Highlights of the 19 April 2004 County Commissioner Meeting

Present: Karen Shell, Vera Benning, and Dan Batta. Also Lisa Lehner, Attorney, Cary Pickens, Auditor, and Lorie Howard, County Administrator.
Denise Freitag, Register Publications also covered the meeting.

1. Bill Black reported on the status of the grants that Emergency Management is seeking.
2. Mike Davis – Transportation Director - reported on the three district’s roadwork status.
3. Ester Ridge Road residents filled the room (approximately 40+) and with their spokespersons (Bruce Smith, Joe Grote, and Diane Sullivan) expressed the desire to have their entire road paved rather than mostly chip sealed, as is currently planned. They cited drainage issues, safety of the kids and school bus route, health concerns with the dust, and wear and tear on vehicles. They also stated that they did not want it paved for development but just for the needs of the families who are there. The chip seal 3 years ago did not hold up. They also stated that gambling dollars were promised to go to paving all the roads in the county.
Karen Shell stated that she’d been out to se the entire road. She wants a good base and drainage with culverts put in. She wanted them to know that there were three grades of chip seal- and they would be using a better grade than the last time. They would probably widen the road in areas as well.
Dennis Kraus, Sr. told the commissioners that the ROW already has been dedicated so that widening should not require extra easements or ROW acquisition.
Dan Batta stated that commissioners failed the residents on that road and this needs to be addressed. Dollars were spent fastest in some districts so that others didn’t get theirs in time.
Vera Benning stated that she wants to stick to the plan and that maybe this could be added to the second draw in July or August. They need to get approval from Council.
No vote was taken, but commissioners seemed to indicate that they were going to stick to the plan so far and consider paving the rest of Ester Ridge when they see how the improvements in the site hold up after a year or so.
4. Angie Batta appeared with Ben Batta for Schantz Road, which is the connector to East Central for Ester Ridge. Gravel was put over the top of their chip-sealed road and now the dust is causing problems for her asthmatic son.
Commissioners discussed and then agreed to amend the road list to ask Council to approve chip-sealing Schantz again for an estimated $30-50,000. Dust control can no longer be done- the EPA shut that down.
[Note: it appears that someone is graveling and grading roads in the county without supervision or a plan. This road and Hogan Creek were both “changed” by highway workers this spring and residents are complaining about them.]
5. Locust Road- Priscilla Probst discussed notification requirements for vacating alleys with the commissioners. Lisa Lehner cited IC 8-1-8-1 as being the guide. She recommended consulting Senator Nugent if they wanted the laws changed to require newspaper notifications and not just adjoining property owners. [Note: Commissioners did not vacate this alley and the applicant removed his request last month.]
6. Planning and Zoning- Lorie Howard represented Travis Miller. The changes to the wording for chairman and vice chairman were approved for the zoning codebook to match up with state law language.
7. Lorie Howard – County Administrator reported on signing the IHFA agreement, attending the MED BEN seminar on HIPPA rules, that Dr. Scudder will be the county privacy officer, and that she is gathering info on the jail expansion plans. She viewed the Hillsboro, OH GIS system, one of the best in the area, and Highway Dept. is trying to get a GIS intern for the summer to update and keep our GIS info current. Computer proposals were reviewed and she will go to council to get funding approved, before committing to selecting a company. She is also working on forms to consolidate proposals so that they can become agreements if accepted. Lisa Lehner is also involved with this.
8. Cary Pickens introduced the new and improved claims forms with different account numbers to match the state’s codes. They have a cheat sheet to convert old fund numbers to new ones until everyone gets used to it. Minutes were held over for Dan Batta to review before approval.
9. Vera Benning added that the Housing Assessment Study meetings are being held and invited the commissioners to attend if they would like to.
Adjourned at 9:15 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township