AGENDA June 1st DC Commissioners MORNING Meeting

 AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

 June 1, 2021 

9:00 a.m., Commissioners Room

County Administration Building

165 Mary Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. TITLE VI STATEMENT FOR COMPLIANCE

VI. OLD BUSINESS 

 

V. NEW BUSINESS

VI. ADMINISTRATOR – Sue Hayden

1.  INDOT LPA Final Contract for Bridge #108 Harrison Brookville Road Project 

(Presenting for Hwy Engineer, Todd Listerman)

VII. AUDITOR – Connie Fromhold

1.  Claims/Payroll/Minutes

2.  Grant – Health Department 

VIII. ATTORNEY – Andy Baudendistel

IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

X. LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION

XI. PUBLIC COMMENT

XII. ADJOURN

25 May 2021 Dearborn County Council Meeting Notes

 25 May 2021 Dearborn County Council Meeting Notes

Present: Liz Morris, President, Dennis Kraus. Sr., Dan Lansing, Kevin Turner, Tim Doll, Alan Goodman, and Glenn Wright. 

Also present: Connie Fromhold, Auditor

TITLE VI STATEMENT FOR COMPLIANCE- was read by Baudendistel as legally required

NEW BUSINESS:

LAWRENCEBURG CONSERVANCY DISTRICT- Request for budget funding. Richard Butler- the Conservancy lawyer- asking for help to cover expenses. The walls and gates and 159 relief wells for hydrostatic pressure. These are connected by underground pumps as well. FEMA regulates the systems and where you can build or not. The Army Corps of Engineers built it and regulate it. After Katrina $125 billion in damages. So then they require us to certify to them that our flood protection is good to go. $900,000 in red last year. The area we protect has a lot of tax base for the county. 

Introduce themselves ad are coming to them during budget tie and see if we can get help funding our infrastructure. 

MikeNoel who is chairman of Conservancy - invited everyone to come to their meetings on the 3rd Thursday of every month.  

Glen Wright asked for sources of funding- Butler said that the Conservancy didn’t have enough money until after the Riverboat. They wanted to locate on property owned by Conservancy. They worked a deal to pay their rent to L-bg and thus to fund Conservancy. $1,650,000 to $1.7 million rent. Lawrenceburg put  lots of money into this over the years now- too much to tax the few landowners there. Government doesn’t require flood insurance. No decision needed.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

JUVENILE CENTER

Overtime- $11,885 - short on part timers to work at $12/hr on weekends mostly. Using their regular staff to do overtime. Average daily population is about 6 there. Some are from other counties. They could accommodate 10-12. COVID as affected them as they have only 3 beds for quarantine. They have 2 educators for these kids. Approved.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

RACES Equipment Purchase- $ 20,000 (amateur radio group under EMA)- Jason Sullivan- these volunteers provide ham radio- and are volunteers. They have been trying to outfit the trailer they inherited from Health Dept. and need that money. Currently they are using a 1975 van that requires transmission fluid with every move. This is back up for our regular systems. These guys also directly connect to weather systems etc. Some of our 800 system goes down from time to time. Walls, cabinets, and desks ned to outfit it. They don’t have 3 bids yet. TABLED until Jason can get 3 bids for this.  

Equipment Repair- $ 1,536- bill from Motorola for programming of the radios. He had a grant and this bill showed up later. TABLED- McHenry said he would take care of that.

PROSECUTOR

Employee retirement payout- $11,409 & $16,496- Lynn Deddens said there were unanticipated early retirements. They found out they liked retirement during COVID. Some people in the system are stepping into these spots. Approved.

BUILDING COMMISSIONER

Part-time Building Inspector- Will be a full time here and will use current Part-time money for Secretary- $40,520- Bill Shelton - they have increased work load and they also are taking back building inspection for Lawrenceburg as Fryman retired. They get $100,000 from permits from Lawrenceburg for this. A veteran and licensed master plumber (Brian) is looking at this inspector position. He won’t need county health insurance as he uses VA insurance. He needs the additional secretary also. There are a lot of new projects and expansions. Also he has a succession plan for his staff that is getting close to retirement. Approved. 

