24 May 2011 Dearborn County Council Meeting Notes
Present: Dennis Kraus. Sr., President, Dan Lansing, Jim Hughes, Liz Morris, Maynard Barrett, Bryan Messmore, and Bill Ullrich.
Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor and Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator
Commissioner Tom Orschell- said RQAW had a charette last year and it showed that Hoosier Square was needed for space addition. Also everyone thought that the jail addition was a priority. He asked the Council for direction since it takes 7 unanimous votes to take money out of the Riverboat Savings. Kraus Sr. said we don’t have a unanimous vote yet. He said we could free up $750,000 a year by not putting it in a bank. Liz Morris said that they don’t know what the commissioners want. Orschell said we have the predesign plans and the financing plans with six scenarios. Joe Mrak of RQAW said we need direction before we go further. Schematic design phase is in the neighbporhood of $150,000. Bryan Messmore said- The scope of this project is about $15million estimated. That puts it in the referendum range. This won’t pass referendum- so we’d have to get a lower cost alternative. Lansing said it should go to a referendum. Let’s see what the people want first. Then we can talk about alternatives. Morris and Ullrich weren’t in favor of referendum. He said we are to the point we could break ground this year, but I’m not sure it won’t pass. People need to do their homework. We could end up under a court order and we could lose control of it. Lansing said- we HAVE a plan- if the court ordered it we could use our plan. Jim Hughes is in favor of a referendum.
Four were in favor of referendum ( Lansing, Hughes, Messmore, and Kraus, Sr.) Ullrich, Morris, and Barrett were not.Morris said the referendum went in a few years back in reaction to school construction projects. This is the public’s money and we are elected to monitor it.
Referendum is the Council’s direction. Orschell thanked Council for their input.
Judge Cleary requested a court reporter to replace one that is going to retire. He wants it to remain a position that is county funded. He wants the new hire to come in using some part time funds to train in early. He will use bail bond funds to cover the sick time and vacation that his current reporter has accrued. Approved.
Bill Ewbank- County Coordinator- presented the plan for Hoosier Square - 17 officials and dept heads have put together the plan for utilization of space to accommodate the new space purchased etc. He thanked RQAW for their continual help with this. Hoosier Square will take Community Corrections and 2 probation depts. this will consolidate our offenders in one building. This gives us one restroom for drug testing.
In adm bldg- recorder to 3rd floor for more space. County Surveyor will have more space and hold GIS maps. Coroner has a small space. A small conference room will be carved out of Health. 2nd floor stays the same. 1st floor will have Health Dept in recorder’s area. Community Corrections and the Building Dept will be Building and PZ and a small area for DCRSD. Veteran’s office remains in place. Permitting agencies will all be on the same floor. It puts all high traffic areas on the first floor. This helps janitorial staff as well.
The Courthouse is the final piece of the puzzle. County Clerk will move to Circuit Court Probation. Sup Court 2 will be on 2nd floor adjacent to her offices. This will add 600 sq ft to prosecutor who will move his deputies to the 3rd floor. Long term for the county, this helps with security too.
Wants funding to adapt Water Rescue to long term records storage. It needs some siding and seams closed. The basement of the courthouse has too much paper. This will help. $1.25 million for all the 3 buikldings- Hoosier Square, Votaw , and Shumway. We have $218,000 left. Votaw will be demolished in 6 months and Lawrenceburg will demolish Shumway for us.
He wants an additional $458,483.50 to pay for everything he’s described. That brings the total to $1.75 million. This is not perfect- but it is cheaper and quicker. We could divide this amount over 2 years. By the time we get through Hoosier Square it will be December anyway. He wants the money for the records storage also.
Next year revisit the numbers and move the adm and courthouse offices around. We will need $190,000 this year plus the money left over from the original plans. Ullrich praised the plan and presentation.
Negangard wanted them to realize this was not the final plan- as they are short on judge and prosecutor space even with this.
Messmore analyzed some of the numbers and questioned the water rescue and adm moves. No more than $190,000 was approved out of Riverboat contingency in a motion by Ullrich and Morris. Approved.
Negangard praised Ewbank’s work. Negangard encouraged them to continue on the jail as it houses robbers, thieves, drug dealers, child molesters, and those who would harm us. Council should not just rely on referendum to solve this. He thought legal action to force jail building would make the $15 million seem like a drop in the bucket.
County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard requested the following from Riverboat Revenue:
$25,000 for Region 15 Child Advocacy Center Costs- Negangard said that this has allowed cases to be addressed faster. It has made his job easier in prosecuting child molesters. 477 children had been interviewed so far. There has been a budget shortfall and hopes the Guns and Hoses fundraiser will help. This is a one -time request to cover a budget shortfall this year. The most significant number of children served by this are Dearborn County’s residents. He chose $25,000, because he had originally asked for $75,000 and they gave him $50,000. Council asked about this being a one time thing,. He said he may come back in future years.[ NOTE: So it’s not really a one-time thing and the grants may not cover it all.]Lansing asked if this was in his annual budget. Negangard is optimistic that grants and Lawrenceburg etc will help out. Lansing motioned and Morris 2nd to approve the $25,000. Approved.
The following 3 items were requested at budget and it was cut out. Negangard anticipates he will run out of these this fall.
$4,000 for office supplies- Morris said $2,000 should bring him to $10,000. Approved for $2,000.
$3,000 for code books- they keep one set updated – the rest they use the computer for. Negangard explained how this was necessary because of the new laws and all the case laws attached. He acknowledged it is a pretty good racket. They had approved $2,000 and the previous year needed $5,000. He’s asking for $3,000 to bring it up to the $5,000 again. Approved
$2,000 for publication and advertising- this includes copies for court cases etc. Approved.
Negangard then added that one of his employees- an SCU investigator position will be out for maternity leave and won’t be returning. (This is Summer McCarroll’s position that was funded in full by a JAG grant))He wants to hire Sarah Slayback (who is a part timer now) to fill that position when it comes open. [NOTE: Does the JAG grant no longer cover this?]
Morris has no problem with filling this position- sounds like it is necessary. Approved.
Pregnancy Care Center- requested money from Riverboat revenue for blankets and quilts for newborns. 77 babies received blankets. They are requesting money just for the materials to make these. They would like $1,000 again this year. Approved. Messmore voted Nay- no reason given.
Greg Townsend – Special Olympics- for Ripley Dearborn and Ohio counties. 46 competing- and 30+ are form Dearborn county. $1500 is requested for the 11 minors that are competing this year. Kraus Sr. said we usually limit it to $1,000. Council approved $1500.
Animal Control/PAWS Contract requested $60,000 from County General to cover the last 6 months of this year. Bill Ewbank presented a breakdown of costs previously incurred for Animal control. He presented the plan of putting our ACO’s with space at the new shelter off Industrial Drive on Charles Liddle Drive. This might be reduced by $10-20,000 as the building won’t be ready until August or so. $9,883/month was the average the county previously spent on shelter in the past. The contract is for $10,000/month. Morris is comfortable with the numbers. Approved $10,000/month pending the signing of the contract.
