Information Technology Infrastructure – Region 9
Community Feedback Session
Agenda
April 9, 2010
Presentation to be made during the April 9, 2010 Region 9 Workforce Board
Meeting at Ivy Tech Community College/ Riverfront Campus, 50 Walnut St.,
Lawrenceburg, IN………………………………4th floor Business Conference Center
10:00 am Introductions and Acknowledgements Dave Galle
10:10 am EcO15 Needs Assessment for Education Jim Goldman
10:30 am ENABLE - Strategic Design for Southeast IN
Current State/ Desired State/ Gap Analysis
Migration Plan
Funding Considerations
11:10 am Open Discussion - Q & A All
11:20 am Community Response Dave Galle
11:30 am Adjourn
RSVP: Andrea at the Dearborn Community Foundation Office by April 6, 2010
(812) 539-4115
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Broadband Capacity in Region 9 Assessment Available
Dearborn County Community Leaders:
Some of you are aware of the recent study underwritten by the EcO15 Initiative to assess Region 9's broadband capacity relative to the educational and community needs within each county of the region. This study and the design phases are now complete thanks to the help provided by many of you in the initial community meeting sessions held in the earlier part of this year by Mr. Jim Goldman at our Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce Office. The results of Jim's findings while conducting an IT Infrastructure Needs Assessment and his recommendations for broadband development within our region will be the focus of a 90 minute session to be presented on April 9, 2010 at the Region 9 Workforce Board Meeting to be convened at Ivy Tech Community College at the Riverfront Campus, 50 Walnut Street in Lawrenceburg. There will also be time included for additional community input and general Q & A.
You plus any others who are interested in hearing Mr. Goldman's report findings and recommendations to bring "true" high-speed broadband connectivity to Southeastern Indiana, are cordially invited to do so on April 9th. While the Region 9 Workforce Board will conduct their need business earlier in the morning.....they expect that at 10:00 am Mr. Goldman will be scheduled to begin his presentation in the Business Conference Center (4th floor) at the ITCC Riverfront Campus in Downtown Lawrenceburg. A copy of the presentation agenda is available.
If you and/or any of your associates are interested in attending....I ASK YOU TO PLEASE CALL ANDREA AT THE DEARBORN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OFFICE TO RSVP YOUR INTENT TO ATTEND BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH. The Foundation Office Number is (812) 539-4115.
Attached to this email is a preliminary agenda for the the Region 9 Workforce Board Meeting....please use this as a reminder of this important presentation.
Finally, please accept a sincere "Thank you" from your Dearborn County Eco15 Coordinator for your involvement and interest in the development of this IT Infrastructure Plan. Your continued interest and support will spirit the future development and design of a "true" high-speed broadband plan that will promote human and economic development throughout the region.
Thank you,
Mark J. Neff
Dearborn County EcO15 Coordinator
Dearborn Community Foundation
322 Walnut Street
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
(812) 539-4115 Foundation Office
(812) 539-4119 Fax
(812) 584-7629 Cell Phone
www.dearborncf.orgwww.eco15.org
Some of you are aware of the recent study underwritten by the EcO15 Initiative to assess Region 9's broadband capacity relative to the educational and community needs within each county of the region. This study and the design phases are now complete thanks to the help provided by many of you in the initial community meeting sessions held in the earlier part of this year by Mr. Jim Goldman at our Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce Office. The results of Jim's findings while conducting an IT Infrastructure Needs Assessment and his recommendations for broadband development within our region will be the focus of a 90 minute session to be presented on April 9, 2010 at the Region 9 Workforce Board Meeting to be convened at Ivy Tech Community College at the Riverfront Campus, 50 Walnut Street in Lawrenceburg. There will also be time included for additional community input and general Q & A.
You plus any others who are interested in hearing Mr. Goldman's report findings and recommendations to bring "true" high-speed broadband connectivity to Southeastern Indiana, are cordially invited to do so on April 9th. While the Region 9 Workforce Board will conduct their need business earlier in the morning.....they expect that at 10:00 am Mr. Goldman will be scheduled to begin his presentation in the Business Conference Center (4th floor) at the ITCC Riverfront Campus in Downtown Lawrenceburg. A copy of the presentation agenda is available.
If you and/or any of your associates are interested in attending....I ASK YOU TO PLEASE CALL ANDREA AT THE DEARBORN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OFFICE TO RSVP YOUR INTENT TO ATTEND BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH. The Foundation Office Number is (812) 539-4115.
Attached to this email is a preliminary agenda for the the Region 9 Workforce Board Meeting....please use this as a reminder of this important presentation.
Finally, please accept a sincere "Thank you" from your Dearborn County Eco15 Coordinator for your involvement and interest in the development of this IT Infrastructure Plan. Your continued interest and support will spirit the future development and design of a "true" high-speed broadband plan that will promote human and economic development throughout the region.
Thank you,
Mark J. Neff
Dearborn County EcO15 Coordinator
Dearborn Community Foundation
322 Walnut Street
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
(812) 539-4115 Foundation Office
(812) 539-4119 Fax
(812) 584-7629 Cell Phone
www.dearborncf.orgwww.eco15.org
DRAFT Agenda April 6 Commissioners Meeting
AGENDA
DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
April 6, 2010
7:00 p.m., Commissioners Room
County Administration Building
215 B West High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indian
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
CALL TO ORDER
OLD BUSINESS
1. Purchasing Agency Ordinance
2. Cathy Dwyer & Jan McMullin – Clothes Line Display
3. Ordinance regarding fee for tax list
NEW BUSINESS
1. Ratify OKI Committee member for Clean Water Act
2. Proclamation for Mental Health Month
3. Ruth Ann Batta – Summer Art Program
Request to go to Council
Corporate Cost Solutions
Bill Black, EMA
Contract signatures
Margaret Minzner, GIS
Updates and Working with City of Aurora
Paul Pearson - Spy Glass
PERF – Authorizing Agent
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT – Todd Listerman
1. Updates
2. Red Bridge discussion
AUDITOR - Claims/Minutes
ATTORNEY
County Coordinator – Bill Ewbank
COMMISSIONER – Jeff Hughes
COMMISSIONER – Tom Orschell
COMMISSIONER – Ralph Thompson, Jr.
1. Veterans Officer Appointment
2. Signatures for Reaction PC contracts
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION
PUBLIC COMMENT
ADJOURN
DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
April 6, 2010
7:00 p.m., Commissioners Room
County Administration Building
215 B West High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indian
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
CALL TO ORDER
OLD BUSINESS
1. Purchasing Agency Ordinance
2. Cathy Dwyer & Jan McMullin – Clothes Line Display
3. Ordinance regarding fee for tax list
NEW BUSINESS
1. Ratify OKI Committee member for Clean Water Act
2. Proclamation for Mental Health Month
3. Ruth Ann Batta – Summer Art Program
Request to go to Council
Corporate Cost Solutions
Bill Black, EMA
Contract signatures
Margaret Minzner, GIS
Updates and Working with City of Aurora
Paul Pearson - Spy Glass
PERF – Authorizing Agent
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT – Todd Listerman
1. Updates
2. Red Bridge discussion
AUDITOR - Claims/Minutes
ATTORNEY
County Coordinator – Bill Ewbank
COMMISSIONER – Jeff Hughes
COMMISSIONER – Tom Orschell
COMMISSIONER – Ralph Thompson, Jr.
1. Veterans Officer Appointment
2. Signatures for Reaction PC contracts
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION
PUBLIC COMMENT
ADJOURN
HVL HOSTS A MEET THE CANDIDATES NIGHT
HVL is hosting a Meet the Candidates Night on April 27 at 7 PM on the lower level of their Community Center at 19303 Schmarr Drive (off Alpine, near Willies)
The public is invited.
The public is invited.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
WHO IS STALLING THE JUSTICE CAMPUS PLANS?
Below is an email from Aaron Negangard to the Commissioners via their Adm Ass't:
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Negangard
To: 'Sue Hayden'; denny1225@hotmail.com; 'Liz Morris' ; 'Tom Cheek' ; 'Judge Humphrey ' ; 'Judge Sally Blankenship' ; 'Judge Jonathan Cleary' ; 'Barb Kaffenberger' ; 'Gayle Pennington' ; cfryman@dearborncounty.in.gov; 'Gary Hensley' ; 'Phil Weaver ' ; 'Terri Dillard' ; 'Bill Black' ; 'Bill Ewbank' ; 'Sheriff Lusby' ; 'David Hall ' ; 'Mark McCormack' ; 'Sandy Leptak' ; tagnes@dearborncounty.in.gov; bblair@dearborncounty.in.gov; mkreinhop@dearborncounty.in.gov; 'Jeff Hughes' ; 'Ralph Thompson' ; 'Tom Orschell'
Cc: 'Bret Dodd'
Sent: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 11:58 pm
Subject: RE: Upcoming Charette Meetings
Dear Sue:
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the “charette”. Given that County Council voted in July, 2009 to have the “charette” in 45 days of that meeting, I am glad that it has finally been scheduled. However, I am concerned that County Council member Liz Morris will not be able to attend. I am also concerned because it is my understanding that both Sheriff David Lusby and Chief Deputy Mike Kreinhop will not be able to attend as well. It would seem to me that it would be better to find out what dates would be available for all team members and then pick a date. This was not done. This is too important a process to schedule this with little notice to the team members. If we are to come up with a decision that is in the best interests of the citizens of this county, then I believe it is critical to include all the team members. Could you please ask the Commissioners for me why they cannot schedule this matter at a time that is more convenient for all the team members? Since 9 months have transpired since County Council’s vote, I do not understand why it is suddenly so urgent that less than 2 weeks notice was given to team members. Please advise as to whether or not the County Commissioners are interested from hearing from all the team members and whether they are willing to reschedule to allow everyone input in this very important process. Thank you for your time.