CLERK

Computer/Maintenance Repairs- $5,200- Gayle Pennington- state mandated that they go on to Odyssey in 2017. They are all mostly Windows 7 and 8. At the end of this year Windows 8 will not be supported after this year and 7 is already not supported. She said no support for security or updates. She wants to get 4 tonight and get the other 4 at the end of the year after budget. She will get it back on a rotation after this. 2 are 8 and the rest are 7. Her deputy is on Windows 10. This is a privacy issue having secure software. Approved for 4 computers out of County General. The computers come thru Midwest Data. They can be frugal. 

HIGHWAY

Todd Listerman passed out the bridge priority list. The top 2 are in process and completely funded- He will be asking for under $700,000 for one other project in another year. $2.7 million was total project cost on that. Priority list is determined by urgency depending on the sufficiency of the bridge. This is part of inspections ratings done every 2 years. Some are yearly because they are in poor condition.  

Replacement Small Structure #121 Alans Branch Rd- $590,000- This is around the corner on Chesterville. Dead end road with 6 homes. Another temporary runaround. There will be two 6-hour shutdowns of electric for this project. The contractor will supply generators if property owners need for they freezers/refrigerators. The electric lines are too close to bridge structure. Approved out of Fund 4916.

Replacement Bridge #44 Turkey Point Rd- over 20 ft long - $1,500,000- Have to build a temporary runaround for that project. They are using 2 tank cars from One Mile Rd project. They bury them in the road and run over them. Turkey Point is a bridge and One Mile was a culvert. Alans Branch is a box structure. Turkey Point is for 7-8 houses and a county park access. Morris was having trouble with the high costs. Approved from Riverboat Revenue. 

Listerman updates: Bridge 72 will be coming in at budget. Alos ROW for Station Hollow. Trying for ROW on Lower Dillsboro and Hueseman Rd. Hoping to have at budget. Mt Pleasant and Chesterville are Community Crossing.

CORONER

Cameron McCreary - Coroner- 72 cases this year so far. Estimate 150 plus by end of year. Autopsied 26. Also covers Ohio County at times and get reimbursed by them. They have mutual aid agreements with Ohio and Franklin and Ripley County. COVID cases are mostly handled by hospitals when they are admitted and pass away. He works a full time job as did previous coroners. He uses deputies more as he is taking time to learn his job. 

Part-time wages- $26,912- Approved $15,000

New response vehicle- $37,573- current one is 2008 Ford F250 with about 30,000 miles on it. A Dodge Durango from 2004 is the one they want to replace and is unsafe. Compressor to load went out and ha a new compressor last year.  With St E’s there is no longer a pathologist at the societal here. So they transport to Hamilton County- Blue Ash. TABLED until budget.

 Equipment for new Vehicle-$57,098- want a power lift cot made by Striker to outfit this vehicle. This is to eliminate back injuries. People are getting bigger. TABLED until budget.

Discussion about how much they need that 2nd vehicle and not wanting to spend so much money. 

911 COMMUNICATIONS

Replacement of 3 Consoles and 6 chairs- $ 73,069 - Jared Teaney- thanked Council members who came to see what they do. This is replacing the remaining 3 that were not replaced in 2018. Nothing more this year. A radio project probably some later year. Doll toured the 911 center- noted that the newer consoles were preferred. It’s an ergonomic desk and a CPU cabinet. These people sit there for 12 hour shifts.  Approved out of Public Safety LIT fund.

SHERIFF 

Body Cams for Deputies- $62,077- Shane McHenry- the body Cam project 23 units. The state allocated some money for a grant program. They will do 50% of the cost of the camera only. $36,000 for cameras so $18,000 from grant. Watchguard cameras are in the cars so he is using the same company. He’s not been a big fan of these cameras in the past,  but talking to others in other departments, he finds that complaints have decreased in those cases. Morris praised McHenry for being generous with the commissary funds and so she’s comfortable with this request. That’s why he is paying for Jason Sullivan’s radio issues. Approved up to the $62,077 and if the grant comes in that will decrease that.