Council approved temporary workers to cover the time until the shelter opens. Her previous workers quit as they knew the job was ending. Wages are $7.50 an hour.
County Treasurer Barb Kaffenberger requested $5,000 from Riverboat for the Investment Advisory Service for investing public funds. They will develop a structured investment program. She has talked with Umbaugh and Associates. They will potentially help them earn 2-3 times what they are now. This is a one time deal. Approved.
DCRSD requested $70,000 from Fund 173 to repair the road leading to the High Ridge sewer plant that was damaged due to heavy rains this spring. Robert Lischge and Bob Hrezo presented. Listerman said it’s more than what they can do with in-house crews. Listerman said it’s in line with what he thought it should cost. Kraus Sr said that gravel will not work there- Hrezo said they will seal it and they will line the ditches along the road. He doesn’t think it’s worth $70,000. Barrett asked who built a road that only lasted a year or less. Listerman said it will only hold with a hard surface- but it’s costly. They are thinking of something similar to a double coat of chip seal. The plant has to be pumped out periodically. Morris motioned , Messmore 2nd. Approved.
Dearborn County Juvenile Center requested several amounts for a youth attendants – all from Riverboat revenue for an employee that had been dropped from their budget due to a clerical error. Kraus said it wasn’t in his 2010 budget either.Youth attendant III- $16,789
FICA- $1285
PERF- $1176
Part time Youth attendants- $13,872
Part time youth attendant- $5,000
FICA- $1.444
Council approved all but the $5,000 and Lansing voted Nay. [NOTE: Kraus Sr. was adamant that this was not a position filled even in previous year’s budget and yet I did not hear him vote Nay.]
Park Board- Steve Walker and Jim RedElk- they put together a flow chart that showed the steps for park board funding and went over it with Gayle Pennington. The new non-reverting capital building budget that Council approved last year. The funding comes from a percentage of riverboat revenue. The fund has $38,500 in it now. Listerman explained that you don’t ask for funds to be appropriated- you just come in for a transfer. Also they had $32,000 that they carried over as unspent capital and they want to spend that for signage and fencing at Bright Meadows. It had been appropriated. So they can just get the bids for fencing. It has already been appropriated. They just submit their claims against that $32,000.
Steve Walker said they want the council to establish an ordinance under state law to be able to obtain funds from other sources and be able to sequester those funds. This will enable the board to use these funds and they are not provided by the Council. Fundraisers, grants, contributions will fund this. They have over 360 acres in County Farm that require improvement- so do other parks that need restrooms. They may use a small fee for major user functions at some parks. Pennington said Animal Control had a 188 fund for donations and they are not part of County General. Park Board is trying to lift some of the burden of funding. They are proposing an operating non- reverting fund also. Park website has a way to register for usage of park spaces. Many ask about what the fee is for that. Messmore said he wants to look at a draft ordinance for this. RedElk said they may use the library funding structure or Hamilton County parks as a model. They will have Bob Ewbank- the Park Board attorney -prepare an ordinance. Council approved getting an ordinance drafted. Barrett and Kraus, Sr. Nays.
Park Board also has property available to add to the future development of county farm the DNR process requires matching funds to be on hand for a grant. There is a 5-year plan in place so they are eligible to pursue this now. This property they want to pursue is one parcel away from County Farm on Lattire Road. This could be where the firing range could go. The current one is a potential impediment to county farm. The hiking path is above the shooting range- and also the flat are would be suitable for sport fields. The Park Board can use their funds to match for this grant. Council approved.
Todd Listerman- County Engineer- 2 summer interns- to help finish sign installation and inventory. $110-130,000 for consultant to do it. $11.50per hour for $26,680 total. Council approved.
Out of 172 account- Listerman wants to spend for improvements:
Striping for 1000 vpd or more except Yorkridge and Old 52 already done. Yellow and white stripes. $ 115,000 approved.
5 school warning flashers on 3 schools at 90/10 reimbursement. Total cost less than $15,000 when finished, but need to set aside $25,000 and part will be reimbursed. Approved.
Salt buildings- Cousins Construction $56,600 approved to build these out of 172.
Equipment replaced on a yearly cycle- scaled back so they want to replace a tandem for $170,000 and tractor $65,000 this year. He wants to do one each for each of the next 3 years. Approved out of 172.
Due to the wet spring- there are many slips. FEMA looked at some of their roads today and INDOT will be back to look at major collectors later. They are looking to get some federal funds. He is asking for $100,000 for doing minor slip repairs. Current fixes are temporary. Approved out of 172.
Commissioners asked Todd Listermanto talk to Council about funding options. He passed out articles and funding trends. He showed the gas tax being used for several other things besides roads. State police went from 56 million off the top to 86 million now. This is our only funding. He is trying to pave road once every 24 years. It would take $2.84 million annually to do this. He talked about a wheel tax that would raise $1million a year. Bridges need over a million a year. Culverts need an additional too. Property taxes cover this. 17 bridges should have been replaced at the end of 2010. Backlogged. He doesn’t want to raise taxes- but where to get the money? Messmore said they should be asking for the money back from the state that they took for other entities.
Council took info under advisement.
911- Gayle Pennington spoke on this- requested $22,000 from the 911 Fund for 911 trunk lines- the fees that get collected will cover this by the end of the year. There is no money in there now. Approved.
Gayle Pennington-EMS training- $4,000 in budget and it came in at less than that. Approved.
All real estate records were computerized for $929 to have then all printed. Approved.
Kraus asked for Hensley who asked to fill a position- approved with Messmore NAY. Kraus asked Messmore to explain his nay vote. Messmore said they could use other staff perhaps from other areas.
County Auditor-FROM THE EXECUTIVE SESSION- Gayle Pennington requested $6,400 from Riverboat Revenue for the Deputy Sheriff matrix payroll adjustment. Council voted to deny request pending an audit.
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
23 May 2011 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes
23 May 2011 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes
Present: Mike Hall, Chairman, Dennis Kraus Jr., Russell Beiersdorfer, Mark Lehman, Jeff Hughes, Jake Hoog, and Dan Lansing.
Absent: Ken Nelson and Mike Hornbach.
Also Present: Mark McCormack, Plan Director, and Arnie McGill, Attorney.
Also present: Commissioners Hughes and Orschell, and Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator. Commissioner McHenry wasn’t available.
Meeting began at 6 PM with a presentation of Jeff Hughes’s proposed ordinance previously published on the blog and also available on the county’s official website- main page. This part of the meeting occurred at a table with the commissioners and plan commission. The rest of the government staff and audience sat in the audience area around them. It was not easy to hear as there was a mike on the table serving the recording device- but it didn’t project to the room.
Mike Hall asked Jeff Hughes to present his ordinance.