Aaron Negangard
[NOTE: In my opinion, Negangard seems to "forget" that when they couldn't get a date until after the primary elections ( political reasons?), the commissioners asked the JUDGES to pick the date.
The sheriff is leaving office- Kreinhop MAY get elected and May not- they can send someone else to represent the sheriff's dept. IF it is really important these people would MAKE the time for it. This charette date was selected almost a month ago at the commissioners last evening meeting in early March.
Liz Morris is a council person- send someone else from council as her alternate.
Two weeks notice is all an employee gives when they quit. And yet some can't seem to set plans for a Saturday for this. Negangard wants all team members available- well that is nearly impossible, but there should be able to be a decent turnout.
Charettes were proposed by Charlie Fehrman- 9 months ago- for Negangard and the judges to get their concerns heard.
And who was in a hurry before????? Negangard and the judges were. They need their space concerns addressed.
It's time to quit playing games. Telling everyone that Lawrenceburg will pay for all of this is wrong. The price tag is too high. The taxpayers don't want more taxes. The bonds coming due will only cover about 1/3 of it's estimated price tag if you include the jail expansion.
Elected officials need to be fiscally responsible. They serve the taxpayers- not the other way around. The commissioners and Council have to make the decision. They want officials and staff input.
Get to the charettes that as a group you asked for and that Council (in the name of taxpayers) is PAYING for, and do the work needed to solve the space problems. Stop stalling.]
Below is the original email sent out to formally get RSVPs from the charette team members:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sue Hayden [mailto:shayden@dearborncounty.in.gov]
Sent: None
To: denny1225@hotmail.com; Liz Morris; Tom Cheek; Judge Humphrey ; Judge Sally Blankenship; Judge Jonathan Cleary; Aaron Negangard; Barb Kaffenberger; Gayle Pennington; cfryman@dearborncounty.in.gov; Gary Hensley; Phil Weaver ; Terri Dillard; Bill Black; Bill Ewbank; Sheriff Lusby; David Hall ; Mark McCormack; Sandy Leptak; tagnes@dearborncounty.in.gov; bblair@dearborncounty.in.gov; mkreinhop@dearborncounty.in.gov; 'Jeff Hughes'; 'Ralph Thompson'; Tom Orschell
Cc: 'Bret Dodd'
Subject: Upcoming Charette Meetings
The Dearborn County Board of County Commissioners invites you (attached list of Charette Teams/Members) to participate in a Charette (attached Charette agenda) on Saturday April 10th. “Charette” is a term used to define a focused period of effort dedicated to solving a design or planning problem by a group of interested parties. In this case, the challenge to this group of participants is to contribute to determining the best means to address the county’s space needs. Please confirm your participation with Sue Hayden by or before Thursday April 1st. If you can not attend, please advise Sue and suggest a possible representative from your department for substitution consideration, thank you.
Sue Hayden
Dearborn County
Administrative Assistant
215 B West High Street
Lawrenceburg, In 47025
812-537-1040 ext.0
fax- 812-532-2003
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Negangard
To: 'Sue Hayden'
Cc: 'Bret Dodd'
Sent: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 11:58 pm
Subject: RE: Upcoming Charette Meetings
Dear Sue:
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the “charette”. Given that County Council voted in July, 2009 to have the “charette” in 45 days of that meeting, I am glad that it has finally been scheduled. However, I am concerned that County Council member Liz Morris will not be able to attend. I am also concerned because it is my understanding that both Sheriff David Lusby and Chief Deputy Mike Kreinhop will not be able to attend as well. It would seem to me that it would be better to find out what dates would be available for all team members and then pick a date. This was not done. This is too important a process to schedule this with little notice to the team members. If we are to come up with a decision that is in the best interests of the citizens of this county, then I believe it is critical to include all the team members. Could you please ask the Commissioners for me why they cannot schedule this matter at a time that is more convenient for all the team members? Since 9 months have transpired since County Council’s vote, I do not understand why it is suddenly so urgent that less than 2 weeks notice was given to team members. Please advise as to whether or not the County Commissioners are interested from hearing from all the team members and whether they are willing to reschedule to allow everyone input in this very important process. Thank you for your time.
Aaron Negangard
[NOTE: In my opinion, Negangard seems to "forget" that when they couldn't get a date until after the primary elections ( political reasons?), the commissioners asked the JUDGES to pick the date.
The sheriff is leaving office- Kreinhop MAY get elected and May not- they can send someone else to represent the sheriff's dept. IF it is really important these people would MAKE the time for it. This charette date was selected almost a month ago at the commissioners last evening meeting in early March.
Liz Morris is a council person- send someone else from council as her alternate.
Two weeks notice is all an employee gives when they quit. And yet some can't seem to set plans for a Saturday for this. Negangard wants all team members available- well that is nearly impossible, but there should be able to be a decent turnout.
Charettes were proposed by Charlie Fehrman- 9 months ago- for Negangard and the judges to get their concerns heard.
And who was in a hurry before????? Negangard and the judges were. They need their space concerns addressed.
It's time to quit playing games. Telling everyone that Lawrenceburg will pay for all of this is wrong. The price tag is too high. The taxpayers don't want more taxes. The bonds coming due will only cover about 1/3 of it's estimated price tag if you include the jail expansion.
Elected officials need to be fiscally responsible. They serve the taxpayers- not the other way around. The commissioners and Council have to make the decision. They want officials and staff input.
Get to the charettes that as a group you asked for and that Council (in the name of taxpayers) is PAYING for, and do the work needed to solve the space problems. Stop stalling.]
Below is the original email sent out to formally get RSVPs from the charette team members:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sue Hayden [mailto:shayden@dearborncounty.in.gov]
Sent: None
To: denny1225@hotmail.com; Liz Morris; Tom Cheek; Judge Humphrey ; Judge Sally Blankenship; Judge Jonathan Cleary; Aaron Negangard; Barb Kaffenberger; Gayle Pennington; cfryman@dearborncounty.in.gov; Gary Hensley; Phil Weaver ; Terri Dillard; Bill Black; Bill Ewbank; Sheriff Lusby; David Hall ; Mark McCormack; Sandy Leptak; tagnes@dearborncounty.in.gov; bblair@dearborncounty.in.gov; mkreinhop@dearborncounty.in.gov; 'Jeff Hughes'; 'Ralph Thompson'; Tom Orschell
Cc: 'Bret Dodd'
Subject: Upcoming Charette Meetings
The Dearborn County Board of County Commissioners invites you (attached list of Charette Teams/Members) to participate in a Charette (attached Charette agenda) on Saturday April 10th. “Charette” is a term used to define a focused period of effort dedicated to solving a design or planning problem by a group of interested parties. In this case, the challenge to this group of participants is to contribute to determining the best means to address the county’s space needs. Please confirm your participation with Sue Hayden by or before Thursday April 1st. If you can not attend, please advise Sue and suggest a possible representative from your department for substitution consideration, thank you.
Sue Hayden
Dearborn County
Administrative Assistant
215 B West High Street
Lawrenceburg, In 47025
812-537-1040 ext.0
fax- 812-532-2003
Monday, March 29, 2010
Gayle Pennington Elected Auditor
Republican Party met this evening and elected Gayle Pennington to fill out the remainder of Cary Picken's term as Auditor.
Pennington is the lone candidate in the primary election for Auditor this year.
She is currently Treasurer.
Republicans will have to meet again to fill the Treasurer's position.
Pennington is the lone candidate in the primary election for Auditor this year.
She is currently Treasurer.
Republicans will have to meet again to fill the Treasurer's position.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tom Knollman State Representative in District 55 on the flypod.com
Greetings to our listeners and subscribers --
POLITICALLY CORRECT: TOM KNOLLMAN -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Republican candidate Tom Knollman. Mr. Knollman is the incumbent running for re-election for State Representative in District 55. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46612
POLITICALLY CORRECT: TOM KNOLLMAN -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Republican candidate Tom Knollman. Mr. Knollman is the incumbent running for re-election for State Representative in District 55. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46612
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
COMMISSIONER ORSCHELL UPDATES CITIZENS ON theflypod.com
Show #1 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: TOM ORSCHELL, COUNTY COMMISSIONER -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Commissioner Orschell. They discuss a variety of topics relevant to citizens of Dearborn County. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46500
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46500
Monday, March 22, 2010
OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING RED BRIDGE ON COLLIER RIDGE ROAD
The steel truss bridge (#55) on Collier Ridge ( the Red Bridge) is closed indefinitely due to irreparable structural damage. The bottom chord of one truss has totally failed at the bearing plate and the other chord at the bearing plate is completely fractured. The structure is unsafe to carry any traffic and will require replacement.
The County Highway Engineer, Todd Listermann, will be meeting with INDOT in April, to again request Federal funding assistance to help cover the cost of replacement. Federal Highway funds (administered by the State) for the replacement was sought about 2 years ago when the County proceeded with the repair of the slide area on the Collier Ridge hill. The bridge replacement was not considered to be a high enough priority for the County to receive funding at that time. Mr. Listerman will be making a plea for increased priority because of the failure.