HEALTH

Supplement for Employee- $2,419- Dr Steve Eliason - one employee put in a lot of extra hours during COVID and she had flex time versus the other employees that had comp time. This would be compensation for the extra time she put in. Approved out of Health Fund. 

Alan Goodman commended Eliason for the time he has put in and that he had come in at the beginning of COVID. He said it was the result of a lot of people’s efforts. 

PARK BOARD

Miscellaneous Operating costs- $ 4,000- Jim RedElk for additional collection and disposal of trash and additional cans. Approved out of County General

Park Supplies- $6,000- for new signs and cooking grills - Glenn Wright gave him some ideas for picnic tables from FFA at East Central and welding with Jason at IVY tech for grills. Approved from 1179 fund.

Park Improvements- $5,500 & $16,000- info kiosks and culvert type improvements and a new privy near the disk golf course. Approved from County Farm Fund DEARBORN COUNTY 

DEARBORN COUNTY REGIONAL SEWER DISTRICT

Engineering Services- $90,000  and Easements-$50,000 - Steve Renihan and Bob Hrezo passed out info on the Guilford Project. The OCRA grant for the project if they build a plant there in Guilford. They could get up to $700,000 for the project. But that only goes to the 64 homes in that grant. Because of the income survey in that area it should be a high priority project for that grant. They have to have the easements in hand before they approve the grant. In any event - with or without great both of these items are needed. They also have the option of going thru Greendale.  The Greendale option allows more homes along SR 1 and Salt Fork.Going thru Perfects lift station to Lawrenceburg is option 3. This would put a big load on that lift station. It would involve interlocal agreements with Lawrenceburg. They do not have their own crews they have to subcontract all these jobs. Greendale would be a better option because of these considerations. The OCRA grant can also work with the Greendale option. If more development comes in then the developers would have to pay for sewer plant expansions. They collected over $108,000 in revenue with a $29,000 loss. State board of accounts charged them $10,000????

They look to be in the black soon. Sewer procedures and processes were explained to the board. Getting new customers with new builds needing sewers. $5500 hookups and customer also buys a grinder pump. Have to pay for install of lateral to the road. They still do not compel people to hookup. But if septic fails people have the option of sewer. Many sewer hookup have been loans as they have set up sewer in some depressed areas. Approved out of 4917 Regional Sewer Development for $140,000. 

Wright asked about whether this plant only option if it would cover more development on Yorkridge. (Because people were concerned about that in years past)With OCRA they can only upsize it a bit to 150 homes. 64 in Guilford plus along roads is 135. Plus there is more development on the way to Greendale with Casey Knigga’s site. It depends on what Greendale’s lines can hold and capacity too. 

DEARBORN SUPERIOR COURT II

Mental Health Evaluations- $25,000- Judge McLaughlin said that they have had to have more and more of these evaluations in order to be in a prison-type area for rehabilitation. She said Shane McHenry can attest to this increased need lately.Council approved out of County General.  

PLANNING & ZONING TRANSFERS

Planning Consultant DAAP Student- $2,340 (Dillsboro Interlocal) 

Computer replacement- $1,000 (Dillsboro Interlocal)

Code Enforcement Officer- $6,000 (Aurora City Interlocal)

Approved all three

MAINTENANCE

Part-time-$5,383- Leah presented for them - has plenty now but traditionally he runs out so he knows he will need this. Approved.

CONVENTION AND VISITORS CENTER

$350,000- Leah Presented for them- This is Innkeepers tax that belongs to them. Approved. Nay for Wright and Kraus

This board is subject to SBOA for audit. They also must be submitting their budget to Council at budget time. That budget needs to be adequate. CVTB is planning to buy their building. 

AUDITOR- 

Feb 23, 2021 Minutes- approved

TIF Management Report- passed to board

Aurora Library Board Appointment- Jascia Redwine Robinson to replace Mary Fields, who is moving out of the library district. Approved

Salary Ordinance to extinguish COVID pay. Approved.

$20,000  NTE County General from Baker Tilly Consultant for the $9 million- Approved.