Hughes said that he thought that if the government does something that harms a citizen they should pay for it. This was just an initial first shot. He said citizens he talked to agreed that people should be compensated if the government makes a decision that harms them. Laws aren’t always about right and wrong. If this is something that is really needed than the society will pay for it. People who liked it asked also for a definition of a nuisance.
Kraus Jr. – said maybe we should tackle the actual ordinances that you think are the problem.
Lansing said- this will be very costly to the county.
Hoog- agreed that ordinances put an economic hardship on the citizens- won’t this put the hardship on all the citizens?
Hughes said- this spreads it out. Hughes said when a landowner is denied a use for his land because neighbors want it to stay fallow land then he should be compensated.
Lehman and Lansing discussed the idea that both the neighbors and the developer can sue either way the decision goes.
Orschell said if Rumpke offered $1million for a dump site and PC denied it, would the county have to compensate him $1million? Hughes- Yes.
Orschell said he thinks we have a system in place- the courts decide.
Hoog said he believes your property is only worth what a consumer will pay for it. It doesn’t matter what a realtor, assessor, banker, etc. says it is worth. The real worth is what someone actually pays for it.
Hughes said when we get to the arbitrary “quality of life” and ”appropriateness” issues that it gets arbitrary.
Orschell said he thought Hughes wanted less government and this is putting another layer of government on people’s lives.
Lehman asked – where does the money come from to pay the entity suing. If the neighbor’s sue- does the developer pay for his property devaluation? Hughes said no. Lehman said- what if the developer brings sewer down and then the neighbors have to pay to hook-up?
Orschell asked again- do the taxpayers pay no matter who is devalued? Hughes -Yes.
Hall said- cost is the biggest issue. He said the attorneys can have two different interpretations of the same law. And when they get to arguing, the clients both will lose something. The law has to be written to protect the county form frivolous lawsuits. He would prefer to attack the parts of the ordinance that cause the problem.
Lehman asked about the state law on impact fees. Are we asking for an account that has to be set up for the 180 days until this all is settled out. Hughes said he didn’t think that would work that well.
Orschell asked for Hughes to give some specific cases where he thinks the person’s property rights were violated. Hughes mentioned the Glenn property- but the PC members noyed that was not a county decision. They couldn’t get utilities. Greendale decided that.
Lansing asked- WHO will decide if they get compensation from the county and how much.
Hughes said that would have to be figured out.
Commissioners don’t have the experience. Council doesn’t. Would we have to hire somebody?
Hughes said that has to be figured out.
The severe weather alert sirens went off at 6:45 PM. Reported tornado touchdown in Penntown area. Warning until 7:15 PM
Hughes said he will get some more ideas together, before it goes further. [NOTE: It appears there are a lot of holes in the ordinance as it stands. There also does not seem to be a clear way to determine who would decide if the plaintiff had a case for compensation or not. And the taxpayers would bear the entire expense. It was UNCLEAR as to what county decisions lead to the perceived need for this ordinance.]
Ten minute break till 7 PM.
OLD BUSINESS TO BE REOPENED:
Request: Vacate a portion of Happy Hollow Road.
Applicant: Rob Seig / Owner: David Lykins
Site Location: Happy Hollow Road
Legal: Sec.5,6,8, T 6, R 2, Map # 05-05,05-06,05-08, Parcel # 008,
008.001, 004, 012, & 001
Township: Jackson & York Size: 5.169 Acres
Zoning: Agricultural (A)
Applicant requested it be tabled till next month. Plan Commission approved tabling.
Administrative:
Financial Guarantee Report- presented to the board and noted that some bonds were renewed.
Fee schedule- Some fees were clarified under the fee schedule, but none were changed. These have been in effect for 6 years.
Some fees for maps etc are lower than the ones that will be charged for some of the GIS ones. He asked if the board wanted to go to the standardized ones or what the current PZ fees are.
He said they could address it next month.
Zoning committee met last week and he also gave them and the PC members the new state law that goes into effect in July. He’s trying to get a person here to train the PC and BZA on this law.
Staff working on grants for about 4 entities this year. The latest is about $40,000 for animal control.
St. Leon Updates- They unanimously accepted it in St. Leon. They are also working on an economic development plan up there also.
July or August will meet with zoning committee meeting. Due to vacations and maternity leave in the office, they did not plan to do this in June.
Meeting adjourned at7:20 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Present: Mike Hall, Chairman, Dennis Kraus Jr., Russell Beiersdorfer, Mark Lehman, Jeff Hughes, Jake Hoog, and Dan Lansing.
Absent: Ken Nelson and Mike Hornbach.
Also Present: Mark McCormack, Plan Director, and Arnie McGill, Attorney.
Also present: Commissioners Hughes and Orschell, and Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator. Commissioner McHenry wasn’t available.
Meeting began at 6 PM with a presentation of Jeff Hughes’s proposed ordinance previously published on the blog and also available on the county’s official website- main page. This part of the meeting occurred at a table with the commissioners and plan commission. The rest of the government staff and audience sat in the audience area around them. It was not easy to hear as there was a mike on the table serving the recording device- but it didn’t project to the room.
Mike Hall asked Jeff Hughes to present his ordinance.
Hughes said that he thought that if the government does something that harms a citizen they should pay for it. This was just an initial first shot. He said citizens he talked to agreed that people should be compensated if the government makes a decision that harms them. Laws aren’t always about right and wrong. If this is something that is really needed than the society will pay for it. People who liked it asked also for a definition of a nuisance.
Kraus Jr. – said maybe we should tackle the actual ordinances that you think are the problem.
Lansing said- this will be very costly to the county.
Hoog- agreed that ordinances put an economic hardship on the citizens- won’t this put the hardship on all the citizens?
Hughes said- this spreads it out. Hughes said when a landowner is denied a use for his land because neighbors want it to stay fallow land then he should be compensated.
Lehman and Lansing discussed the idea that both the neighbors and the developer can sue either way the decision goes.
Orschell said if Rumpke offered $1million for a dump site and PC denied it, would the county have to compensate him $1million? Hughes- Yes.
Orschell said he thinks we have a system in place- the courts decide.
Hoog said he believes your property is only worth what a consumer will pay for it. It doesn’t matter what a realtor, assessor, banker, etc. says it is worth. The real worth is what someone actually pays for it.
Hughes said when we get to the arbitrary “quality of life” and ”appropriateness” issues that it gets arbitrary.
Orschell said he thought Hughes wanted less government and this is putting another layer of government on people’s lives.
Lehman asked – where does the money come from to pay the entity suing. If the neighbor’s sue- does the developer pay for his property devaluation? Hughes said no. Lehman said- what if the developer brings sewer down and then the neighbors have to pay to hook-up?
Orschell asked again- do the taxpayers pay no matter who is devalued? Hughes -Yes.
Hall said- cost is the biggest issue. He said the attorneys can have two different interpretations of the same law. And when they get to arguing, the clients both will lose something. The law has to be written to protect the county form frivolous lawsuits. He would prefer to attack the parts of the ordinance that cause the problem.
