4 March 2008 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
Present: Hughes, Chairman, Fox, and Thompson
Also present: Pickens, Auditor, Ewbank, Attorney, and Messmore, Administrator
A uniformed police officer was present.
D-2 Commissioner Candidate Tom Orschel and Council-at-large candidate Phil Darling were also present.
[NOTE: The items presented for the large expenditures under transportation were only listed as updates on the agenda. They were finalized in meetings Tuesday afternoon with the Transportation Advisory Committee and needed to be approved tonight to get to advertised for the Council meeting on March 25th.]
Personnel policy was tabled again- Thompson had reviewed it and had a few more questions for the writer. He also questioned the need for separate texts since the 3 versions (for the different departments) were so similar.
Bill Black – EMA- Commissioners signed the Level 2 travel advisory proclamation and cancellation from Feb 22. They also authorized the Chairman- to sign these in the future.
This week was declared severe Weather Awareness Week. (Retroactively to Monday?)
March 14- Black is going to Goshen IN to deal with eth contractor on the new mobile command unit.
Todd Listerman- Transportation Director- gave a preview of what was coming to Council for funding at the commissioner’s requests. He received approval to approach Council for ALL these requests below. (It is unclear what the source is for the funds for #4 and 5):
1. 2008 Capital Expenditures has $1,635,133.95 in the Riverboat MVHA funds. Requests for this include line striping of roads with more than 1000vpd ($125,000) of all as on the previous year’s lists except possibly adding Jackson Ridge and part of Salt Fork. Roads( or sections of these roads) to be striped are: Carolina Trace, Cole Lane, Dutch Hollow, Gaynor Ridge, Georgetown, Jamison, Johnson Fork, Kaiser, McCann, North Dearborn, North Hogan, Old SR1, Old SR52, Pribble, Salt Fork, Sand Run, Sawdon Ridge, Schuman, St. Peters, Stateline, Trojan, Whites Hill, Wilson Creek, and Yorkridge.
Equipment Expenditure ($410,000) - 2 dump trucks with plow spreader, loader, and durapatcher
Resurfacing ($1.1 million) Mt Pleasant- entire road, Johnson Fork, and Hueseman
2. Special Project needs for 2008 with about $800,000 available from unappropriated MVHA. This leaves $150,000 as a cushion for these projects.
Collier Ridge Slip- -$500,000
West Laughery - $50,000 repair of bank as at Wilson Creek last year
Wilson Creek- $100,000 for preliminary geotech work to be repaired in 2009.
3. Bridge #15- Bell’s Branch- have $620,000 in cum bridge and asking for $300,000 to fund our share of federal rehab of bridge 15.
4. Unimproved THROUGH roads in the county- 30 miles (there are about 80 miles total- but the other 50 miles are not through streets.) The top two on this list are Ester Ridge and South Hogan. This program will take $3.6 million and they are asking for $1.5 million to start the program. THESE ROADS WILL NOT BE WIDENED- THEY ARE TO BE PAVED WITH ASPHALT AT THEIR EXISTING WIDTH.
5. #1 Road improvement project from priority list is Stateline from Jamison to Salt Fork including their two intersections. It has 6,000vpd. They are asking for commitment to complete the project through 2010. Cost- $2 million.
6. UPDATES: Part of the geotech preliminary engineering for the 1200 ft of Wilson Creek is $25,000. Triple Whipple will start March 24th. Bridges at Collier Ridge, Cold Springs, and Bonnell are all going for fed funding.
Pickens- Minutes approved and Claims approved conditioned on Thompson or Fox reviewing them tomorrow (Wed). When Thompson said he hadn’t had time to go through them, Fox said he hadn’t either. Neither could 2nd the vote.
Messmore- HAD NOTHING TO REPORT
Ewbank- reported on 3 claims that were being settled or in the process. All three apparently involve the sheriff’s dept. and excessive use of force issues were mentioned. (Jordan, McHenry, Simpson were the claimants)
Hughes - Appointments were approved to Redevelopment Commission- Al Abdon is replacing Grant Hughes (resigned) as Greendale’s rep and Jim Helms new Pres of DCEDI is replacing Jim West (resigned). Thompson said he knew enough to appoint these two- but asked again for CVs or resumes for these files. (The other members of the County’s Redevelopment Commission are John Rahe, John Maxwell, and Rick Fox.)
Hughes said Mayor Hastings of Aurora needs to save $40,000 for 11-7 shift on dispatch and is thinking of having the county do that for them. Bill Black is to see about the tech aspects and Ewbank to draw up the interlocal agreement should they decide to do this. [NOTE: Here is one place the county and cities could save tax money by consolidation of all shifts.]
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
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28 comments:
Seems like an odd time to work on highway budget..... why was this not complete last August??
Maybe it's an election gift...
John Maxwell says thanks for the total resurfacing of the road I live on.
lets see mt pleasant rd wonder why no one from county lives on that road or?
guess what builder got mt pleasant the farm????
bought him a new county man...
