Agenda for August 7th Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting

AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

 August 7, 2012

6:00 p.m., Commissioners Room

County Administration Building

215 B West High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana 

I.              CALL TO ORDER

II.            PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

III.           OLD BUSINESS

1.  Maintenance for Dearborn County Vehicles (tabled)

2.  Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway (tabled)

3.  OKI Funding Contract / Agreement (tabled until Aug 21^st)

IV.          NEW BUSINESS

1.  Jodi Comer, SIRPC - Signature for Sub-recipient Semi-Annual Reports for CAC (Children’s Advocacy Center)

2.  Hrezo Engineering – Update on Hardintown Water Project

                  3.  ADA Transition Plan (Adoption by BOC)

            4.  Jail Architect Contract

5.  Bill Black, EMA – Interstate Mutual Aid Agreement

V.            HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

A.  Highway Superintendent – Tim Greive

            1.  Updates

B.  Highway Engineer – Todd Listerman

            1.  Updates  

VI.          ADMINISTRATOR –  Teresa Randall

            1.  Hoosier Square Update

            2.  Votaw Demolition Update

            3.  Proposed Designated Smoking Areas 

VII.         AUDITOR – Gayle Pennington

1.  Claims/Minutes 

VIII.        ATTORNEY – Andy Baudendistel 

IX.          COMMISSIONER COMMENTS 

X.            LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION            

XI.          PUBLIC COMMENT 

XII.          ADJOURN

WE CAN DO BETTER - Part 8

WE CAN DO BETTER 8

By Alan Miller, Candidate for Judge Superior Court II

Fairness and Defense Attorneys 

There are problems within the county court system. In the next several weeks, I will post my proposals that outline how I think we can do better.

Today, I will continue to discuss my proposals related to fairness in the courts.

PD reimbursement program will be explored

The United States and Indiana Constitutions guarantee an attorney to each and every defendant in a criminal case. In the event a defendant cannot afford an attorney, a public defender is appointed to him or her at a reduced cost, or no cost at all. In Dearborn County, expenditures for public defenders are often one of the largest in the court’s budget.

In an effort to help defer some of this cost, the Indiana Public Defender Commission offers each county up to 40% reimbursement for their public defender programs. Funding for this program comes from collected court fees, as well as money already appropriated by the state legislature. In order to receive said funds, the county must agree to comply with the Commission’s rules regarding the appointments of public defenders. For example, the attorneys who accept public defender cases must meet certain experience-based criteria. Further, those who accept public defender appointments are restricted in the number and types of cases they can have at any one time. These guidelines ensure that the public defender has the experience and knowledge necessary to handle the more serious cases, while further ensuring that the public defender is not so overloaded with cases that it affects his or her ability to provide competent representation.

To date, our county has declined to join the other 52 counties in the state (including Ohio, Switzerland, Jennings, and Union counties locally and Marion, Lake and Allen counties, three of the largest counties in the state) who have asked for, and are currently receiving, such funds. Unfortunately, it is not unusual to see an attorney with limited experience appointed to major felony cases, punishable by years in prison. It is also not unusual to see an attorney with excessive caseloads. Such appointments and circumstances could not occur under these criteria.

When elected, I will work to convince others in the system that this program is worthwhile and will lead to a better overall justice system. However, I cannot promise that the system would be implemented, as this would take some cooperation from others in the system and our local government.  

This is the eighthth part of my platform statement; a detailed proposal for how to improve our current justice system. It will be released over the next several months through facebook.com/makeitmiller2012 and makeitmiller2012.com. PLEASE feel free to forward this to your friends and family.
Thanks for your continued support!

Alan Miller

17 July 2012 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry

Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Teresa Randall, County Administrator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.

OLD BUSINESS:

Payroll schedule change- Suellen Cauble-said the SBOA has been after us for a long time to not pay ahead for employees. They want to pull back one day later for 5 consecutive payroll periods (2 week intervals)This means payroll on Monday, then 2 weeks late on Tuesday, and so on. This will get their paychecks to be one week later that the last day worked so that they would not be paying ahead of time worked. By mid October they will be back to Friday paydays. This will get part timers and full timers on the same schedule. And they will be in compliance with the SBOA- State Board of Accounts.Even highway will be put onto this schedule. Gayle Pennington said that they had worked on this over several months to make it as painless as possible. Suellen Cauble said the perfect situation would to be to do this again in a year and get them payroll one more week off so that they areen’t paying on Friday for work done that Friday. They will look at that at a later date.  Commissioners approved this schedule change.