1181 transfer fees  - $2000 for individual licenses for Connie and Leah- approved

$7500 High Point Health Sale - for fencing in basement of courthouse to keep all the info- for 75 years - 2095. Approved.

Replace a retiree- to hire 1st of June-$2830 approved

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

LATE ARRIVAL-none

ADJOURN-7:55 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township

24 May 2021 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

 

24 May 2021 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Present: Dennis Kraus, Jr., Chairman, Russell Beiersdorfer, John Hawley, Mark Lehman, Jake Hoog, Dan Lansing, Jim Thatcher, and Eric Lang

ABSENT: Joe Vogel- who later showed up at 8:05 PM as the discussion of the solar energy systems draft ordinance was going on

Also Present: Mark McCormack, Plan Director,  Nicole Daily, Zoning Administrator, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.

Baudendistel read the Title VI statement as legally required.

ACTION ON MINUTES- none to be approved

OLD BUSINESS – NONE TO BE RE-OPENED

NEW BUSINESS

Request: To vacate a part of the western portion of Bunkum Dr. and also a part of the southwestern portion of Hickory Dr., within the platted Bunkum Woods Subdivision and the Hickory Hills Subdivision. Applicant: Seig Surveying Petitioners: Mark & Sondra Willwerth Location : Bunkum Drive and Hickory hills Legal: Sec. 34, T7, R1 Township: Harrison Zoning: Residential (R) F.

Mark McCormack presented background. Property is where R meets Ag zone. This is in a subdivision that was Bunkum Woods and adjoining it is now called Hickory Hills. The numbering of the lots seems to be a continuance of Bunkum.New maps are on Beacon now- for 2021. This was platted previously as a temporary turnaround. Nad when Hickory Hills went in- they left it there rather than fixing it then. No one loses access from this request. f the vacation is approved, a utility easement is recommended by staff. This property is still subject to the applicable covenants and restrictions of Bunkum Woods and Hickory Hills subdivisions per staff. 

Rob Seig, surveyor for Willwerths, was available to answer questions from board and he explained why the ROW looks like it does. It was platted as county ROW and the owners have been taking care of it as long as they’ve been there.He had asked 2 of the neighbors if they wanted to be part of the vacation. They did not wish to do anything different on their side of the right of way. Willwerths were present also. 

No public wished to speak on this. 

The board is to decide on a recommendation for vacating the ROW to the county commissioners. Kraus, Jr.  discussed what he had seen on old surveys and noted that the county really couldn’t have any use for it. Seig said they will have a 15 ft easement for utilities on this. 

Beiersdorfer motioned to send favorable recommendation for the vacation and to maintain the easements that are there plus  15 ft easement for the phone line. Mark Lehman seconded. All ayes for the favorable recommendation.  

ADMINISTRATIVE

To review and discuss proposed ordinance amendments the Dearborn County Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision Control Ordinance, and to discuss other administrative items—including updates related to Planning & Zoning staff activities and projects. 

Solar Farms and solar power on roof tops and in yards is being considered for zoning regulations. Thatcher was concerned about the state taking over and controlling where these commercial operations can locate in a county, He wanted it to be under local control and not the state. 

McCormack talked about several counties zoning plans that he looked at for the draft of our solar systems article. We are getting requests for solar farms per Thatcher. North Vernon has lots of solar on government buildings. McCormack said they had some on the ground in a park or cemetery area out there too. State model ordinance leaves a lot of open ended things in it per Mark McCormack. He looked for things in each ordinance sample to see what was different and what was the same. Talked to the rep for NextEra who is also a certified planner. Emergency plans, onsite storage of any unused materials, glare, height issues, decommissioning, security for the site. (He also looked at the wind energy codes too. We are too far south for wind as they would have to be very high up here.) 

Also took a look at storm water runoff. There was some discussion about mitigating use of prime soils, interim use, ground covers, and mowing. Some counties used a point system and etc that McCormack shied away from. Draft Article 19 Solar Energy Systems- was presented to the board to consider. McCormack read thru the sections and answered questions as he went. The intent is to make sure we aren’t sticking them way up in the air. Most of the panels are somewhat standard widths like 4x6 for example. 