Lehman asked about the state law on impact fees. Are we asking for an account that has to be set up for the 180 days until this all is settled out. Hughes said he didn’t think that would work that well.
Orschell asked for Hughes to give some specific cases where he thinks the person’s property rights were violated. Hughes mentioned the Glenn property- but the PC members noyed that was not a county decision. They couldn’t get utilities. Greendale decided that.
Lansing asked- WHO will decide if they get compensation from the county and how much.
Hughes said that would have to be figured out.
Commissioners don’t have the experience. Council doesn’t. Would we have to hire somebody?
Hughes said that has to be figured out.
The severe weather alert sirens went off at 6:45 PM. Reported tornado touchdown in Penntown area. Warning until 7:15 PM
Hughes said he will get some more ideas together, before it goes further. [NOTE: It appears there are a lot of holes in the ordinance as it stands. There also does not seem to be a clear way to determine who would decide if the plaintiff had a case for compensation or not. And the taxpayers would bear the entire expense. It was UNCLEAR as to what county decisions lead to the perceived need for this ordinance.]
Ten minute break till 7 PM.
OLD BUSINESS TO BE REOPENED:
Request: Vacate a portion of Happy Hollow Road.
Applicant: Rob Seig / Owner: David Lykins
Site Location: Happy Hollow Road
Legal: Sec.5,6,8, T 6, R 2, Map # 05-05,05-06,05-08, Parcel # 008,
008.001, 004, 012, & 001
Township: Jackson & York Size: 5.169 Acres
Zoning: Agricultural (A)
Applicant requested it be tabled till next month. Plan Commission approved tabling.
Administrative:
Financial Guarantee Report- presented to the board and noted that some bonds were renewed.
Fee schedule- Some fees were clarified under the fee schedule, but none were changed. These have been in effect for 6 years.
Some fees for maps etc are lower than the ones that will be charged for some of the GIS ones. He asked if the board wanted to go to the standardized ones or what the current PZ fees are.
He said they could address it next month.
Zoning committee met last week and he also gave them and the PC members the new state law that goes into effect in July. He’s trying to get a person here to train the PC and BZA on this law.
Staff working on grants for about 4 entities this year. The latest is about $40,000 for animal control.
St. Leon Updates- They unanimously accepted it in St. Leon. They are also working on an economic development plan up there also.
July or August will meet with zoning committee meeting. Due to vacations and maternity leave in the office, they did not plan to do this in June.
Meeting adjourned at7:20 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
17 May 2011 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
17 May 2011 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry
Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.
Commissioners had a one hour executive session prior to the meeting and at the regular meeting voted to allow the employee donating time to complete the AP and wait for further from the doctor. Regular meeting started at 9:30 AM
OLD BUSINESS
1. Real property endorsement fee- Baudendistel read the resolution into the record which allows the $5.00 fee and will be used for maintaining plat books in a dedicated account. Commissioners approved.
2. Private Real Property Rights Preservation Ordinance- tabled until after the PC meeting next week.
3. Animal Control/PAWS contract- no action until the Council meeting next week on May 25th.
NEW BUSINESS
Intersection of Short Rd and North Dearborn Rd- Todd Listerman was asked to look at that intersection’s safety by Hughes. Listerman said there is limited sight distance looking east. Signage was placed there to make people aware of the intersection. He had Howard Barth and Associates take a quick look to see about alignment. They suggested realigning it to match with EZ Way Drive. Estimated cost is $450,000 to do this. He gave them the pictures of how to do this. The developer would probably accommodate this. Hughes asked what would happen if they closed the intersection and made it a dead end. Through traffic would not be as affected as the people who live right there, it could add about 3 miles to them to go around the loop. Cost is high because of utility movement. Hughes said to keep working on that to find something less costly. Maybe talk to the developer (Tucker and Schmidt) for his input. They had been granted a one year extension on their primary plat earlier this year per Kraus, Jr. Hughes was surprised at the cost- he had hoped they could just shave the hill off. Kraus Jr. told him there is amass of utilities in that hill. Listerman was worried about fill as it would take a lot of dirt and it would use land beyond the county right of way. If it developed they could see what could be done. Listerman will talk to Schmidt.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman-gave the following report:
Last fall county pulled letter of credit for Hillsprings Development and received quotes and the work has been completed. He asked commissioners to accept Hillsprings Court officially – a distance of 0.14 miles. Listerman was there and the contractor had a testing company to do the report and all meets county standards. There are 4 houses on that currently. Commissioners accepted the road.
Bidding for salt bldg- Cousins Construction- $173,800 is the low bid. Sedam $174,600Poole group $190,000, and Maxwell $219,000. We have $100,000 grant and asking permission to go to Council for the $56,600 remainder to finish the roof. The rest is already in the budget. He wants approval to go ahead if they get the money from Council. Hughes asked if Grieve thought this was an effective way to handle the salt. Geive concurred with Listerman. This allows the stockpile to be on hand. It’s hard to get when everyone needs it at the same time. It also keeps it dry- so less is lost in the rain. Commissioners approved Listerman seeking $56,600 from Council and also allowed approval to award the contract for $173,800 to Cousins Construction PENDING Council approval of the money.
On Ester Ridge by Happy Hollow and Bonnell by Yorkridge- Osmosis Construction- with the railroad will close these intersections from 7am-5 pm. These will be closed 3 days at a time for railroad work. They will get it on the radio WSCH and WRBI and the paper.
Grieve answered Orschell’s question on getting private mowers. He said that he has one individual that they will test in a pilot program probably. Mowing started yesterday. Grieve said they really need 2 full time people for sure. Listerman said there will be 4 openings coming up soon per Listerman. Hughes said he should bring up numbers for them to consider.
Hughes asked about the Moores Hill issue. Utility work encroached on the county’s ROW. County approved corrective action to repair Volz Rd. The repairs are not completed yet. They are working thru Moores Hill to get Bracken to finish this.
Listerman said we won’t turn down part time either. They were going to get interns to do sign inventory. They have not completed the installation of all the new traffic signs. They may use seasonal help to have resign completed. How long before this is due? Listerman said by the beginning of 2013 and they hope to finish it this summer. By the end of 2011 we have to have the policy set on how we will do this. The street signs don’t have to be in place till 2018. Grieve trying to get all this work scheduled.
AUDITOR- Gayle Pennington- Claims were approved. Minutes were approved.
ATTORNEY- Andy Baudendistel- nothing more.
COUNTY COORDINATOR- Bill Ewbank- request from SEIRPC to have Hughes sign off on grant completion for the Children County Child Advocacy Center. Total cost was $426,793. This finishes that grant off. Hughes signed.
Update on status of predesign on Hoosier Square and reassigning space in ADM Bldg and Courthouse. They will look at resolution of Superior Court II space at their meeting at noon today. Ewbank said they have found common agreement among most of the departments. $458,483.50 will be requested form Council May 25th for that. He will have a more extensive report and showing actual design and prices for each component part. Orschell said its gone well and he didn’t do anything- he was “smart enough to keep his mouth shut.”Ewbank said it’s been a successful process.