The replacement plan includes widening the bridge to 2 lanes and realigning the bridge for better traffic flow and safety. The bridge condition and replacement issues will be discussed at the April 6th Commissioners meeting.
Ralph Thompson
Commissioner
The County Highway Engineer, Todd Listermann, will be meeting with INDOT in April, to again request Federal funding assistance to help cover the cost of replacement. Federal Highway funds (administered by the State) for the replacement was sought about 2 years ago when the County proceeded with the repair of the slide area on the Collier Ridge hill. The bridge replacement was not considered to be a high enough priority for the County to receive funding at that time. Mr. Listerman will be making a plea for increased priority because of the failure.
The replacement plan includes widening the bridge to 2 lanes and realigning the bridge for better traffic flow and safety. The bridge condition and replacement issues will be discussed at the April 6th Commissioners meeting.
Ralph Thompson
Commissioner
RED BRIDGE ON COLLIER RIDGE CLOSED
Effective Sunday morning, the Red Bridge on Collier Ridge is permanently closed due to irreparable structural damage and will have to be completely replaced. This according to Todd Listermann, who was on site when I arrived there.
Johnny Schott
Manchester Township
Johnny Schott
Manchester Township
Friday, March 19, 2010
Health Care Bill Available online- all 153 pages of it
Health Care Reconcilation Bill (153 pages) is available online at:
http://documents.nytimes.com/health-care-reconciliation-bill?ref=policy#p=1
http://documents.nytimes.com/health-care-reconciliation-bill?ref=policy#p=1
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
16 March 2010 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
16 March 2010 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
Present: Ralph Thompson, President, Tom Orschell, and Jeff Hughes
Also present: Mike Witte, Attorney. Auditor’s meeting duties covered by Cathy from Planning dept.
NOTE: Cary Pickens, Auditor, passed away earlier this month.
OLD BUSINESS:
Purchasing agency ordinance- Mike Witte- County Attorney- submitted 2 separate proposals after last meeting- received no critique from anyone yet. Here to take questions. Alternate version gives discretion to officeholders or dept. heads to negotiate contracts for 1 year or less. Hughes likes checks and balances to have it come before the commissioners. Any contract longer than a year is only binding with a bond or if there is language saying it is contingent on funding by County Council. Witte advises signing off on written contracts for services. Hughes questioned the $25,000 limits too. Tabled so the commissioners could review it.
NEW BUSINESS
Treasurer – Gayle Pennington- Ordinance for Real Estate Companies – TABLED at Pennington’s request
PAWS – Sandy Carly- Discussion on refund of $1million plus interest donated from Lawrenceburg as they are using it for their shelter. Commissioners approved the transfer of the money back to PAWS.
Reaction PC – Maintenance Contract- Mr. Wyly’s proposal for additional function that was requested. They are in their 3rd training session for the county website over in the library. Adding logging of user changes so that all changes are documented. Takes about 8 hours to set this up- $480. Adding user permission pages to the site- so that only certain pages are allowed to that person. This would make it so users only see what they are able to access. This is more intrusive to fix. After discounts this is about 15 hours work for $900. Could also have multiple permissions this would take about 20 hours 4 weeks time and $1200. Access permissions can occur overnight- not much delay for new people.
Maintenance contract is their commitment to the county- host it, make sure it’s up and running and make back-up. Use brinkster so they have a 99% uptime rate except for maintenance times. Daily back-up of the site. You can recover that for up to 3 days and then that is gone. At most you could lose 3 days worth of data. No charge if it is their fault- if it’s something the county user did- there is a $250 charge per instance. Premium support package unlimited phone and email support during business hours and response within one day. Will do extra training and new employees. $120 per hour for major changes and $80 for minor ones. Can get analytics on usage and hits per page. Base support is $1500 per year and the premium is $3,000 per year. If there is a termination they will give them DVD etc.
Have been supporting the old site during the upgrade for a little over $700- that would be included if they use the premium support package.
Commissioners opted to do the premium maintenance package for the first year (running from Feb 1st so that commissioners decide each Jan on their renewals) due to the number of questions employees will have with training. There will be a 2.5 year pay back even with additional features compared to the old system. Cost is $3000 per year. They also decided on the increased level of security and logging in user changes for $1680.
Terry Lyons – 17543 Ellinghausen Rd.- Manchester- Feb had 2 major snows- wife had to leave to be sure she could get her mother to hospital for surgery. Snow came that Sunday night. By Tues neighbor got stuck, mail lady got stuck, and wife couldn’t come home 2 county plows stuck on that street. By Wed his wife came home- got stuck- but they got her out. Still no road plowed. By Sunday still not plowed. More snow. All streets clean – even side streets except theirs by then. ( 11 days) Life squad couldn’t get back that road- when the baby had accidentally swallowed pills. They had to get out with a neighbor on the fire squad. Called dispatch and Grieve and it was cleaned by the next day then. Todd Listerman will look into it.
DCRSD – Steve Renihan- High Ridge plant is substantially completed. Request to go to Council for 2 change orders directly related to project $2,600 for collection system to TV it. Should last monger than they had originally thought- it’s a 30 year old system. $2500 to extend fence around the shed because of the types of chemicals stored there- as kids in neighborhood play there. Keystone billing- recommended by state board of accounts. They need checks and balances in place due to staff running it. This will serve any future sites as well. $10,400 seed money for High Ridge for Operations and Maintenance acc’t. After 6 months this money will pay back and they will send it back to council ( it’s a loan). Estimates $2000 for property insurance on the actual plant. Eventually that will be under O&M. Renihan needs a bond as he is also signing on accounts with the treasurer being ill.
Second phase of High Ridge will be done by mid to end of April. By May when Council meets this should be done. Todd Listerman said Highway signed off on permit to go ahead out there yesterday. Commissioners approved Renihan to go to Council for DCRSD for $22,060 total.
ANIMAL CONTROL – Marlene Underwood- passed out numbers of animal in – 93 dogs in Jan- 14 euthanized- adopted 66. Cats 40 in 17 euthanized and more adopted than came in. ( 2009 numbers)
Jan Dogs 77% adopted 18%euthanized. Cats 135% adopted 12 %euthanized
Feb Dogs 48% adopted 11%euthanized. Cats 81%adopted and 12% euthanized
Have not euthanized for space in a long long time.
50% dog and 75% cats in Butler County euthanization rate.
Last couple weeks had issues with kennel cough. Separated cats with respiratory ills.
Brown Mackey College came out to test animals.
Bites: 3 dog to dog and 7 dog to human and one cat to human
Current population 55 dogs and 27 cats.
Kitten season is coming up.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT – Todd Listerman gave a15-minute report.
Gave card to Mr. Lyons to call him if any problems on Ellinghausen Road.
Checking on salt program again- did find a Bloomington supplier thru Grieve for past snow. Will sign vendor in Bloomington and also with the state.
Working with Barth and assoc to get a contract to resurface North Dearborn road in case stimulus will come up. Big question if Stimulus II will go up. Cost is max $2500- no more. Talked to others at road school- many are paying $15-20,000 because they are hiring consultants to do ALL the work. Listerman has already done the leg work- so it only costs us about $2500. This will still be able to be used in the future. Commissioners decided to back off on this for now- due to uncertainty about stimulus.
Need to have inventory completed by 2011 on signs for the state. Will hire another intern this summer to complete this work. To stay in compliance they will redo signs on road sections every 10 years. Already in process on this for past few years.
Speed limits are 30 mph urban sections and 55mph on non-urban if not posted. These can be changed if traffic studies have been done. Will hopefully have an ordinance on these, stop signs, signals etc. next year. School zones will rise to 30 mph per state code. Only one traffic light in county inventory at Stateline and Stephens by HVL. It has been adjusted for timing also.
Met with Rohe asphalt- $450 per ton was estimated. It is now $525 and may go as high as $600 per ton. May not be able to buy as much asphalt as we’d projected.
April 2- trucks will be parked for summer- so none will go home with employees for snow emergencies.
Plan to go to 10 hour days after school lets out- from Memorial day to Labor day.
AUDITOR – Thompson said: Cary Pickens has passed- after many years of service to the county. He’d been looking forward to retirement. He will be sorely missed.
Greendale Ems contracts $40,000 signed.
Minutes signed with corrections. Claims approved.
Connie in auditor’s office was named acting charge for Pickens at special meeting..
ATTORNEY- Mike Witte- discussed the difference between uniform traffic from police versus an insurance form which is simpler. Witte to investigate to protect county.
No new tort and litigation.
Seibert case in litigation – when real estate was sold at tax sale and owner was not notified, even though they had sent change of address notices. This was from late tax bills time period. Court ruled in Seibert’s favor. (in West Harrison)
Met with DNR – assignment of Old Cole Lane portion of Hartford Ford will be assigned in about a month
Kent Irwin wanted to submit a sample ordinance on policy manual issues. That will be checked to see when that is.
Juvenile center contract on doctor has not come back to commissioners- Witte to find this.
Treasurer’s fee increase ordinance- he’s still working on this.
Mr. Fellers- Guilford on ROW- whether it was county or private. Todd Listerman- said Ron Barnhart P/Z and Art Wenzel- this is not well described as to what it is for. It is not a ROW- it is an easement- so that means it’s a private easement issue. Barnhart may have contacted him. Todd will make sure that happened.
Witte meeting with P/Z to decide whether to pursue sugar Ridge legally.