Maintenance for Dearborn County Vehicles- tabled

Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway- Randall said that they had been trying to get INDOT to administer it themselves. INDOT is trying to get a solution for both. She fully expects to have it resolved by next meeting.

OKI Funding Contract/Agreement .Tabled until August 21^st

NEW BUSINESS:

Mark McCormack Planning and Zoning- Proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance- unanimously favorably recommended by PC.  These were advertized on the 19^th and 23^rd of June.

Article 3 section 320 Dimensional Variance Requirements- broadened definition and tied this in with Article 27 also. The rest of 320 remains the same. This brings it into line with the state code.  No public spoke. Commissioners approved this change to planning code.

Article 27 Definition of Variance- is revised by a few words to expand what would be included in a variance. This matches state code better. No public spoke. Commissioners approved this change to zoning code.

Article 21 Section 2125 Handicap Parking Requirements- changed to accessible parking requirements from handicapped. They match ADA requirements now. We were more restrictive. New diagrams illustrate this. No public spoke. Commissioners approved this change to the planning code.

Article 25 Section 2546 private or resident Swimming Pools- This was revised to reflect changes to the Indiana code. New rule is 4 ft barrier and/or safety cover that is mechanically operated cover with key and switch, etc. The building dept is using the same code. Hughes had some questions on the covers and fence height. The fence height matches more to ones required in Ohio and Kentucky where many pool builders originate. Public did not comment.  Commissioners approved this change to the Planning Code.

Erin Fox- Jack’s Forever 3 Foundation 5K Run- asked for permission for a road closing to do this again this year. A letter goes to all neighbors two days in advance. Orschell will get the highway dept signs for the run, McHenry will help get volunteers for trash pick up afterwards. This is for Sept 8^th from 8:45 – 10:30 AM Saturday. Hughes participates. There is a website to sign up also. Commissioners approved the road closing for that time period.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Todd Listerman, Highway Engineer- had a bid opening for McAllister Exc Patriot IN  $295,172.22 for Lower Dillsboro road. This was rebid when the first round came in too high. Only two bidders came in for this round. O-Mara was the other one. They will start in mid August and done in November. This is fully funded- money was set aside. Commissioners approved the contract to McAllister Excavating Co.

School flashers were installed and INDOT will inspect . ( North Dearborn district schools)This was done thru the highway safety school program for 90/10% split.

Bid out August 2^nd for Benning, Weisburg, and Lake Tambo. Weisberg will be restriped when paved. This delays the bid until September to get a better price.

Tim Grieve, Highway Superintendent- started slip repairs and Hogan hill is nearly finished- guardrail tomorrow. Dover Hill next on North Dearborn. The new Mack truck is in service. More stabilization will be done using the same crew INDOT and L-bg used to stabilize new and old 48. Mt Pleasant is an example of a slip that can use this.

ADMINISTRATOR: Teresa Randall:

Surplus vehicles - 2005 and 2006 Crown Victorias were requested by Moores Hill Fire Dept. She brought the titles and VIN numbers, and commissioners approved the sale for $1 each.

Hoosier Square- storm drain done.

Hoosier Square- the stair project was bid at $18,725 by Marshall Enterprises. They will use a subcontractor – Dan Thomas Construction. They have worked for Lawrenceburg City. She wants to check back with Carl Fryman , Lawrenceburg’s inspector and their references. She wants to come up with a plan during construction for access and safety. Orschell abstained as he thought there could be a conflict of interest. The other two commissioners approved.

Randall has exhausted all other avenues for the fiberoptics issue at Hoosier Square. The fiberoptics has to be 25 ft or higher over the RR track. Indicom will do this from the pole near the Surveyors office She thinks this can be done for $5,000. $15,000 was budgeted. Commissioners approved her to get the application to the RR for this.