Ashley Newnam from Planning and Zoning with Marlene Underwood , Director of Animal Control, seeking a grant from the DC Foundation needing standard equipment and transportation of animals. Animal Control is proposing $30,000 for the vehicle as our match for about 37% of projected cost. The match has been accumulated in Animal Control account. Orschell thimks this will improve safety for the personnel and the animals. Officers will be trained and certified for the tasers and the rifle. Deadline is May 31st for the grant. They take 3 months to decide before awards are given. They will pursue other funding resources too. Commissioners approved. Highway dept testified that the vehicles the ACO’s use are junk- as they service them. Commissioners approved Hughes to sign the grant application.
Michael Burgess – veteran’s service officer- requested approval to get a grant to get vehicles appropriately equipped to transport mobility challenged people. Wheel chair lifts and fold down seats as needed. He wants to get a grant thru the DC Foundation. Mobility Works in Cincinnati equips these vehicles. They have $9,000 donated from various agencies. They need $73,500 from the grant to get these two units. This also has to be in by the 31st of May. These will last 5-6 years without major repairs. Commissioners approved the grant application for Hughes to sign when completed.
Ewbank said they will need to invest in the type of equipment several of our departments need to do their tasks. They should plan for this.
Tim Grieve- require USDA assistance for the NRCS under the emergency watershed protection to fix the flooding damage. We will pay 25% and USDA is 75%. Our 25% can be in labor costs doing some of the work. This is a different avenue than FEMA. This is for Cook Road off of SR 1 – it’s a catastrophic failure – they aredown to one lane. There is only so many FEMA dollars- so this will help fix what FEMA can’t cover. This incident will actually qualify for these dollars. Commissioners approved Grieve going to USDA for these funds.
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- none
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- Dennis Kraus Jr. working as a private surveyor- not as County Surveyor on Nolte Road ROW. Baudendistel told Commissioners that they can approve the preliminary apparent ROW today. They can then have publication and public hearing on this.
Kraus. Jr. showed pictures, gates, mailboxes and remnants, as well as two old atlas maps. The old creek has washed out the other end. Neither of the two property owners he spoke to seemed to disagree that this was the way to the Larson property. He used 36 feet and the county will occupy about 25 ft. He located the centerline of the old road bed and went 18 ft on each side. On the Stenger property they had actual measurements on dedicated ROW from a 2001 survey. They thought that was an estate survey. The county cannot recognize anything more than 20 ft half ROW for apparent ROW per Baudendistel and state code. He went through the 1980’s commissioners meeting minutes and found no documentation.
Buadendistel said they need to publicize two times and the last at least 3 days before the hearing. They have to notify all adjoiners. They would then hear the public, accept or deny. They are wanting a June 7th hearing date. Commissioners approved the preliminary finding of apparent ROW down to the Larson on Nolte Road. Hearing is set for June 7th.
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
Meeting adjourned at 11 AM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry
Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.
Commissioners had a one hour executive session prior to the meeting and at the regular meeting voted to allow the employee donating time to complete the AP and wait for further from the doctor. Regular meeting started at 9:30 AM
OLD BUSINESS
1. Real property endorsement fee- Baudendistel read the resolution into the record which allows the $5.00 fee and will be used for maintaining plat books in a dedicated account. Commissioners approved.
2. Private Real Property Rights Preservation Ordinance- tabled until after the PC meeting next week.
3. Animal Control/PAWS contract- no action until the Council meeting next week on May 25th.
NEW BUSINESS
Intersection of Short Rd and North Dearborn Rd- Todd Listerman was asked to look at that intersection’s safety by Hughes. Listerman said there is limited sight distance looking east. Signage was placed there to make people aware of the intersection. He had Howard Barth and Associates take a quick look to see about alignment. They suggested realigning it to match with EZ Way Drive. Estimated cost is $450,000 to do this. He gave them the pictures of how to do this. The developer would probably accommodate this. Hughes asked what would happen if they closed the intersection and made it a dead end. Through traffic would not be as affected as the people who live right there, it could add about 3 miles to them to go around the loop. Cost is high because of utility movement. Hughes said to keep working on that to find something less costly. Maybe talk to the developer (Tucker and Schmidt) for his input. They had been granted a one year extension on their primary plat earlier this year per Kraus, Jr. Hughes was surprised at the cost- he had hoped they could just shave the hill off. Kraus Jr. told him there is amass of utilities in that hill. Listerman was worried about fill as it would take a lot of dirt and it would use land beyond the county right of way. If it developed they could see what could be done. Listerman will talk to Schmidt.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman-gave the following report:
Last fall county pulled letter of credit for Hillsprings Development and received quotes and the work has been completed. He asked commissioners to accept Hillsprings Court officially – a distance of 0.14 miles. Listerman was there and the contractor had a testing company to do the report and all meets county standards. There are 4 houses on that currently. Commissioners accepted the road.
Bidding for salt bldg- Cousins Construction- $173,800 is the low bid. Sedam $174,600Poole group $190,000, and Maxwell $219,000. We have $100,000 grant and asking permission to go to Council for the $56,600 remainder to finish the roof. The rest is already in the budget. He wants approval to go ahead if they get the money from Council. Hughes asked if Grieve thought this was an effective way to handle the salt. Geive concurred with Listerman. This allows the stockpile to be on hand. It’s hard to get when everyone needs it at the same time. It also keeps it dry- so less is lost in the rain. Commissioners approved Listerman seeking $56,600 from Council and also allowed approval to award the contract for $173,800 to Cousins Construction PENDING Council approval of the money.
On Ester Ridge by Happy Hollow and Bonnell by Yorkridge- Osmosis Construction- with the railroad will close these intersections from 7am-5 pm. These will be closed 3 days at a time for railroad work. They will get it on the radio WSCH and WRBI and the paper.
Grieve answered Orschell’s question on getting private mowers. He said that he has one individual that they will test in a pilot program probably. Mowing started yesterday. Grieve said they really need 2 full time people for sure. Listerman said there will be 4 openings coming up soon per Listerman. Hughes said he should bring up numbers for them to consider.
Hughes asked about the Moores Hill issue. Utility work encroached on the county’s ROW. County approved corrective action to repair Volz Rd. The repairs are not completed yet. They are working thru Moores Hill to get Bracken to finish this.
Listerman said we won’t turn down part time either. They were going to get interns to do sign inventory. They have not completed the installation of all the new traffic signs. They may use seasonal help to have resign completed. How long before this is due? Listerman said by the beginning of 2013 and they hope to finish it this summer. By the end of 2011 we have to have the policy set on how we will do this. The street signs don’t have to be in place till 2018. Grieve trying to get all this work scheduled.
AUDITOR- Gayle Pennington- Claims were approved. Minutes were approved.
ATTORNEY- Andy Baudendistel- nothing more.
COUNTY COORDINATOR- Bill Ewbank- request from SEIRPC to have Hughes sign off on grant completion for the Children County Child Advocacy Center. Total cost was $426,793. This finishes that grant off. Hughes signed.