County Coordinator – Bill Ewbank- Community Mental Health service wants to do Clothes Line Display for Court House Lawn on Friday April 9th for Victims of sexual Assault. Commissioners granted approval.
Indiana Mutual Ins has done an assessment of our dept’s for risk management. Want to elect motor vehicle reports on an annual basis for all employees who operate a county vehicle. This include their operation of a their own vehicles. Driver training safety program and documentation required more for Highway dept.
Veterans Officer had 40 applicants and 5 will be interviewed this afternoon as finalists.
Review all our regulations on animal control so we can work with PAWS eventually. Working session to brainstorm what is on the books and look at other options. They will try to set a common date to do this- in public session.
Witte and Ewbank will get together on incident reports for insurance.
COMMISSIONER – Jeff Hughes – Federal gov’t said state is not legal on liability issues with Region 9. This may cost us something down the road in liability insurance
COMMISSIONER – Tom Orschell- use his time to take a moment of silence for the late Mr. Pickens our auditor for his untimely death.
COMMISSIONER – Ralph Thompson, Jr.- nothing to add.
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
ADJOURN 10:55 AM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Present: Ralph Thompson, President, Tom Orschell, and Jeff Hughes
Also present: Mike Witte, Attorney. Auditor’s meeting duties covered by Cathy from Planning dept.
NOTE: Cary Pickens, Auditor, passed away earlier this month.
OLD BUSINESS:
Purchasing agency ordinance- Mike Witte- County Attorney- submitted 2 separate proposals after last meeting- received no critique from anyone yet. Here to take questions. Alternate version gives discretion to officeholders or dept. heads to negotiate contracts for 1 year or less. Hughes likes checks and balances to have it come before the commissioners. Any contract longer than a year is only binding with a bond or if there is language saying it is contingent on funding by County Council. Witte advises signing off on written contracts for services. Hughes questioned the $25,000 limits too. Tabled so the commissioners could review it.
NEW BUSINESS
Treasurer – Gayle Pennington- Ordinance for Real Estate Companies – TABLED at Pennington’s request
PAWS – Sandy Carly- Discussion on refund of $1million plus interest donated from Lawrenceburg as they are using it for their shelter. Commissioners approved the transfer of the money back to PAWS.
Reaction PC – Maintenance Contract- Mr. Wyly’s proposal for additional function that was requested. They are in their 3rd training session for the county website over in the library. Adding logging of user changes so that all changes are documented. Takes about 8 hours to set this up- $480. Adding user permission pages to the site- so that only certain pages are allowed to that person. This would make it so users only see what they are able to access. This is more intrusive to fix. After discounts this is about 15 hours work for $900. Could also have multiple permissions this would take about 20 hours 4 weeks time and $1200. Access permissions can occur overnight- not much delay for new people.
Maintenance contract is their commitment to the county- host it, make sure it’s up and running and make back-up. Use brinkster so they have a 99% uptime rate except for maintenance times. Daily back-up of the site. You can recover that for up to 3 days and then that is gone. At most you could lose 3 days worth of data. No charge if it is their fault- if it’s something the county user did- there is a $250 charge per instance. Premium support package unlimited phone and email support during business hours and response within one day. Will do extra training and new employees. $120 per hour for major changes and $80 for minor ones. Can get analytics on usage and hits per page. Base support is $1500 per year and the premium is $3,000 per year. If there is a termination they will give them DVD etc.
Have been supporting the old site during the upgrade for a little over $700- that would be included if they use the premium support package.
Commissioners opted to do the premium maintenance package for the first year (running from Feb 1st so that commissioners decide each Jan on their renewals) due to the number of questions employees will have with training. There will be a 2.5 year pay back even with additional features compared to the old system. Cost is $3000 per year. They also decided on the increased level of security and logging in user changes for $1680.
Terry Lyons – 17543 Ellinghausen Rd.- Manchester- Feb had 2 major snows- wife had to leave to be sure she could get her mother to hospital for surgery. Snow came that Sunday night. By Tues neighbor got stuck, mail lady got stuck, and wife couldn’t come home 2 county plows stuck on that street. By Wed his wife came home- got stuck- but they got her out. Still no road plowed. By Sunday still not plowed. More snow. All streets clean – even side streets except theirs by then. ( 11 days) Life squad couldn’t get back that road- when the baby had accidentally swallowed pills. They had to get out with a neighbor on the fire squad. Called dispatch and Grieve and it was cleaned by the next day then. Todd Listerman will look into it.
DCRSD – Steve Renihan- High Ridge plant is substantially completed. Request to go to Council for 2 change orders directly related to project $2,600 for collection system to TV it. Should last monger than they had originally thought- it’s a 30 year old system. $2500 to extend fence around the shed because of the types of chemicals stored there- as kids in neighborhood play there. Keystone billing- recommended by state board of accounts. They need checks and balances in place due to staff running it. This will serve any future sites as well. $10,400 seed money for High Ridge for Operations and Maintenance acc’t. After 6 months this money will pay back and they will send it back to council ( it’s a loan). Estimates $2000 for property insurance on the actual plant. Eventually that will be under O&M. Renihan needs a bond as he is also signing on accounts with the treasurer being ill.
Second phase of High Ridge will be done by mid to end of April. By May when Council meets this should be done. Todd Listerman said Highway signed off on permit to go ahead out there yesterday. Commissioners approved Renihan to go to Council for DCRSD for $22,060 total.
ANIMAL CONTROL – Marlene Underwood- passed out numbers of animal in – 93 dogs in Jan- 14 euthanized- adopted 66. Cats 40 in 17 euthanized and more adopted than came in. ( 2009 numbers)
Jan Dogs 77% adopted 18%euthanized. Cats 135% adopted 12 %euthanized
Feb Dogs 48% adopted 11%euthanized. Cats 81%adopted and 12% euthanized
Have not euthanized for space in a long long time.
50% dog and 75% cats in Butler County euthanization rate.
Last couple weeks had issues with kennel cough. Separated cats with respiratory ills.
Brown Mackey College came out to test animals.
Bites: 3 dog to dog and 7 dog to human and one cat to human
Current population 55 dogs and 27 cats.
Kitten season is coming up.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT – Todd Listerman gave a15-minute report.
Gave card to Mr. Lyons to call him if any problems on Ellinghausen Road.
Checking on salt program again- did find a Bloomington supplier thru Grieve for past snow. Will sign vendor in Bloomington and also with the state.
Working with Barth and assoc to get a contract to resurface North Dearborn road in case stimulus will come up. Big question if Stimulus II will go up. Cost is max $2500- no more. Talked to others at road school- many are paying $15-20,000 because they are hiring consultants to do ALL the work. Listerman has already done the leg work- so it only costs us about $2500. This will still be able to be used in the future. Commissioners decided to back off on this for now- due to uncertainty about stimulus.
Need to have inventory completed by 2011 on signs for the state. Will hire another intern this summer to complete this work. To stay in compliance they will redo signs on road sections every 10 years. Already in process on this for past few years.
Speed limits are 30 mph urban sections and 55mph on non-urban if not posted. These can be changed if traffic studies have been done. Will hopefully have an ordinance on these, stop signs, signals etc. next year. School zones will rise to 30 mph per state code. Only one traffic light in county inventory at Stateline and Stephens by HVL. It has been adjusted for timing also.
Met with Rohe asphalt- $450 per ton was estimated. It is now $525 and may go as high as $600 per ton. May not be able to buy as much asphalt as we’d projected.
April 2- trucks will be parked for summer- so none will go home with employees for snow emergencies.
Plan to go to 10 hour days after school lets out- from Memorial day to Labor day.
AUDITOR – Thompson said: Cary Pickens has passed- after many years of service to the county. He’d been looking forward to retirement. He will be sorely missed.
Greendale Ems contracts $40,000 signed.
Minutes signed with corrections. Claims approved.
Connie in auditor’s office was named acting charge for Pickens at special meeting..
ATTORNEY- Mike Witte- discussed the difference between uniform traffic from police versus an insurance form which is simpler. Witte to investigate to protect county.
No new tort and litigation.
Seibert case in litigation – when real estate was sold at tax sale and owner was not notified, even though they had sent change of address notices. This was from late tax bills time period. Court ruled in Seibert’s favor. (in West Harrison)
Met with DNR – assignment of Old Cole Lane portion of Hartford Ford will be assigned in about a month
Kent Irwin wanted to submit a sample ordinance on policy manual issues. That will be checked to see when that is.
Juvenile center contract on doctor has not come back to commissioners- Witte to find this.
Treasurer’s fee increase ordinance- he’s still working on this.
Mr. Fellers- Guilford on ROW- whether it was county or private. Todd Listerman- said Ron Barnhart P/Z and Art Wenzel- this is not well described as to what it is for. It is not a ROW- it is an easement- so that means it’s a private easement issue. Barnhart may have contacted him. Todd will make sure that happened.
Witte meeting with P/Z to decide whether to pursue sugar Ridge legally.
County Coordinator – Bill Ewbank- Community Mental Health service wants to do Clothes Line Display for Court House Lawn on Friday April 9th for Victims of sexual Assault. Commissioners granted approval.
Indiana Mutual Ins has done an assessment of our dept’s for risk management. Want to elect motor vehicle reports on an annual basis for all employees who operate a county vehicle. This include their operation of a their own vehicles. Driver training safety program and documentation required more for Highway dept.
Veterans Officer had 40 applicants and 5 will be interviewed this afternoon as finalists.