Votaw Demolition- Listerman came up with Randall on this. They looked at internal resources and they talked to Lawrenceburg city with Mario Todd and Grant Hughes. Baudendistel noted they have the right of entry along L-bg’s pie shaped piece in back. Conservancy just wants us to avoid the toe of the levee. $130,000 in line item budget to demolish this and get grading fill and gravel. They want to hire someone to handle the grading and drainage plan and there is an existing French drain there. They will have to put in a new catch basin and connect it to the city sewer system. They can get a set of design plans from mike Hall or Land Consultants. County surveyor is getting the other issues handled. They will do a demolition contract and then a grading contract. It may be advantageous to do all this at once. Randall said they can save a few thousand by tapping into our internal resources.

Jail Architect Recommendation- Randallpresented with Jeff Lyness  of Maxwell Construction available for questions. RQAW,  DLZ,  Brandstetter Carroll, KZF, Dewberry Goldberg, Sullivan and McCreary, Rosser/American Structurepoint, and Shinkle and Schultz , who declined to be interviewed.

By phase 1 RQAW was first, Rosser/American Structurepoint second, and DLZ third.

Phase 2 was to check their financials. The team recommended Rosser/American Structurepoint with a strong staff in Lexington though based in Atlanta. The team was more confident from references in keeping costs under control. American Structurepoint has a local presence in Lawrenceburg. Their fees were all similar. RQAW was praised by Randall for their years of services on this jail and excellent interview, though the committee was convinced that Rosser/American Structurepoint had more depth of resources for our project. Commissioners approved Rosser/American Structurepoint as the jail architects with Randall negotiating to the county’s satisfaction and specifications. They did this out of respect for the county’s committee’s work  on this. Hughes abstained.

AUDITOR: Gayle Pennington- minutes approved with amendments to the June ones and July 3^rd as presented. Claims approved.

ATTORNEY: Andy Baudendistel- Joint agreement and interlocal agreement for Hardintown Water Project- county sponsored a grant for this. This joint resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement with Lawrenceburg for $118,536.25 was already signed by Lawrenceburg. Commissioners signed that. The interlocal agreement will be taken to Mayor Carr to sign after we have today. The same was done with a resolution with Greendale and then an agreement with them as we are attaching to their lines. Greendale will own and maintain these water lines. Mayor Hedrick will sign these also after commissioners sign them. They are in a time constraint on this now as there is a pressing need for water as some of the wells and cisterns went dry over there. There is also a proposal for engineering services with Hrezo Engineering for $8,000. The board may contract this because there is a declared emergency there. Commissioners declared this water project as an emergency. Hrezo recommended some local contractors CH & M Excavating Milan and Brackne (sp ?) from Brookville to be contacted. Hrezo will get plans to them within a week. They could get the bid by next meeting and approved then. Baudendistel and Randall received much cooperation form Lawrenceburg and Greendale in getting this fast-tracked.

Baudendistel said- Anyone with a firearm in their personal vehicle used to be required to file notice of this per the policy manual. This needs to be removed as state law no longer requires this. Commissioners signed this ordinance to amend their handbook.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- McHenry says they have some older low band radios from sheriff’s dept to Aurora. Baudendistel will look at the interlocal agreement statute to be sure we don’t have to sign one to do this. Pennington is also checking with SBOA. McHenry said they have an old lightbar to donate also. Baudendistel will check on this also.

LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- Bill Black – EMA- thanked everyone for attending the workshop last week.

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

Meeting adjourned at 10:45AM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township

We Can Do Better Part 7

WE CAN DO BETTER 7

By Alan Miller, Candidate for Judge Superior Court II 

Fairness and Defense Attorneys 

Another substantial issue with the Dearborn County justice system is fairness. This broad statement applies to every participant in the system: prosecutors, police officers, defense attorneys, attorneys who appear before the court in civil matters, probation officers, community corrections officers, and the laypeople who appear before the court as a party. A lack of fairness, and even the appearance thereof, can lead to a distrust of the system itself. It is time to eliminate even the appearances of impropriety and restore the public’s faith in our justice system.