Update on status of predesign on Hoosier Square and reassigning space in ADM Bldg and Courthouse. They will look at resolution of Superior Court II space at their meeting at noon today. Ewbank said they have found common agreement among most of the departments. $458,483.50 will be requested form Council May 25th for that. He will have a more extensive report and showing actual design and prices for each component part. Orschell said its gone well and he didn’t do anything- he was “smart enough to keep his mouth shut.”
Ashley Newnam from Planning and Zoning with Marlene Underwood , Director of Animal Control, seeking a grant from the DC Foundation needing standard equipment and transportation of animals. Animal Control is proposing $30,000 for the vehicle as our match for about 37% of projected cost. The match has been accumulated in Animal Control account. Orschell thimks this will improve safety for the personnel and the animals. Officers will be trained and certified for the tasers and the rifle. Deadline is May 31st for the grant. They take 3 months to decide before awards are given. They will pursue other funding resources too. Commissioners approved. Highway dept testified that the vehicles the ACO’s use are junk- as they service them. Commissioners approved Hughes to sign the grant application.
Michael Burgess – veteran’s service officer- requested approval to get a grant to get vehicles appropriately equipped to transport mobility challenged people. Wheel chair lifts and fold down seats as needed. He wants to get a grant thru the DC Foundation. Mobility Works in Cincinnati equips these vehicles. They have $9,000 donated from various agencies. They need $73,500 from the grant to get these two units. This also has to be in by the 31st of May. These will last 5-6 years without major repairs. Commissioners approved the grant application for Hughes to sign when completed.
Ewbank said they will need to invest in the type of equipment several of our departments need to do their tasks. They should plan for this.
Tim Grieve- require USDA assistance for the NRCS under the emergency watershed protection to fix the flooding damage. We will pay 25% and USDA is 75%. Our 25% can be in labor costs doing some of the work. This is a different avenue than FEMA. This is for Cook Road off of SR 1 – it’s a catastrophic failure – they aredown to one lane. There is only so many FEMA dollars- so this will help fix what FEMA can’t cover. This incident will actually qualify for these dollars. Commissioners approved Grieve going to USDA for these funds.
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- none
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- Dennis Kraus Jr. working as a private surveyor- not as County Surveyor on Nolte Road ROW. Baudendistel told Commissioners that they can approve the preliminary apparent ROW today. They can then have publication and public hearing on this.
Kraus. Jr. showed pictures, gates, mailboxes and remnants, as well as two old atlas maps. The old creek has washed out the other end. Neither of the two property owners he spoke to seemed to disagree that this was the way to the Larson property. He used 36 feet and the county will occupy about 25 ft. He located the centerline of the old road bed and went 18 ft on each side. On the Stenger property they had actual measurements on dedicated ROW from a 2001 survey. They thought that was an estate survey. The county cannot recognize anything more than 20 ft half ROW for apparent ROW per Baudendistel and state code. He went through the 1980’s commissioners meeting minutes and found no documentation.
Buadendistel said they need to publicize two times and the last at least 3 days before the hearing. They have to notify all adjoiners. They would then hear the public, accept or deny. They are wanting a June 7th hearing date. Commissioners approved the preliminary finding of apparent ROW down to the Larson on Nolte Road. Hearing is set for June 7th.
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
Meeting adjourned at 11 AM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Friday, May 13, 2011
Agenda for May 17th Commissioners Meeting
AGENDA
DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
May 17, 2011
9:00 a.m.
City of Lawrenceburg
Administration Building
230 Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana
EXECUTIVE SESSION @ 8:30 AM - Personnel Matter
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
III. OLD BUSINESS
1. Real Property Endorsement Fee
2. Private Real Property Rights Preservation Ordinance
3. Animal Control / PAWS contract
IV. NEW BUSINESS
1. Intersection of Short Road & North Dearborn Road
V. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman
Updates
VI. AUDITOR – Gayle Pennington
1. Claims/Minutes
VII. ATTORNEY - Andy Baudendistel
VIII. COUNTY COORDINATOR – Bill Ewbank
IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
X. LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION
XI. PUBLIC COMMENT
XII. ADJOURN
DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
May 17, 2011
9:00 a.m.
City of Lawrenceburg
Administration Building
230 Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana
EXECUTIVE SESSION @ 8:30 AM - Personnel Matter
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
III. OLD BUSINESS
1. Real Property Endorsement Fee
2. Private Real Property Rights Preservation Ordinance
3. Animal Control / PAWS contract
IV. NEW BUSINESS
1. Intersection of Short Road & North Dearborn Road
V. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman
Updates
VI. AUDITOR – Gayle Pennington
1. Claims/Minutes
VII. ATTORNEY - Andy Baudendistel
VIII. COUNTY COORDINATOR – Bill Ewbank
IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
X. LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION
XI. PUBLIC COMMENT
XII. ADJOURN
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Dan Brewington's Pretrial Hearing is Rescheduled Again
The Indiana Supreme Court appointed judge for the Dan Brewington case drove in fromDecatur County this morning. Judge John Westhafer, came into Dearborn County Superior Court II at 11:20 AM with Prosecutor Aaron Negangard and announced that Brewington's public defender, John Watson, was on his way to a hospital in Batesville, where his son was being taken from his school.
Judge Westhafer said he would get together with the attorneys and prosecutor to arrange another pretrial date as soon as possible.
Judge Westhafer advised Brewington that he had no counsel available and asked if he had any questions. Brewington's Cincinnati attorney, Robert Kelley, shook his head to Brewington, and Brewington answered, "No."
Brewington was taken back to the Dearborn County jail and his family and friends left at 11:30 AM. Earlier, people entering the courtroom were advised to sit on the left side and told that they were not to converse with Brewington.
No news media was present.
Christine Brauer Mueller
Larenceburg Township
Judge Westhafer said he would get together with the attorneys and prosecutor to arrange another pretrial date as soon as possible.
Judge Westhafer advised Brewington that he had no counsel available and asked if he had any questions. Brewington's Cincinnati attorney, Robert Kelley, shook his head to Brewington, and Brewington answered, "No."
Brewington was taken back to the Dearborn County jail and his family and friends left at 11:30 AM. Earlier, people entering the courtroom were advised to sit on the left side and told that they were not to converse with Brewington.
No news media was present.
Christine Brauer Mueller
Larenceburg Township
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
4 May 2011 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
4 May 2011 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes
Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry
Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.
OLD BUSINESS
Real property endorsement fee- Baudendistel will have it at the next meeting. He was confused between this and the ordinance Hughes had proposed. Hughes added that his proposed ordinance would be discussed at the next PC meeting at 6 PM for an hour before the regular meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Dearborn County Hospital reappointment- William Ritzmann’s term expires in June and the board requested his reappointment for 4 years. Commissioners approved.
2. Animal Control/PAWS Contract- Ewbank said that they have a contract that has been reviewed by legal counsel. The terms are pretty much agreed upon.
