Cara Barkdoll, longtime Register of Deeds, will retire at the end of the week.
A ceremony will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, in the assembly room in the basement of the courthouse.
Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Misty Rice, who has worked alongside Barkdoll as her deputy for the county department, to serve the remaining two years of the term.
BARKDOLL earned an associate degree from Allen County Community Junior College before joining the appraiser’s office in 1985.
She spent 11 years in that office before going to work for then-Register of Deeds Jacqueline Webb in 1997, and was promoted to deputy a year later.
On Dec. 22, 1999, she was appointed Register of Deeds by Gov. Bill Graves. She’d be elected to her first term the following November and has held the office since then for a total of six terms.
The Register of Deeds is an elected position that records and preserves documents. That includes an up-to-date index of land ownership in the county.
Their most notable function is to record real estate transactions through the transfer of deeds, but they also organize records for various other related documents, such as mortgages, oil and gas documents, leases, subdivision plats, surveys and power of attorney documents. They also handle military records, cemetery plot deeds and old school records, along with Uniform Commercial Code filings and personal property liens, as well as state and federal tax liens.
The Register of Deeds office is considered “the foundation” of local government, Barkdoll said.
The staff’s functions are an essential part of the taxation process, as government entities rely on accurate records.
Records are open to the public, though a fee may be charged for online access. Documents may also be obtained by visiting the office or requesting copies via email, mail or phone.
DURING HER tenure, Barkdoll oversaw digitization projects that has made documents easier to search.
The projects included subscription or pay-as-you-go search options for the public. Another project allowed staff to electronically record documents.
“The newest project is digitizing the remainder of land documents back to 1865 as well as the land index books. This will be completed in early 2023,” Barkdoll said.
She worked with county commissioners to obtain money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to pay for the project.
Also during her time as Register, the office was renovated in 2007.