Criminal Defense Attorneys

Good defense attorneys improve the overall quality of the justice system. Good defense attorneys serve as an important part of our system of checks and balances. By fighting for his or her clients and holding all in the system accountable, a good defense attorney has the ability to make everyone in the system better. When the system improves, reductions in the number of case dismissals and overturned convictions follow. Further, when the system improves, the public wins as they can be assured they are being protected within the boundaries and letter of the law. 

On the other hand, there are few things that can undermine the public’s trust in the justice system more than bad defense attorneys. Public defenders, often inexperienced and overworked, are viewed in a particularly negative light. When the quality of representation offered to criminal defendants is subpar, it can impact fairness by creating an uneven playing field for the individual charged and can lead to other grave consequences for our justice system.  

What follows over the next several weeks are my proposals to better the quality of representation, and thereby the justice system in Dearborn County. 

This is the seventh part of my platform statement; a detailed proposal for how to improve our current justice system. It will be released over the next several months through facebook.com/makeitmiller2012 and makeitmiller2012.com. PLEASE feel free to forward this to your friends and family.
Thanks for your continued support!

Alan Miller

Agenda July 17th Commissioners Meeting

AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

July 17, 2012

9:00 a.m., Commissioners Room

County Administration Building

215 B West High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana

I.              CALL TO ORDER 

II.             PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

III.            OLD BUSINESS

1.  Payroll Schedule Change (tabled)

2.  Maintenance for Dearborn County Vehicles (tabled)

3.  Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway (tabled)

4.  OKI Funding Contract / Agreement (tabled until Aug 21^st)

IV.           NEW BUSINESS

1.  Mark McCormack – Planning & Zoning

 Proposed changes to the DC Zoning Ordinance

            1.  Article 3, Section 320:  Dimensional Variance Requirements

            2.  Article 27: Definition of Variance

            3.  Article 21, Section 2125: handicap Parking Requirements

                                    4.  Article 25, Section 2546: Private or Resident Swimming Pools

                       

2.  Erin Fox – Jack’s Forever 3 Foundation’s 5K Run 

V.            HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

A.  Highway Superintendent – Tim Greive

            1.  Updates 

B.  Highway Engineer – Todd Listerman

            1.  Updates  

VI.           ADMINISTRATOR –  Teresa Randall

                        1.  Hoosier Square

                        2.  Votaw Demolition

3.  Jail Architect Recommendation

VII.          AUDITOR – Gayle Pennington

1.  Claims/Minutes 

VIII.         ATTORNEY – Andy Baudendistel

1.  Joint Resolution and Interlocal Agreement for Hardintown Water Project

IX.           COMMISSIONER COMMENTS 

X.            LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION            

XI.           PUBLIC COMMENT 

XII.           ADJOURN

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

---

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

3 July 2012 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

3 July 2012 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

COMMISSIONERS APPROVED A BURN BAN FOR THE COUNTY- SEE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS MEETING UNDER LATE ARRIVAL.

Present: Jeff Hughes, President, Tom Orschell, and Shane McHenry

Also present: Gayle Pennington, Auditor, Teresa Randall, County Administrator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.

OLD BUSINESS:

Payroll Schedule Change- tabled until next meeting at auditor’s request.

Maintenance for Dearborn County Vehicles- tabled until Randall can like at fuel consumption also at Orschell’s request. Randall will give periodic updates on this.

Consulting services Agreement- Auditor- this was informational- Pennington said she has contracted with Frank Cummings and he will be working on the budget.

Whitewater Canal scenic Byway- Randall said that she and Listerman had talked to INDOT.

 INDOT admitted they did not have any policies or procedure to handle this type of Federal Funding. County will wait on answers from INDOT before proceeding. She also communicated this to the Whitewater committee.

Dearborn County Board of Health Appointment- Alan Goodman, Chairman of the County Republican Party, was appointed to the Board of Health by Commissioners. [NOTE: This board has to be politically balanced by law. Commissioners checked per Orschell and this is still the case even though Goodman is replacing Rodney Dennerline, a democrat, who recently passed away.]

NEW BUSINESS:

OKI Funding Contract- Hughes said they have helped us out at times with the electronic signs and things on Stateline. Payment of $16,000 is due in February. Randall will visit OKI and SIRPC to see what each group does for us in terms of grants etc. Tabled to see what their value is with respect to the dollars spent. We are also in their MPO. Randall will see what impact letting the contract lapse will have. She will report at the August 21^st meeting. Hughes said OKI doesn’t meet until the August.

