29 January 2026 Joint Dearborn County Council and Commissioners Meeting Notes

 29 January 2026 Joint Dearborn County Council and Commissioners Meeting Notes

Marc Emral, Register Publications, covered the meeting. 

Danessa Mortenson recorded the meeting.

The county administrator asked Danessa Mortenson to send her a copy of her video recording for the county Facebook page. Check there for video. The county held this meeting in the Old Commissioners Meeting Room and there are no recording devices there.  

Present: Liz Morris, President, Dennis Kraus. Sr., Dan Lansing, Doug Baker, Tim Doll (via telephone), Mark Dole, and Glenn Wright (absent).

Present: Jim Thatcher, President Commissioners, Kevin Turner, and Duane Bischoff

Also present: Connie Fromhold, Auditor and Sue Hayden, County Administrator

The room was full including attorneys, Jared Ewbank and Andy Baudendistel, Greendale Redevelopment and Council members and Mayor, LCD members, Lawrenceburg officials, and a few citizens, etc.

Paul Seymour from LCD introduced the consultants and made sure that people would ask questions- even hard ones. Jennifer Ray, AICP -from JMT and Mundell were present.

JMT is supporting LCD with Greendale System engineering and grant /funding plan.  Mundell is supporting LCD with Lawrenceburg system engineering and studies.

LCD maintains and operates the levees for flood protection and coordinates all funding discussions. 

Jennifer Ray- presented - from JMT which has 50 plus grant writers. They do research and tracking and writing as well as grant administration. Grants have changed a lot since last January. 

$750 million in grants they have had.

Things at risk of flooding if levee fails. SCHOOLS, LCD, COUNTY FACILITIES AND L-BG CITY GOV’T -SHERIFF AND JAIL ETC. $890,000,000 in losses if the levee failed.

Flood insurance requires this accreditation. Development will not occur if flood insurance is too high. 

They identified 6.3 million total engineering. Local match is $16-17 million. ( 25% match) Total cost is about $67 million- rounded up to about $70 million. 

As soon as a grant is advertised you have to have the grant application ready to grow. Grant research is necessary to have before a NOFO is filed.Notice of funding opportunity. 

You need the 25% match to be in hand in advance of the grant application. 3 out of the 4 entities have committed.

They need to be accounted for in a budget line item or binding resolution. They need to be ready. 

OTHER FUNDING SOURCES:

US Army Corps of Engineers. (USACE )- Lawrenceburg Levee is with USACE and FEMA is with Greendale Levee. 

1937-1944 - built 500 year protection levee ( 12-13 ft higher protection. 2000- Greendale levee built for 100 year protection levee.

WRDS- Water Resources Dev Act- does have funds -for pumps and pump stations. But money is committed fairly far out already. 

CPF-Community Project Funding- Congresswoman Erin Houchins has some fund options.

BRIC grant- cancelled in April 2025 by the executive orders - so looking for other options. Most grants still need the 25% commitment.

Grant requirements checklist is nearly complete. The benefits cost analysis is still being completed. This is considered to date to be a benefit. 152 letters from freeholders and constituents. They have letters of support from gov’t entities.

They are here tonight to ultimately get a signed resolution from the County for the $4.2 million.

380 applicants applied for BRIC and 38 ?? were selected in the past. Not available anymore. 

The 4 political entities are very important to getting the grant. 

Hazard Mitigation Plans need to be completed in each area to qualify….

Seymour said Perleberg has been a big help getting Erin Houchins office to help. 

$2800 for flood insurance with levee. Without it - $15,000 estimate on Seymours house. 

Relief wells in L-bg are 85 years old. $70 million would hopefully last 50 years -70 years. The relief wells will not ALL be replaced. Just 1/2 or 1/3. This is a major capital project. Age and changes are causing this. These well have been maintained well. LCD has put in new flood gates in recent years- and they can be shut down in 4 hours.

Luke - 173 relief wells 60-80 ft deep are here to catch the seepage water. $27 million is about what is needed for these. 

No relief wells in Greendale Levee. Pump station has to be relocated in Greendale to where it is needed for the ponding area. No engineering or permitting completed. Greendale is not ready to go for plans. The Corps of Engineers has been down for inspections. This is one of the most complex levee systems in the country. We need to get this designed to protect for 50 years into the future.

Paul Seymour- You won’t need any infrastructure if this levee is not here. This is the heart and soul of this town- we need to take care of it. 

If the grant does not happen- then the pledged dollars stay in the cities or counties. It is encumbered. 

Jennifer Ray- stressed more opportunities and also the disappointment in losing the BRIC grant as an option.

Vince Karstetter Mayor Greendale- said that he wants to emphasize the support that Erin Houchins has given. 

The odds are there will be multiple grants to make up for not having the BRIC opportunity. Lawrenceburg has the money. Greendale is setting aside their redevelopment funds per Mike McLaughlin. Much discussion of how to use time to save up for the $4.2 million.

It was discussed that the county has to make a decision soon on their support -financially- for this project. Council members asked several questions and received answers. No decision was asked for tonight. 

Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township