Review all our regulations on animal control so we can work with PAWS eventually. Working session to brainstorm what is on the books and look at other options. They will try to set a common date to do this- in public session.
Witte and Ewbank will get together on incident reports for insurance.
COMMISSIONER – Jeff Hughes – Federal gov’t said state is not legal on liability issues with Region 9. This may cost us something down the road in liability insurance
COMMISSIONER – Tom Orschell- use his time to take a moment of silence for the late Mr. Pickens our auditor for his untimely death.
COMMISSIONER – Ralph Thompson, Jr.- nothing to add.
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
ADJOURN 10:55 AM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Monday, March 15, 2010
Federal government has websites to track government spending including stimulus
Federal Government transparency sites:
www.data.gov
Where is the stimulus money going?
www.recovery.gov
www.data.gov
Where is the stimulus money going?
www.recovery.gov
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
LINDSAY PATTERSON FOR STATE SENATE DISTRICT 43 on theflypod.com
Greetings to our listeners and subscribers --
from theflypod.com
Show #1 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: LINDSAY PATTERSON -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Lindsay Patterson, Republican candidate for State Senate in District 43. Ms. Patterson is running against incumbent Republican, Senator Johnny Nugent. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46334
from theflypod.com
Show #1 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: LINDSAY PATTERSON -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Lindsay Patterson, Republican candidate for State Senate in District 43. Ms. Patterson is running against incumbent Republican, Senator Johnny Nugent. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46334
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Septic System Maintenance & Care Workshop
With one-third of the US population on septic systems, over 1 trillion gallons of waste per year is disposed below the ground's surface. Inadequately treated sewage from failing septic systems is the most frequently reported cause of groundwater contamination. It poses a significant threat to drinking water and human health because diseases and infections may be transferred to people and animals. Dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid fever, and acute gastrointestinal illness are some of the more serious examples. Proper maintenance and care of septic systems can help prevent failures and malfunctions from happening and extend the life of your system.
Along with the Dearborn County Health Department, the Hogan Creek Watershed Project and the Dearborn County Soil and Water Conservation District are planning a workshop to educate citizens on how septic systems work, the proper maintenance and care, tips on how to extend the life of the system, and ways to improve current systems. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 10th at Purdue Extension Office in Aurora at 6:00 pm. The workshop is FREE to attend and it may SAVE you lots of money and headaches in the future.
If you would like more information, please contact Heather Wirth at 812-926-2406 ext 3.
Along with the Dearborn County Health Department, the Hogan Creek Watershed Project and the Dearborn County Soil and Water Conservation District are planning a workshop to educate citizens on how septic systems work, the proper maintenance and care, tips on how to extend the life of the system, and ways to improve current systems. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 10th at Purdue Extension Office in Aurora at 6:00 pm. The workshop is FREE to attend and it may SAVE you lots of money and headaches in the future.
If you would like more information, please contact Heather Wirth at 812-926-2406 ext 3.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND VOTER REGISTRATION ONLINE
To obtain and absentee ballot request and/or a voter registration form online- go to the following site:
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/2392.htm
■April 5, 2010: Voter Registration Closes for the 2010 Primary Election
■April 26, 2010: Deadline for absentee-by-mail applications for the 2010 Primary Election
■May 4, 2010: Primary Election Day
■May 18, 2010: Voter Registration Opens for the 2010 General Election
■October 4, 2010: Voter Registration Closes for the 2010 General Election
■October 25, 2010: Deadline for absentee-by-mail applications for the General Election
■November 2, 2010: General Election Day Mail-in voter registration applications must be postmarked on or before the above registration deadlines.
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/2392.htm
■April 5, 2010: Voter Registration Closes for the 2010 Primary Election
■April 26, 2010: Deadline for absentee-by-mail applications for the 2010 Primary Election
■May 4, 2010: Primary Election Day
■May 18, 2010: Voter Registration Opens for the 2010 General Election
■October 4, 2010: Voter Registration Closes for the 2010 General Election
■October 25, 2010: Deadline for absentee-by-mail applications for the General Election
■November 2, 2010: General Election Day Mail-in voter registration applications must be postmarked on or before the above registration deadlines.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Randy Lyness and Mike Sodrel on theflypod.com
Greetings to our listeners and subscribers --
Show #1 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: RANDY LYNESS -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Randy Lyness, Republican candidate for State Representative in District 55. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46275
Show #3 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: MIKE SODREL -- Show host Alex Parniuk interviews Mike Sodrel. Mr. Sodrel is running for U.S. Congress, in Indiana's District Nine. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46255
We hope you enjoy listening to these shows. Tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers about TheFlyPod.com New-Media Network. Also, check out the OPEN FLY FORUM feature on our website -- you can create your own broadcast, immediately! We are quickly becoming a leading "local world" source of programming in the new digital-media age. Any person can sign up on our website to begin automatically receiving "New and Notable Show Alerts". It's 100% free and we will never, under any circumstances, share your email address with any person or organization.
To submit your ideas, questions, comments or complaints, email us directly in Studio 7 at anytime 24/7 -- shout@theflypod.com -- or pick up your cell phone and call our national listener feedback line at 206.337.1716
NEW and NOTABLE SHOW ALERTS
Fly Paper Productions, LLC
Digital Media Group - National Operations Ctr
POB 324
Harrison, OH 45030
USA
206-337-1716 Listener Feedback Line
www.TheFlyPod.com
TheFlyPod New-Media Network
Show #1 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: RANDY LYNESS -- Show host Gary Puckett interviews Randy Lyness, Republican candidate for State Representative in District 55. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46275
Show #3 - POLITICALLY CORRECT: MIKE SODREL -- Show host Alex Parniuk interviews Mike Sodrel. Mr. Sodrel is running for U.S. Congress, in Indiana's District Nine. To listen to this interview, click on the following direct show-link:
http://www.theflypod.com/asp/newpage.asp?RN=46255
We hope you enjoy listening to these shows. Tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers about TheFlyPod.com New-Media Network. Also, check out the OPEN FLY FORUM feature on our website -- you can create your own broadcast, immediately! We are quickly becoming a leading "local world" source of programming in the new digital-media age. Any person can sign up on our website to begin automatically receiving "New and Notable Show Alerts". It's 100% free and we will never, under any circumstances, share your email address with any person or organization.
To submit your ideas, questions, comments or complaints, email us directly in Studio 7 at anytime 24/7 -- shout@theflypod.com -- or pick up your cell phone and call our national listener feedback line at 206.337.1716
NEW and NOTABLE SHOW ALERTS
Fly Paper Productions, LLC
Digital Media Group - National Operations Ctr
POB 324
Harrison, OH 45030
USA
206-337-1716 Listener Feedback Line
www.TheFlyPod.com
TheFlyPod New-Media Network
Saturday, March 06, 2010
CARY PICKENS PASSED AWAY 6 March 2010
Cary B. Pickens Passed Away
Born:
August 6, 1944
Died:
March 6, 2010
Services:
March 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Cary Barton Pickens, 65, of Guilford, Indiana, died Saturday, March 6, 2010 Lawrenceburg, IN.
He was born Sunday, August 6, 1944, in Cincinnati, OH, son of the late Herbert and Erma (Graff) Pickens.
He served his country in the United States Marine Corp during Vietnam.
He was a past Treasurer and Recorder for Dearborn County; past Commander for the Lawrenceburg American Legion; Aurora VFW; Aurora Lions Club; Association of Indiana Auditors; Board of Directors- Soil and Water Conservation District; Legislative Committee for Auditors; Ebenezer Baptist Church; and Retired from P&G.
He was the Auditor for Dearborn County.
He is survived by wife, Nancy Pickens; 2 sons, Eric (wife Julie) Pickens, Bryce (wife Gabrielle) Pickens; daughter, Amanda (husband Mike) Miller; 2 sisters, Ila Porter, Sherin Wren; and 3 grandchildren, Brooke Pickens, Kayla Pickens, and Zayne Miller.
Friends will be received Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 4pm to 7pm at the Fitch-Denney Funeral Home, Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Funeral services will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 10am with Pastor Tom Fehrman officiating.
Interment will follow in the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Madison, Indiana.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Disabled American Veterans or the Lawrenceburg American Legion.
Born:
August 6, 1944
Died:
March 6, 2010
Services:
March 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Cary Barton Pickens, 65, of Guilford, Indiana, died Saturday, March 6, 2010 Lawrenceburg, IN.
He was born Sunday, August 6, 1944, in Cincinnati, OH, son of the late Herbert and Erma (Graff) Pickens.
He served his country in the United States Marine Corp during Vietnam.
He was a past Treasurer and Recorder for Dearborn County; past Commander for the Lawrenceburg American Legion; Aurora VFW; Aurora Lions Club; Association of Indiana Auditors; Board of Directors- Soil and Water Conservation District; Legislative Committee for Auditors; Ebenezer Baptist Church; and Retired from P&G.
He was the Auditor for Dearborn County.
He is survived by wife, Nancy Pickens; 2 sons, Eric (wife Julie) Pickens, Bryce (wife Gabrielle) Pickens; daughter, Amanda (husband Mike) Miller; 2 sisters, Ila Porter, Sherin Wren; and 3 grandchildren, Brooke Pickens, Kayla Pickens, and Zayne Miller.
Friends will be received Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 4pm to 7pm at the Fitch-Denney Funeral Home, Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Funeral services will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 10am with Pastor Tom Fehrman officiating.
Interment will follow in the Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Madison, Indiana.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Disabled American Veterans or the Lawrenceburg American Legion.
