6 September 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

6 September 2005 Dearborn County Commissioner Meeting Notes

Present: Benning, President, Fox and Hughes.
Also Present: Pickens, Auditor, Messmore, Administrator, and Ewbank, Attorney.

1. Commissioners voted to deny all 3 health claims appeals from their Executive session.

2. Gayle Pennington, Treasurer- updated commissioners on tax collection. All done in house now- and should be in the mail in late Sept- early Oct. BOTH 2005 installments are due in November.

3. Pinnacle Advisory- Mike Kramer- gave a concise explanation of the health care cost containment plan. Council requested he do something to be able to stay within a set amount of money. The bottom line: There can be a core plan with decreased benefits or a core plan with increased employee contribution amounts. They are also working on disease management and need to know the commissioner’s preferences by October. Cost increases are about 9.5% per year- under the national average of 13-15%. [NOTE: Perhaps two options could be given- and employees could CHOOSE which they prefer- the increased contribution for higher benefits or the decreased benefits for lower contribution amounts. Many employers offer these choices]
Benning asked Kramer about possibly health insurance for “people who worked for the county for a number of years and were retiring without any insurance.” Pickens stated this would be for NEXT year’s budget hearing in 2006 to take effective 2007. [NOTE: Guess which commissioner’s term ends in December 2006? This is not a good way to reduce taxpayer costs. It is also a benefit that many large businesses are unable to continue to fund. It will also greatly increase the amount of insurance costs to the county as a whole, because the risk is greater the older the covered person is. The entire group then absorbs that cost increase in premiums. The county needs to stay in line with what the rest of society is doing.]

4. Health Dept.- Doug Baer- presented an interpretation drawn by Butler- their att’y- regarding 2ndary site requirements on old lots that they want to grandfather and require only one site. They are still reviewing all building permits and if they fine septic problems they HAVE to be fixed. This includes Section 2576 from the zoning ordinance.
Hughes asked about getting septic or sewage to the D-1 garage site. Benning mentioned pump and haul as an option. Baer noted that pump and haul could only be temp solution- for 2 years max. They have to permanently fix the problem and that would require acquiring more ground, as the ground there has been disturbed too much to be a good leach site.
Benning also asked about the County Regional sewer District. Baer reported that Cole Lane and Stewart St were small enough to try to fit into Aurora with their overflow issues, but that IDEM wouldn’t allow High Ridge- which was the REAL reason the sewer district began out there. He also stated there is a movement to have the county coordinate bringing ALL the sewer entities in the county under one roof. Funding to coordinate this isn’t available yet. Baer wants IDEM to allow them to fix HighRidge and grant a variance for overflows, which are intermittent- rather than allow continuous sewage pollution as is occurring now. [NOTE: Perhaps the money needs to be sought to bypass the overflow and pump straight to SDRSD in Lawrenceburg. Maybe the COUNTY needs to become a member of that.]

5. United Fund- Lynn Deddens asked permission to fundraise with the county employees with the option of payroll deduction. Contributing is optional. Commissioners OK with this.

6. Sheriff’s Dept- recommended NorCom for the security camera bids. OK with commissioners.

7. Bill Black presented the 911 new communications system- Because of a QPA (Quantity Purchasing Agreement) that the state has with MobilCom (Motorola products)- Black is recommending them for the contract. They do not have to bid because of the QPA. Ewbank noted that they should also mention health safety and welfare of county citizens and the savings on tower rent as they move the 911 from Pribble Road to the jail. Antennas will move to the L-bg water tank- for free. They save $30,000 on lines to Dillsboro and other outlying towns. L-Bg has committed $1 million- still need $48,000. Approved- contingent on Lawrenceburg’s money. [NOTE: There seems to be more and more ways the open bidding process can be avoided lately. This goes for “contracts for services” too that bypass the open door laws- as in the recent agreement with DC Economic Development Initiative. The government seems to be getting far less transparent in their dealings. On the plus side here- Mobilcom (Motorola) is considered the top dog in this business.]Sept. is National Preparedness Month- commissioner’s signed proclamation.

8. Brent Roberts of Butler, Fehrman, and Siefert (sp?)- passed out info on their firm’s engineering and planning services and noted his office is in Jeffersonville.

9. Lifetime Resources- Luan Male- asked to be able to resubmit the Owner Occupied Housing Grant as the state or the mail lost the last one and they had to redo it- Approved.
Hughes asked her to set up Catch a Ride for Logan Housing residents to get to the Logan Supermart. Male noted that they could call for service anytime.

10. Pictometry- Craig Wittmer- presented a slide show of aerial oblique images of land. This patented system could do the entire county for $100,000. He noted it was a great tool for assessors and auditors because you see more than the rooftops that an aerial orthogonal image produces. It is also good for 911 and GPS locations. He can be contacted thru Margaret at the Planning Office or Bill Black.

Claims were approved and minutes signed.

Messmore noted an auction was planned for late October including 9 vehicles.

Ewbank is dealing with a FEMA letter that was addressed to former commissioner Batta regarding 1 1999 bldg permit issued to a house built in the flood plain in the Whitewater River area.

Hughes asked about getting ordinance numbers on the violations issued by the building inspector, so people can read up on the violation. Ewbank noted they have appeals processes too.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township