Ratify Signature for Construction Manager- Randall had asked to go thru with the contract at the last meeting and Baudendistel and she went over the contract. Hughes signed that contract after the meeting. Commissioners approved Hughes’s signature.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Todd Listerman, Highway Engineer- Stateline, North Dearborn, and SR 1 have the warning lights up and installed this week.

Congress agreed on a new highway bill and it kept the off road bridge money like Collier Ridge. The bill is about 500 pages long. He is still trying to figure out how we fared economically with it.

Fed Hwy Adm- approved the additional funds for the Stateline Rd project.

Tim Grieve, Highway Superintendent- FEMA slips are starting to be fixed next week. Some things we are doing in-house. They will start on Hogan Hill Road. It will be closed except for emergency vehicles. North Dearborn, Dover hill, and West Laughery follow.

They ordered the Mack truck chassis.

They are working on the budget.

Grieve is having trouble finding grindings. O’Mara is unwilling to give the ones up they are getting from North Dearborn project. There are some 3-4 year old ones stock piled in Aurora. Jurgenson owns the ones in Penn Town. They have been sitting for 5 years. They’d need to be double chipped and they are not sure how much oil is in them.

Hughes said he wanted them to do it by their priority list.

Council approved refilling the positions they have open. They will fill from in-house first. Foreman and a maintenance worker are open. Several in-house employees are interested in the foreman position.

ADMINISTRATOR: Teresa Randall:

New smoking law effective July 1, 2012-signage had to be posted at all public entrances and some that are on employee entrances. There was a smoker’s revolt of sorts that said they are infringing on their rights. Some counties put the limit at 8 ft from the building- one had it at 25 ft. Some have a smoking area. They have to move the ashtrays to that 8 ft. distance too. You could also designate it as a smoke free campus. There are penalties and fines for non-compliance. Health Board can enforce. People can file civil suits if they feel we are not complying. What to do in the county vehicles? McHenry said that vehicles hold that smoke smell for a couple years or more. Randall reminded them of their health initiative to help people stop smoking. They have helped pay for some of this also. Pennington reminded them of the Personnel policy on the smoking breaks also. Listerman said hwy vehicles are shared and he’d like to see them smoke free just like the offices. Tabled for further review and Randall will go over campus with Eric Hartmann to find smoking places and door issues. [NOTE: Taxpayers probably shouldn’t be paying for special smoking areas, at least not indefinitely.]

Jail Architect Recommendation- 5 firms interviewed for this position – the committee interviewed each for 2-2.5 hours. Council and Commissioners sat in and watched these. They checked the financials and references of all these firms. She still has a couple of calls and references coming in. McHenry said he wants all the info first- so he wants to table this. Orschell agreed. Tabled.

AUDITOR: Gayle Pennington- claims and June 5^th minutes signed. McHenry hadn’t reviewed the claim dockets so he appropriately abstained.

ATTORNEY: Andy Baudendistel- sheriff’s dept leased 3 agreements on vehicles to HVL and they are signed by HVL’s Bruce Keller and the sheriff. Commissioners signed the 3 agreementsfor 2007 Crown Vic, 2008 Crown Vic, and another 2007 Crown Vic- all “county sheriff dept.brown. “

Gary Hensley Assessor – put out trending bids with Tyler Technologies - $49,600. Approved to enter the agreement even though they were higher by $100 because the lowest bidder did not put in a performance bond.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- Orschell wished everyone a safe happy 4^th of July. Hughes agreed. McHenry commended Randall for all her hard work so far.

LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- Bill Black EMA- wanted to issue a burn ban for the county. This allows law enforcement for this. 83 out of 92 counties have a burn ban now. This does not affect the fireworks. People should use good judgment on fireworks. Commissioners approve the Burn Ban. Campfires are OK as long as they are in a fire ring. They can call sheriff’s dept. for issues. Fines are $200-$1000 and court costs.

Communications Board- Randy Abner had resigned and Johnny Tremain was approved by Commissioners to fill out the rest of that term.

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

Meeting adjourned at 7: 15 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township