MARCH PLAN COMMISSION MEETING CANCELLED
There will be NO Plan Commission meeting March 22nd. There are no applications at this time and staff is still collecting information for the Villages of Sugar Ridge.
Next Plan Commission meeting is April 26th.
REMINDER: Comprehensive Plan meeting on Wednesday, March 31st.
Next Plan Commission meeting is April 26th.
REMINDER: Comprehensive Plan meeting on Wednesday, March 31st.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
2 March 2010 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
2 March 2010 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
Present: Ralph Thompson, President, Tom Orschell, and Jeff Hughes
Also present: Cary Pickens, Auditor, and Mike Witte, Attorney.
NEW BUSINESS
Margaret Minzner- GIS Coordinator- Pictromitry-The end of March is deliverable date for parcels. They are editing changes that are being brought in. Three day training is available at IVY tech for people to learn how to do GIS. Oblique imagery brought a lot of positive comments. DC Foundation grant for removable drives for 1st responders.
“Change Findr” software available from Jeff Leonard of Pictromitry. Can detect differences between the different aerial photography times- like 2005 to 2008. This will detect decks, rooflines, pools etc. This helps the assessor for property tax purposes. Reports can be created from this- it is automated- but it is NOT perfect- some pictures need to be verified. Building permits can be used to check these sites preliminarily. This gives more accurate tax data- it pays for itself in increased tax revenue. Leonard showed pictures of isolated areas easily captured in aerials- so saved gas and trip costs. Orschell asked about the fee. Fee is $22,185 first time. $11,475 the 2nd time done. Usually done whenever they do aerial photography.
Thompson noted- “So BIG BROTHER really IS watching!”
Bill Black- EMA- Grant signatures- $1,088 for ham radio equipment. $110,000- for equipment for Region 9 in Indiana. We sign just as fiscal agent for region 9. Have to be submitted before June. Both grants signed.
Issues about Level 3 snow emergency and potential ticketing brought up by Hughes. Black said – it says they MAY be ticketed at discretion of officer. If they have to go to work – that is essential. No one was ticketed per Thompson. Even Level 2 indicates it’s dangerous. Business owners can send employees home at their discretion.
Commissioners signed Severe Weather Awareness Week for next week. Alarms will be tested then. Snow emergency proclamations signed for last storms.
Brett Dodd- RQAW Charette teams for the Justice Center campus have been selected. Weekend time offered due to judges schedules was Sat. the 3rd. But he discovered it was Easter weekend. They are trying April 10 instead. Three teams have 9-10 people each. He gave lists to commissioners to approve. It is a public meeting and they can attend and watch the process. May want to allow public to participate at one portion of this. Commissioners approved the charette lists.
Suellen Cauble- Human Resources Director- Personnel policy – grant financial comptroller the ability to work at home from surgery. This is a key position in the county from the auditor’s office. She can effectively access the system from her home in a secure and confidential manner. She will maintain a log of tasks performed daily and county equipment that goes with her. This will be about 6 weeks and only temporary. Witte thinks they have done a good detailed job of outlining the job description and is reasonable to cover this temp arrangement this way. Federal government is encouraging tele-work. Pickens said you can track her work as it gets printed at the office here. Commissioners approved this with Hughes voting NAY.
DC Regional Sewer District- Steve Renihan
DR2 Grant- Margaret Minzner is certified Indiana CDBG grant administrator. One of opportunities is for small wastewater plants. She talked to Steve Renihan of DCRSD and a couple projects on Huesman Road and Lake Dilldear came to mind. DR2 money is $300 million more than it usually is due to Hurricane Ike. Renihan and board agreed. Preliminary engineering report on Huseman nearly finished. Required for grant. Getting the engineering report on the shelf will make these grant-ready. Lake Dilldear about $16,000 including legal costs to get the study done. Renihan hope to do DR2 for both. Minzner said that the grant requirements aren’t completely known yet- just the deadline of July 1. Orschell noted we need the study anyway to eventually use for other opportunities should this option fail. Commissioners approved DCRSD to go to Council to get $16,000 for engineering study for Lake Dilldear.
West Harrison preliminary- Renihan said Jim Kinnett approached them about how to get a line to this TIF area. Renihan said they were committed to getting problem areas fixed first. But they want to get Commissioners feeling on this.
Kinnett is a consultant working for a specific entity trying to get this done. 1 retail and 2 industrial projects proposed. 66- 100 employees possible and about $2 million each structure. Recommending a gravity feed from Johnson fork to Harrison collection system. Companies want service there before they commit to us. This is the last component to be completed for this to be “shovel ready.” If they can see significant progress being made- these companies can announce projects in about 60 days. Taxes would be $43-44,000 per year on one. He estimates $131,000 total taxes and $1.5 million payroll. These sewers would then serve more of the TIF. Thompson asked, “Potential payback 10-15 years?” Kinnett- Yes. Pickens asked about bonding. Pickens asked if the TIF money they get will be returned to the county to help pay back the costs of putting the sewer line in. Thompson agreed. Said it was smart growth and an area that the county agreed to use for this investment. Hughes asked about High Ridge. Thompson reminded him it was debt service there- not a TIF.
Renihan does not want bonds – because it would possibly force hook-ups like St; Leon got stuck with. This Harrison area is sparsely populated so it won’t be used by a lot of residential- it’s more for industrial/business. He said we will make sure the sewer line goes out there and spend the money- IF the Commissioners feel this is a good investment. They will need to get a preliminary engineering study for this also. This will give feasibility and costs to accomplish this. This will buy some time for redevelopment to investigate these projects further. Orschell agreed this was an investment the county needed to make. Commissioners approved the request to go to Council for $14,300 for preliminary engineering study.
Highway Dept- Todd Listerman- gave a 40-minute report
Ziegler Blvd accepted by Commissioners- 0.09 miles in Industrial Park in West Harrison TIF to North Bend Patternworks.
INDOT- sent final acceptance letter for Bells Branch Bridge #15. Commissioners signed.
Funding for chip seal/ fog seal on North Dearborn and north Hogan Rd was extended due to weather- commissioners signed. June 4th is new completion date.
Resurface via stimulus on Yorkridge will start in April- complete in July.
Don’t know how big stimulus II will be. There were $8 million projects that were not funded in Stimulus I. Wants to work with Barth and Assoc to get $2,000- 2,500 plans ready for North Dearborn from Stateline to Jamison ready for that round. We have to be ready in order to go for that money- can still use those plans for project in the future, if we don’t get funds at this time. Orschell asked about what roads would qualify. Listerman said this was about the only one left that fit the criteria. Commissioners approved getting the plans ready.
PUBLIC MEETING for Beam Longest and Neff- April 14 at North Dearborn Library- for plans for Stateline Rd in the heart of Bright including sewer, curbs, etc. Goal is information – parameters for ROW and what is needed to go forward. It will also inform them of their rights for ROW acquisition. Listerman will notify all media sources of this meeting.
Listerman advised commissioners of plans for permits to modify the new highway garage so they can move there by summer. Bob Hrezo spoke and Kendall Bales gave a report on what they would propose to do for the county with engineer’s estimates. Previous design releases are good for this building. CAD files for this are in their hands. This is to bring them in full compliance with the state for a garage. It was a warehouse. Needs the proper fire separation code work also. Listerman said they have $150,000 for this undertaking so far. Proposal from Hrezo in 2 phases -$2700 and $ 8,080 was approved by commissioners for the engineering.
INDOT project between Batesville and Greendale with Rohe- allows us to get millings again. We will use these to pave some of our roads. Council emails said to make the deal and get funding approved at the May meeting. Konradi from Platt to Bonnell and Bonnell to Burzelbach proposed next.
Jeremy Reese – a construction management student will be hired May 17 as a part timer for $11.50 per hour this summer ( no benefits) to continue our traffic data and sign inventory etc. Not filling Mark Seilers assistant engineer position.
Snow and ice update- record amounts- thanks and appreciation to the highway personnel- special thanks to Commissioner Orschell who took over the night shift to take over for guys who had a death in the family during this. Grieve- Highway Supervisor found a 3rd supplier at lesser cost to have enough salt for these storms. Thanked Lykins, Klump, Murray, White, McGraw, and House- private contractors who helped in the storm- and Davis towing who got their trucks out when they got stuck.
Exceeded the overtime in the budgets for in these storms- and is using some comp time to get rid of some of this expense. Will talk to Council to see what to do about this. State budget cuts in MvHa may require some layoffs.
More gloom and doom- 2 trucks blew up. 15 routes with 15 trucks- only have 12 good reliable trucks. Don’t have enough personnel to cover the routes with layoffs and no rehires. Looking at buying a smaller truck to help cover routes in subdivisions at reduced cost.
Lastly- road school Tues thru Thurs and he’ll be off Monday. Recycling signs and spreading sign replacement over a 14 year period. Will be finishing speed studies soon.
Auditor- Pickens- Claims and 5 sets of minutes signed. Commissioners signed EMS contracts for St. Leon, Hogan, and Manchester.
Pickens asked Todd listerman if he had the money to tear down the old garage. Listerman said he was waiting to see if Parks was to use it. Hwy will clean up the property.
Attorney- Witte- Hartford Ford meeting scheduled next week.
Planning and Zoning has asked him to look into Sugar Ridge performance bonds etc.
Greg Davis vs Don Townsend was dismissed from court and Townsend had immunity. Davis had until yesterday to file an appeal.