$60,000 for the rest of this year has been requested from Council. Sandy Carley requested permission to go to Council for this and Commissioners approved. Baudendistel made sure the commissioners knew there was a 360 day termination notice in the contract. He wanted them to know it was a much longer length of time than in a normal contract. The contract won’t be signed until Council approves the level of funding.
3. DCRSD- Steve Renihan- request to go to Council to get funding for the road to the sewer plant as it washed out due to the heavy rains. The estimate is a little high on this to be sure. Road pipe, ditch lines, additional culverts, etc. Listerman also went out to review it and give suggestions. Orschell noted this was a steep grade to access it. Hrezo explained that there was excessive water from the street above that is being diverted now. He also said they will be using bars and barriers to slow the water flow in the ditches too. Washed gravel also filled the catch basins. The road survived other heavy rains- particularly after the Highway dept fixed the flow from Timberview. Hughes asked if this would calculate into the user fees. Renihan said they are trying to avoid that. They are trying to add another 48 homes out in the area. that will help offset this cost. McHenry said- this is fixing something that you wish hadn’t happened – but it is what it is. The rainfall issue was not predictable. Commissioners approve DCRSD to seek money from Counsel for this purpose.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman- County Engineer gave the following report:
$12,441 contract for flashers at the schools was approved and it is reimburseable at 90% from the feds. Cornerstone Civil Group will be doing the oversight.
Annual operation report for local roads and streets were signed for the state. It shows all the money in each highway account. $615,000 + 133,000+ 2.1 mil+ 1.9 mil was available in the highway accounts at the beginning of the year.
Group 4 application for federal funds for Collier Ridge Bridge replacement was signed. This is in addition to the other money already approved. Commissioners approved Hughes signing it. This is thru INDOT and OKI.
Salt building goes up for rebid- to be opened Monday May 16th.
After looking at annual needs using 172 MvHA substitute account for improvements, Listerman requested they be able to re-stripe roads with 1000 vpd or more again. There are two roads that will not need that this year as they had recently been finished with striping. Hughes asked what the cost is for a private road- Listerman said the county budgets 8 cents this year due to gas prices also. Hughes asked if there was a policy on what would happen if a citizen would want to do it for a county road. Listerman said private costs would be about 15 cents a ft in his estimate. $115,000 for striping was approved for Listerman to seek at Council.
Requesting $25,000 from council for the fall to cover the 5 flashers at the elementary and intermediate schools. Commissioners approved going to Council. This is our 10% of the potential total cost on these.
3 tandems bought in 1997 and 3 mowing tractors about the same age. They want to replace one each for each of the next 3 years. Tandems estimate $170,000 and tractor is $65,000- both fully equipped. These tandems are Mack or Mack equivalent with auto transmission, fully equipped. The district 1 tandem only has 40,000 miles on it. It is in disrepair and it’s a hard truck to drive with a split shift transmission. They use the smaller trucks recently bought for the smaller subdivision streets. Hughes asked if we could use private mowers like the highway does. This is not something people have wanted to do in our smaller roadsides in the past. Listerman will check with the new commissioner in Franklin Cty who does highway work for a living. Commissioners approved Listerman seeking money for one tandem and one mower from Council. McHenry asked them to re-evaluate on that final truck with 40,000 miles in year 3.
Listerman is asking for $100,000 from Council for slip repair to bring the roads back to level prior to the heavy rains. This is not major repair like Collier Ridge. This is to get them navigable. A band-aid fix. Commissioners approved seeking this from Council. They will get geotech work and estimates on real fixes later. They will then prioritize this and see Council. 18 major slips now per Tim Grieve.
Bridge inspections are being done. 460 miles paved road and about 15 miles chip seal and 25 miles of gravel. To try to get road paved once every 24 years would cost 2.8 million a year. If we had a wheel tax dedicated to paving roads we’d get about $1million. That would paved or rejuvenate them once every 69 years. There is also a huge bridge repair need. Some have been repaired with stimulus money. The funding we receive doesn’t come close to funding what we need. He’s going to go to Council to get money sources for this. There was a time when the highway dept had about $7 million and spent about $3million- $1 million per district from the gaming money. Commissioners approved Listerman going to Council for this funding request for a road program and a bridge program.
AUDITOR- Gayle Pennington- claims approved- payroll, claims, and utilities. Pennington thanked them for allowing Rick Hartman to A/C the computer room- it’s at 65 degrees.
Pennington brought up the Sidwell claim and she had held it until the deliverables were obtained. Sidwell knows they are no longer using them and needed no more maintenance after it’s moved over, and they will not need the farmland software- the new company will provide this. The 3 days of training will be completed by the next meeting for the commissioners to sign the claim then and clear out the Sidwell account. There had been some trouble migrating files and Margaret Minzner handled that. They are onto the Beacon site. Hughes said it is pretty impressive to see what it can do. The training will have 12 trainees and Margaret and Ron will be able to help Sidwell’s trainer.
Pennington asked to open a discussion on the personnel policy. She is running into a situation. There is a sick leave donation program that we have. It is used for employee with critical need due to a serious illness or injury. She asked if maternity leave qualified for this. Ewbank noted how generous this policy is compared to industry standards. You could put a cap on how much an employee can receive. He would hate to lose the generous spirit. Hughes suggested surveying the dept. heads by the next commissioners meeting. Policy is that you can only receive a maximum of 60 days per year. They might use an appeal process for this too. This will be discussed next meeting.
ATTORNEY- Andy Baudendistel- Commended law enforcement and responders on the care at Salt Fork and SR 1 yesterday for the terrible accident.
Shumway bldg will be ready for next meeting.
COUNTY COORDINATOR- Bill Ewbank
1. Trending and New Construction- Tyler Technologies for $46,000 and is $15,000 less than last year due to lack of activity in construction. This is for Assessor’s office. Commissioners approved the contract for this.
2. Community Corrections grant acceptance- received notice $499,416 grant approved and letter of acceptance was signed. This is annual funding.
3. Emergency Mgmt- received info that they may need to declare emergency funds for flood damages to roads and repairs. Approved a declaration of emergency in case opportunity arises.
4. Letter of support was signed by commissioners for continued support for Whitewater Canal Byway . Same letter as last one- just continuing support.
5. Proclamation for May as Mental Health Awareness Month for children and Adolescents was signed by Commissioners.
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Shane McHenry- they can lease 6 vehicles and 2 aren’t here yet from Japan earthquake issues. They want to prepay the lease on the 2 not here yet to avoid the 2nd lease and increased costs. SBOA said they have to have commissioners know about this. OK with it.
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- none
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
Meeting adjourned at 8:43PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry
Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Bill Ewbank, County Coordinator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.
OLD BUSINESS
Real property endorsement fee- Baudendistel will have it at the next meeting. He was confused between this and the ordinance Hughes had proposed. Hughes added that his proposed ordinance would be discussed at the next PC meeting at 6 PM for an hour before the regular meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Dearborn County Hospital reappointment- William Ritzmann’s term expires in June and the board requested his reappointment for 4 years. Commissioners approved.
