day of everything being a little bit slower,” Burgess said.

People should also make sure their cell phones are charged and have backup plans if cell service goes down. This could become a struggle as many people don’t have landlines anymore, Pruitt said.

“If you do have that situation occur, we want an emergency backup plan,” he said.

Pruitt also encourages people to check on seniors and the elderly to make sure they have everything they need. The potentially large influx of people could be scary for some people. There are also chances of scams, Pruitt said.

“If they do get somebody to come to the door, and they don’t know who it is and they want to park on their property or anything like that, we know that our seniors can get taken advantage of situations like this,” he said. “So if someone shows up at your door to do that, call somebody and let them know what somebody’s asking to do and verify it.”

Cochran encourages Franklin residents who are close enough to downtown to walk there to do so and not drive. If someone does need to drive downtown, they should try and carpool since parking is going to be limited, he said.

There’s a potential for the area to be overcrowded, he said.

“Being able to get a vehicle in and out in a timely fashion is going to be difficult at best,” Cochran said.

911 TIPS

Here are some tips from the Johnson County 911 Center for what residents should, and should not do when trying to reach emergency services during the eclipse. Following the advice could help ensure emergency services are available for those who need them, officials say.

• Do not call 911 unless there is a true emergency.
• Do not call 911 to ask about traffic or the best route out of an area.
• Do utilize a landline phone when possible as cell carrier services could become overwhelmed.

If someone does need services but it’s not an emergency, contact Johnson County 911’s non-emergency line at 317-346-6336.