Linkmeyer was here for rezone last month and Lawrenceburg has annexed that property as expected.
Ordinance on grants will be discussed at a meeting on Thurs 18th. This will make it a requirement. Wants to make sure that Home Rule allows you to establish fees on this.
Signed his contract as attorney for this year.
He’s reviewing accident report forms – insurance company wants standard form for their purposes. He wants to cross reference with standard traffic incident reports.
“That’s all I have to report- a lawyer actually talked less than a County Highway Director!”
County Coordinator- Bill Ewbank- letter from Hughes from town Board of Harrison to support resurfacing State Street because we share costs. They want to apply to L-bg by March 31st for a grant to do this as they are strapped for cash. Commissioners agreed to support and Bill will write it up.
Investigating per Orschell’s request if county can enter into contract with private parties such as PAWS.
Need to get a public meeting together with stakeholders to see what tehrelationships will be and adoption fees etc. They will coordinate a date.
Veteran’s Office has 17 applications so far. Wants a series of interviews after morning Commissioner meeting. OK.
Commissioners:
Thompson- ratification of signatures on CAC Grant Semi-annual report- approved.
New county Website demo is 9 AM Thurs.
Late Arrivals –none
Public Comment-
Doug Weldon- why have district 2 highway guys split into 3 and 1. The snow on Ellinghausen was not cleared enough for emergency there. There have been 7 or 8 guys who have quit or retired and they’ve never been replaced. Bright should form a city and plow their own roads.
Todd Listerman- there are no districts in the county- we are all Dearborn County. The hiring freeze started before I came on board. We are getting less funding that we got in 1999. I need about $6 million to keep present conditions- I get $2 million. It would cost $100 per vehicle in the county to fund this. We are not unique. To get this funding would come from all of our back pockets. I average 3 employees off per day due to the age of employees. (health issues??)[ NOTE: Per Listerman: due to sick days and vacation days they've accrued]
Doug accepted this explanation- he understands. He asked about the new garage. Listerman talked about it being needed to get in compliance with state and federal requirements. I guess I missed the article in the paper on Running in Empty on the highway budget and also when it was melded into one unit.
Orschell- when I started we had 33 employees and 21 now.
Listerman detailed several roads they had to dig people out with health issues. We may use Manchester as a salt facility.
Thompson – the garage on Randall will pay back in about 10 years.
Steve Feller- own property in Guilford – have a neighbor who continually parks across my easement. Brought pictures. I have to come off my easement 30 feet to get out. Witte- this is a civil issue because it’s a private easement. Question about if this was a county easement-they will have Todd Listerman look at that.
Phil Darling- York Township- county did a remarkable job during snow storms. Would like to see a policy that you cancel all public meetings during snow emergencies of any level. If you are trying to limit travel then it should apply to everyone. Level 1 says to limit driving. Out in the county many people can’t get out to get to your meeting. Level 3s are thrown out pretty often.
Thompson said some complained of Level 3 being called when their roads were OK. Dearborn County has to operate as a unit- so if the north is bad, for example, the whole county goes on that level. Did get a dozen calls praising the county’s service during the storm.
Witte took the blame for calling the meeting as an emergency to get claims only paid. That was permissible by law.
Meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Present: Ralph Thompson, President, Tom Orschell, and Jeff Hughes
Also present: Cary Pickens, Auditor, and Mike Witte, Attorney.
NEW BUSINESS
Margaret Minzner- GIS Coordinator- Pictromitry-The end of March is deliverable date for parcels. They are editing changes that are being brought in. Three day training is available at IVY tech for people to learn how to do GIS. Oblique imagery brought a lot of positive comments. DC Foundation grant for removable drives for 1st responders.
“Change Findr” software available from Jeff Leonard of Pictromitry. Can detect differences between the different aerial photography times- like 2005 to 2008. This will detect decks, rooflines, pools etc. This helps the assessor for property tax purposes. Reports can be created from this- it is automated- but it is NOT perfect- some pictures need to be verified. Building permits can be used to check these sites preliminarily. This gives more accurate tax data- it pays for itself in increased tax revenue. Leonard showed pictures of isolated areas easily captured in aerials- so saved gas and trip costs. Orschell asked about the fee. Fee is $22,185 first time. $11,475 the 2nd time done. Usually done whenever they do aerial photography.
Thompson noted- “So BIG BROTHER really IS watching!”
Bill Black- EMA- Grant signatures- $1,088 for ham radio equipment. $110,000- for equipment for Region 9 in Indiana. We sign just as fiscal agent for region 9. Have to be submitted before June. Both grants signed.
Issues about Level 3 snow emergency and potential ticketing brought up by Hughes. Black said – it says they MAY be ticketed at discretion of officer. If they have to go to work – that is essential. No one was ticketed per Thompson. Even Level 2 indicates it’s dangerous. Business owners can send employees home at their discretion.
Commissioners signed Severe Weather Awareness Week for next week. Alarms will be tested then. Snow emergency proclamations signed for last storms.
Brett Dodd- RQAW Charette teams for the Justice Center campus have been selected. Weekend time offered due to judges schedules was Sat. the 3rd. But he discovered it was Easter weekend. They are trying April 10 instead. Three teams have 9-10 people each. He gave lists to commissioners to approve. It is a public meeting and they can attend and watch the process. May want to allow public to participate at one portion of this. Commissioners approved the charette lists.
Suellen Cauble- Human Resources Director- Personnel policy – grant financial comptroller the ability to work at home from surgery. This is a key position in the county from the auditor’s office. She can effectively access the system from her home in a secure and confidential manner. She will maintain a log of tasks performed daily and county equipment that goes with her. This will be about 6 weeks and only temporary. Witte thinks they have done a good detailed job of outlining the job description and is reasonable to cover this temp arrangement this way. Federal government is encouraging tele-work. Pickens said you can track her work as it gets printed at the office here. Commissioners approved this with Hughes voting NAY.
DC Regional Sewer District- Steve Renihan
DR2 Grant- Margaret Minzner is certified Indiana CDBG grant administrator. One of opportunities is for small wastewater plants. She talked to Steve Renihan of DCRSD and a couple projects on Huesman Road and Lake Dilldear came to mind. DR2 money is $300 million more than it usually is due to Hurricane Ike. Renihan and board agreed. Preliminary engineering report on Huseman nearly finished. Required for grant. Getting the engineering report on the shelf will make these grant-ready. Lake Dilldear about $16,000 including legal costs to get the study done. Renihan hope to do DR2 for both. Minzner said that the grant requirements aren’t completely known yet- just the deadline of July 1. Orschell noted we need the study anyway to eventually use for other opportunities should this option fail. Commissioners approved DCRSD to go to Council to get $16,000 for engineering study for Lake Dilldear.
West Harrison preliminary- Renihan said Jim Kinnett approached them about how to get a line to this TIF area. Renihan said they were committed to getting problem areas fixed first. But they want to get Commissioners feeling on this.
Kinnett is a consultant working for a specific entity trying to get this done. 1 retail and 2 industrial projects proposed. 66- 100 employees possible and about $2 million each structure. Recommending a gravity feed from Johnson fork to Harrison collection system. Companies want service there before they commit to us. This is the last component to be completed for this to be “shovel ready.” If they can see significant progress being made- these companies can announce projects in about 60 days. Taxes would be $43-44,000 per year on one. He estimates $131,000 total taxes and $1.5 million payroll. These sewers would then serve more of the TIF. Thompson asked, “Potential payback 10-15 years?” Kinnett- Yes. Pickens asked about bonding. Pickens asked if the TIF money they get will be returned to the county to help pay back the costs of putting the sewer line in. Thompson agreed. Said it was smart growth and an area that the county agreed to use for this investment. Hughes asked about High Ridge. Thompson reminded him it was debt service there- not a TIF.
Renihan does not want bonds – because it would possibly force hook-ups like St; Leon got stuck with. This Harrison area is sparsely populated so it won’t be used by a lot of residential- it’s more for industrial/business. He said we will make sure the sewer line goes out there and spend the money- IF the Commissioners feel this is a good investment. They will need to get a preliminary engineering study for this also. This will give feasibility and costs to accomplish this. This will buy some time for redevelopment to investigate these projects further. Orschell agreed this was an investment the county needed to make. Commissioners approved the request to go to Council for $14,300 for preliminary engineering study.
Highway Dept- Todd Listerman- gave a 40-minute report
Ziegler Blvd accepted by Commissioners- 0.09 miles in Industrial Park in West Harrison TIF to North Bend Patternworks.
INDOT- sent final acceptance letter for Bells Branch Bridge #15. Commissioners signed.
Funding for chip seal/ fog seal on North Dearborn and north Hogan Rd was extended due to weather- commissioners signed. June 4th is new completion date.
Resurface via stimulus on Yorkridge will start in April- complete in July.
Don’t know how big stimulus II will be. There were $8 million projects that were not funded in Stimulus I. Wants to work with Barth and Assoc to get $2,000- 2,500 plans ready for North Dearborn from Stateline to Jamison ready for that round. We have to be ready in order to go for that money- can still use those plans for project in the future, if we don’t get funds at this time. Orschell asked about what roads would qualify. Listerman said this was about the only one left that fit the criteria. Commissioners approved getting the plans ready.
PUBLIC MEETING for Beam Longest and Neff- April 14 at North Dearborn Library- for plans for Stateline Rd in the heart of Bright including sewer, curbs, etc. Goal is information – parameters for ROW and what is needed to go forward. It will also inform them of their rights for ROW acquisition. Listerman will notify all media sources of this meeting.