2. Animal Control/PAWS Contract- Ewbank said that they have a contract that has been reviewed by legal counsel. The terms are pretty much agreed upon.
$60,000 for the rest of this year has been requested from Council. Sandy Carley requested permission to go to Council for this and Commissioners approved. Baudendistel made sure the commissioners knew there was a 360 day termination notice in the contract. He wanted them to know it was a much longer length of time than in a normal contract. The contract won’t be signed until Council approves the level of funding.
3. DCRSD- Steve Renihan- request to go to Council to get funding for the road to the sewer plant as it washed out due to the heavy rains. The estimate is a little high on this to be sure. Road pipe, ditch lines, additional culverts, etc. Listerman also went out to review it and give suggestions. Orschell noted this was a steep grade to access it. Hrezo explained that there was excessive water from the street above that is being diverted now. He also said they will be using bars and barriers to slow the water flow in the ditches too. Washed gravel also filled the catch basins. The road survived other heavy rains- particularly after the Highway dept fixed the flow from Timberview. Hughes asked if this would calculate into the user fees. Renihan said they are trying to avoid that. They are trying to add another 48 homes out in the area. that will help offset this cost. McHenry said- this is fixing something that you wish hadn’t happened – but it is what it is. The rainfall issue was not predictable. Commissioners approve DCRSD to seek money from Counsel for this purpose.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT- Todd Listerman- County Engineer gave the following report:
$12,441 contract for flashers at the schools was approved and it is reimburseable at 90% from the feds. Cornerstone Civil Group will be doing the oversight.
Annual operation report for local roads and streets were signed for the state. It shows all the money in each highway account. $615,000 + 133,000+ 2.1 mil+ 1.9 mil was available in the highway accounts at the beginning of the year.
Group 4 application for federal funds for Collier Ridge Bridge replacement was signed. This is in addition to the other money already approved. Commissioners approved Hughes signing it. This is thru INDOT and OKI.
Salt building goes up for rebid- to be opened Monday May 16th.
After looking at annual needs using 172 MvHA substitute account for improvements, Listerman requested they be able to re-stripe roads with 1000 vpd or more again. There are two roads that will not need that this year as they had recently been finished with striping. Hughes asked what the cost is for a private road- Listerman said the county budgets 8 cents this year due to gas prices also. Hughes asked if there was a policy on what would happen if a citizen would want to do it for a county road. Listerman said private costs would be about 15 cents a ft in his estimate. $115,000 for striping was approved for Listerman to seek at Council.
Requesting $25,000 from council for the fall to cover the 5 flashers at the elementary and intermediate schools. Commissioners approved going to Council. This is our 10% of the potential total cost on these.
3 tandems bought in 1997 and 3 mowing tractors about the same age. They want to replace one each for each of the next 3 years. Tandems estimate $170,000 and tractor is $65,000- both fully equipped. These tandems are Mack or Mack equivalent with auto transmission, fully equipped. The district 1 tandem only has 40,000 miles on it. It is in disrepair and it’s a hard truck to drive with a split shift transmission. They use the smaller trucks recently bought for the smaller subdivision streets. Hughes asked if we could use private mowers like the highway does. This is not something people have wanted to do in our smaller roadsides in the past. Listerman will check with the new commissioner in Franklin Cty who does highway work for a living. Commissioners approved Listerman seeking money for one tandem and one mower from Council. McHenry asked them to re-evaluate on that final truck with 40,000 miles in year 3.
Listerman is asking for $100,000 from Council for slip repair to bring the roads back to level prior to the heavy rains. This is not major repair like Collier Ridge. This is to get them navigable. A band-aid fix. Commissioners approved seeking this from Council. They will get geotech work and estimates on real fixes later. They will then prioritize this and see Council. 18 major slips now per Tim Grieve.
Bridge inspections are being done. 460 miles paved road and about 15 miles chip seal and 25 miles of gravel. To try to get road paved once every 24 years would cost 2.8 million a year. If we had a wheel tax dedicated to paving roads we’d get about $1million. That would paved or rejuvenate them once every 69 years. There is also a huge bridge repair need. Some have been repaired with stimulus money. The funding we receive doesn’t come close to funding what we need. He’s going to go to Council to get money sources for this. There was a time when the highway dept had about $7 million and spent about $3million- $1 million per district from the gaming money. Commissioners approved Listerman going to Council for this funding request for a road program and a bridge program.
AUDITOR- Gayle Pennington- claims approved- payroll, claims, and utilities. Pennington thanked them for allowing Rick Hartman to A/C the computer room- it’s at 65 degrees.
Pennington brought up the Sidwell claim and she had held it until the deliverables were obtained. Sidwell knows they are no longer using them and needed no more maintenance after it’s moved over, and they will not need the farmland software- the new company will provide this. The 3 days of training will be completed by the next meeting for the commissioners to sign the claim then and clear out the Sidwell account. There had been some trouble migrating files and Margaret Minzner handled that. They are onto the Beacon site. Hughes said it is pretty impressive to see what it can do. The training will have 12 trainees and Margaret and Ron will be able to help Sidwell’s trainer.
Pennington asked to open a discussion on the personnel policy. She is running into a situation. There is a sick leave donation program that we have. It is used for employee with critical need due to a serious illness or injury. She asked if maternity leave qualified for this. Ewbank noted how generous this policy is compared to industry standards. You could put a cap on how much an employee can receive. He would hate to lose the generous spirit. Hughes suggested surveying the dept. heads by the next commissioners meeting. Policy is that you can only receive a maximum of 60 days per year. They might use an appeal process for this too. This will be discussed next meeting.
ATTORNEY- Andy Baudendistel- Commended law enforcement and responders on the care at Salt Fork and SR 1 yesterday for the terrible accident.
Shumway bldg will be ready for next meeting.
COUNTY COORDINATOR- Bill Ewbank
1. Trending and New Construction- Tyler Technologies for $46,000 and is $15,000 less than last year due to lack of activity in construction. This is for Assessor’s office. Commissioners approved the contract for this.
2. Community Corrections grant acceptance- received notice $499,416 grant approved and letter of acceptance was signed. This is annual funding.
3. Emergency Mgmt- received info that they may need to declare emergency funds for flood damages to roads and repairs. Approved a declaration of emergency in case opportunity arises.
4. Letter of support was signed by commissioners for continued support for Whitewater Canal Byway . Same letter as last one- just continuing support.
5. Proclamation for May as Mental Health Awareness Month for children and Adolescents was signed by Commissioners.
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Shane McHenry- they can lease 6 vehicles and 2 aren’t here yet from Japan earthquake issues. They want to prepay the lease on the 2 not here yet to avoid the 2nd lease and increased costs. SBOA said they have to have commissioners know about this. OK with it.
LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- none
PUBLIC COMMENT- none
Meeting adjourned at 8:43PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
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