Our local more self-important Developers Don't Love Me Anymore...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QG1UEkC8aZY
i love you....
"i love you...."
Please, if you are one of my many DCEDI type of mistresses...do not tease me...for I know love can be so fleeting...!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=spZzKtjIRZg
The Gabbard Estates theme song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P4SDhrTPOiI
RE: Messmore- HAD NOTHING TO REPORT
What does he do? He never seems to have anything to say.
but waist tax payers money
but waist tax payers money
But just think about all the prosperity he and his like will bring to this county as long as the rest of us go broke paying for such propersity.
Prosperity can only be spread so thin, we would not want our DCEDI brethren to feel the pinch if the rest of us would like to share in such prosperity.
So, I guess, the rest of us must go to our banks, get loans, work two or three jobs to pay back such loans to pay for the prosperity of those who do not run in our social circles.
"Seems like an odd time to work on highway budget..... why was this not complete last August??"
This is the proper time of year for three of the budget items. The capital expenditure, bridges and special projects are established and approved annually to be implemented in the spring and summer construction season.
The County receives $1.6M each year for capital expenditures and the Highway Engineer allocates a portion to roadway striping for those roads with over 1000 vehicles per day, to equipment replacement on a 20 year cycle and the balance to roadway paving based strictly upon a formula that evaluates traffic, road condition, road type and other factors. The highest priority roads are done first each year, as far as the funding goes. This year $1.9M was requested and this amount was reduced to the $1.6M revenue amount available. Next year, the next roads in the priority list will be attended to.
The bridge allocation is part of the revenue received each year for bridges. Last year the bridge on Chesterville Rd was rehabilitated for about $1M (several years funds). Since the bridge fund revenue may not cover a bridge each year, we may have to save for several years to fund one bridge. This year part of the revenue will be used to provide matching funds for Bells Branch Bridge rehabilitation and the remainder will be saved for projects next year or later.
The above funds are replenished annually.
The third area is special projects. Last year for example, the slip on Wilson Creek Rd. was repaired. This year the special projects requests are for the repair of the slip on Collier Ridge, repair of a slip on Laughery Rd. and engineering (only) for another slip on Wilson Creek Rd., located just north of the River Center Mall near US 50. These projects are not funded annually and the request must be approved by the Commissioners and funded by Council, again before construction season begins.
These three items (at least two)are annual spring approvals by Commissioners and Council and are normal business of the County. The approval must be early enough in the year to allow time to bid and let contracts and complete construction for the projects.
Call me old fashioned..... I just think the 2008 budget should be established BEFORE 2008 starts.... and the County Council can tie up all the loose ends in their January meeting (if necessary)
But Bob- then what would Council have left to DO?
There should be agendas prior to each meeting too. How can council members vote on any issues when they don't know what's going to be discussed prior to the meeting? This council is pathetic.
Who controls the agenda of the Council?
If only one person, that could be considered a weak link in in the system, ripe for corrupt influence.
only if they limit who can be heard.
that's not generally the case with council
only if they limit who can be heard.
If only one person knows who is requesting to be heard at council, he or she can still stack the deck against those requesting such right to be heard by informing others with contrary positions, permitting those with contrary positions an unfair advantage to prepare their arguments.
"can still stack the deck"
Exactly. Joe Sixpack asks to speak to council relative to some concern. Joe Sixpack's "concern" may run contrary to some politically connected individual's "concern." Joe Sixpack can thus be blindsided by the politically connected's political and legal resources at the very same meeting. Joe Sixpack would never have a chance. Joe Sixpack could then be "hammered" like Thom Hammond was at the commissioners' meeting, by Bob Ewbank while Ewbank fawned over John Zeiden, who just happens to share Ewbank's interests in sewers.
County government has become a tool by the few to get what they want by scamming the many.
The DCRSD being only one of the latest examples of such scamming.
Ewbank overstepped his position as county attorney by launching into such attack on Hammond. But he owns the majority of the commissioners, so he could not be shut down. His actions should forever remove him from consideration of being officially connected to this county's government again, unless he somehow gets himself elected to public office. Period. I look forward to seeing Ewbank's puppets thrown from office by the voters.
hey messmore how many thousand this pissed away this year shame shame.
"Robert Bissett said...
Call me old fashioned..... I just think the 2008 budget should be established BEFORE 2008 starts.... and the County Council can tie up all the loose ends in their January meeting (if necessary)"
The budget was established in 2007 by the Council.
The Highway and Bridge funds are set. The presentation by the Highway Engineer is how to specifically spend the amounts budgeted for those two funds. That is the reason the list of items was trimmed to $1.6M to meet the budgeted amount. And the $300,000 is less than the budget.
Council still has to approve specific expenditures.
"County government has become a tool by the few to get what they want by scamming the many.
The DCRSD being only one of the latest examples of such scamming."
DCRSD is simply a tool to take from the poor and give to the rich.
Just look at Dennridge Acres.
Eliminate DCRSD now!
I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.
Don't say it somewhere else.
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