Listerman advised commissioners of plans for permits to modify the new highway garage so they can move there by summer. Bob Hrezo spoke and Kendall Bales gave a report on what they would propose to do for the county with engineer’s estimates. Previous design releases are good for this building. CAD files for this are in their hands. This is to bring them in full compliance with the state for a garage. It was a warehouse. Needs the proper fire separation code work also. Listerman said they have $150,000 for this undertaking so far. Proposal from Hrezo in 2 phases -$2700 and $ 8,080 was approved by commissioners for the engineering.
INDOT project between Batesville and Greendale with Rohe- allows us to get millings again. We will use these to pave some of our roads. Council emails said to make the deal and get funding approved at the May meeting. Konradi from Platt to Bonnell and Bonnell to Burzelbach proposed next.
Jeremy Reese – a construction management student will be hired May 17 as a part timer for $11.50 per hour this summer ( no benefits) to continue our traffic data and sign inventory etc. Not filling Mark Seilers assistant engineer position.
Snow and ice update- record amounts- thanks and appreciation to the highway personnel- special thanks to Commissioner Orschell who took over the night shift to take over for guys who had a death in the family during this. Grieve- Highway Supervisor found a 3rd supplier at lesser cost to have enough salt for these storms. Thanked Lykins, Klump, Murray, White, McGraw, and House- private contractors who helped in the storm- and Davis towing who got their trucks out when they got stuck.
Exceeded the overtime in the budgets for in these storms- and is using some comp time to get rid of some of this expense. Will talk to Council to see what to do about this. State budget cuts in MvHa may require some layoffs.
More gloom and doom- 2 trucks blew up. 15 routes with 15 trucks- only have 12 good reliable trucks. Don’t have enough personnel to cover the routes with layoffs and no rehires. Looking at buying a smaller truck to help cover routes in subdivisions at reduced cost.
Lastly- road school Tues thru Thurs and he’ll be off Monday. Recycling signs and spreading sign replacement over a 14 year period. Will be finishing speed studies soon.
Auditor- Pickens- Claims and 5 sets of minutes signed. Commissioners signed EMS contracts for St. Leon, Hogan, and Manchester.
Pickens asked Todd listerman if he had the money to tear down the old garage. Listerman said he was waiting to see if Parks was to use it. Hwy will clean up the property.
Attorney- Witte- Hartford Ford meeting scheduled next week.
Planning and Zoning has asked him to look into Sugar Ridge performance bonds etc.
Greg Davis vs Don Townsend was dismissed from court and Townsend had immunity. Davis had until yesterday to file an appeal.
Linkmeyer was here for rezone last month and Lawrenceburg has annexed that property as expected.
Ordinance on grants will be discussed at a meeting on Thurs 18th. This will make it a requirement. Wants to make sure that Home Rule allows you to establish fees on this.
Signed his contract as attorney for this year.
He’s reviewing accident report forms – insurance company wants standard form for their purposes. He wants to cross reference with standard traffic incident reports.
“That’s all I have to report- a lawyer actually talked less than a County Highway Director!”
County Coordinator- Bill Ewbank- letter from Hughes from town Board of Harrison to support resurfacing State Street because we share costs. They want to apply to L-bg by March 31st for a grant to do this as they are strapped for cash. Commissioners agreed to support and Bill will write it up.
Investigating per Orschell’s request if county can enter into contract with private parties such as PAWS.
Need to get a public meeting together with stakeholders to see what tehrelationships will be and adoption fees etc. They will coordinate a date.
Veteran’s Office has 17 applications so far. Wants a series of interviews after morning Commissioner meeting. OK.
Commissioners:
Thompson- ratification of signatures on CAC Grant Semi-annual report- approved.
New county Website demo is 9 AM Thurs.
Late Arrivals –none
Public Comment-
Doug Weldon- why have district 2 highway guys split into 3 and 1. The snow on Ellinghausen was not cleared enough for emergency there. There have been 7 or 8 guys who have quit or retired and they’ve never been replaced. Bright should form a city and plow their own roads.
Todd Listerman- there are no districts in the county- we are all Dearborn County. The hiring freeze started before I came on board. We are getting less funding that we got in 1999. I need about $6 million to keep present conditions- I get $2 million. It would cost $100 per vehicle in the county to fund this. We are not unique. To get this funding would come from all of our back pockets. I average 3 employees off per day due to the age of employees. (health issues??)[ NOTE: Per Listerman: due to sick days and vacation days they've accrued]
Doug accepted this explanation- he understands. He asked about the new garage. Listerman talked about it being needed to get in compliance with state and federal requirements. I guess I missed the article in the paper on Running in Empty on the highway budget and also when it was melded into one unit.
Orschell- when I started we had 33 employees and 21 now.
Listerman detailed several roads they had to dig people out with health issues. We may use Manchester as a salt facility.
Thompson – the garage on Randall will pay back in about 10 years.
Steve Feller- own property in Guilford – have a neighbor who continually parks across my easement. Brought pictures. I have to come off my easement 30 feet to get out. Witte- this is a civil issue because it’s a private easement. Question about if this was a county easement-they will have Todd Listerman look at that.
Phil Darling- York Township- county did a remarkable job during snow storms. Would like to see a policy that you cancel all public meetings during snow emergencies of any level. If you are trying to limit travel then it should apply to everyone. Level 1 says to limit driving. Out in the county many people can’t get out to get to your meeting. Level 3s are thrown out pretty often.
Thompson said some complained of Level 3 being called when their roads were OK. Dearborn County has to operate as a unit- so if the north is bad, for example, the whole county goes on that level. Did get a dozen calls praising the county’s service during the storm.
Witte took the blame for calling the meeting as an emergency to get claims only paid. That was permissible by law.
Meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
VOTE CENTERS AND ELECTION COSTS-
Please see below a courtesy copy of an email that was sent to all legislators in the Indiana General Assembly regarding Vote Centers.
Dear Legislator:
Earlier this month, the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute delivered you a copy of their study, "Vote Centers and Election Costs: A Study of the Fiscal Impact of Vote Centers in Indiana." I sincerely hope you have taken the opportunity to review this study to learn how Vote Centers would positively impact the counties you represent. Highlights of the study include:
Vote Centers will produce significant savings for all counties that implemented them. Such savings are particularly noticeable in counties with a low number of registered voters per precinct. Also, counties that already locate more than one precinct in the same location would experience significant cost savings.
Vote Centers give local election officials more flexibility. With precincts, the number of locations and the level of staffing are fixed. County officials can do little to reduce cost per vote. With Vote Centers, election administrators can anticipate turnout and modify the number of locations and the level of staffing to suit their needs.
Vote Centers produce immediate and long-term savings. This study finds savings would result every election day as well as when time comes to repurchase voting equipment.
Vote Centers will significantly reduce the number of voting machines needed to conduct an efficient election.
More and more Hoosiers are realizing how Vote Centers can be a tool for local governments to continue to find savings without negatively impacting services or accessibility. In addition to the savings, Vote Centers add security on Election Day because by making in-person voting more accessible and because each polling location is connected to the statewide voter database.
As Hoosiers learn more about Vote Centers, they often compare them to satellite absentee voting offices. Our office prepared the document, "How do I know the difference between Vote Centers and satellite absentee voting offices?" in an effort to clear any confusion. We have found this document to be helpful when explaining Vote Centers to constituents and members of the media. This document and the IFPI study and executive summary are available online at www.in.gov/sos.
As the discussion about Vote Centers gains momentum, we ask you to consider the Vote Centers option for all of Indiana's 92 counties.
Sincerely,
Todd Rokita
Indiana Secretary of State
Dear Legislator:
Earlier this month, the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute delivered you a copy of their study, "Vote Centers and Election Costs: A Study of the Fiscal Impact of Vote Centers in Indiana." I sincerely hope you have taken the opportunity to review this study to learn how Vote Centers would positively impact the counties you represent. Highlights of the study include:
Vote Centers will produce significant savings for all counties that implemented them. Such savings are particularly noticeable in counties with a low number of registered voters per precinct. Also, counties that already locate more than one precinct in the same location would experience significant cost savings.
Vote Centers give local election officials more flexibility. With precincts, the number of locations and the level of staffing are fixed. County officials can do little to reduce cost per vote. With Vote Centers, election administrators can anticipate turnout and modify the number of locations and the level of staffing to suit their needs.
Vote Centers produce immediate and long-term savings. This study finds savings would result every election day as well as when time comes to repurchase voting equipment.
Vote Centers will significantly reduce the number of voting machines needed to conduct an efficient election.
More and more Hoosiers are realizing how Vote Centers can be a tool for local governments to continue to find savings without negatively impacting services or accessibility. In addition to the savings, Vote Centers add security on Election Day because by making in-person voting more accessible and because each polling location is connected to the statewide voter database.
As Hoosiers learn more about Vote Centers, they often compare them to satellite absentee voting offices. Our office prepared the document, "How do I know the difference between Vote Centers and satellite absentee voting offices?" in an effort to clear any confusion. We have found this document to be helpful when explaining Vote Centers to constituents and members of the media. This document and the IFPI study and executive summary are available online at www.in.gov/sos.
As the discussion about Vote Centers gains momentum, we ask you to consider the Vote Centers option for all of Indiana's 92 counties.
Sincerely,
Todd Rokita
Indiana Secretary of State
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