They want to be sure they are not a nuisance. Such as glare. Also might consider where utilities are located in the solar farms. They are making sure there is minimal visual disturbance and soil erosion. They may include appropriate screening for vehicles and equipment on the solar farm. 

Setbacks and whether or not to require coming to BZA for certain situations was discussed. Bufferyards were considered with incompatible uses. They were trying to be consistent within the ordinances. BZA is one way to be sure there were no loopholes in these conditions. If multiple farms are used by a company the setbacks apply to the group and not the individual properties. They want to separate the setback requirements for non- participating landowners from those who might be participating. 

John Small and two other women and a couple kids were in audience and he was asking questions about the code. Apparently a couple companies are talking to farmers out in the northern part of the county. Offers of $1000 per acre for a 30 year lease on their land. 

Discussion on chain link fence. Also wanted to eliminate woven wire and barb wire. Want to include high tensile fence. Discussion about batteries for energy storage. Discussion about the local Fire and EMS training to accommodate any issues on the energy site. The transmission lines are being buried 6 ft deep per Beiersdorfer. 

A lot of discussion on setbacks and buffers- including along roadways.The language was tightened up to remove ambiguity.

Drainage will be considered and follow the county codes and also erosion control and stormwater permits. Lighting plans are required.

Bonding will be required to cover potential decommissioning costs or abandonment or discontinuing. There may be needs for project hires to help with the technical aspects of these projects. The applicant will have money in escrow for this bonding.

Commercial solar energy systems were also put into this ordinance. They are permitted in Industrial and B-2 districts. All other zones will require a conditional permit use first.

McCormack recapped all corrections and is revising the draft ordinance on Solar Energy. He will get it to them online. This entire discussion and presentation took over 2 hours. 

Financial Guarantee Updates- McCormack presented the list to the board. Harvest Ridge is coming due. Woodridge is getting a 2nd notice. 

Existing Land Use and Zoning Map Conversion - Sewer plans in the county- Greendale or Guilford route for the Guilford issues. Lake Dilldeer is another issue where they only are considering Lake Dilldeer. Dillsboro has more capacity. Another one north of Aurora in Wilmington. McCormack used the sewer board’s info to enlarge some yellow residential areas. Many of the areas they are serving are lower economic areas. There is no mechanism to get the money back in some of these situations. 

Problems with rural residential is the rules on animals in that new zone. Problems with wineries that are also event centers. Some of these will become conditional uses so that they can be controlled. 

Livestock production can be used to address the keeping of animals. Animal control ordinance applicable chapters are listed too. Undomesticated non- household animals were addressed with various acreages. Roosters were set on 2 acres or more. More than 10 contiguous acres is OK for livestock production. Always have to consider the home and barn etc which reduces the number of acres for the animals. 

Board decided to move the text and maps forward with the consultants. Hoping to be taking it to the public in late July possibly.  

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township

Fear Makes a Poor Motivator

 Fear Makes a Poor Motivator 

printed with permission of IPR

by Leo Morris

When I was just a child, I roamed all over the hills of Eastern Kentucky, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone, recklessly climbing trees, exploring abandoned mines and generally tempting fate to the point of taunting it.

Our family moved to Fort Wayne when I was 12, and I regularly walked the mile from our house to Packard Park and covered even more territory on my bike. My younger brother had similar freedom of movement, and my even younger sister was able to – please don’t faint – play out of sight of our mother and father for long stretches of time.

Today, such lax supervision would likely be called neglect or even child endangerment. Even if my siblings and I weren’t shuffled off to foster care, our parents surely would get a visit and stern warnings from child services.

Yes, I know why things changed, how fear of the monsters among us turned parents into hovering wrecks, wringing their hands if their children are out of view for even a second. And I certainly don’t suggest the world is as safe as it used to be.

But I can’t help thinking we’ve gone so far with our protectiveness that we’re robbing our children of the sense of wonder and awe that comes from exploring and discovering.

I noticed the other day that Texas has just become the third state – after Utah and Oklahoma – to pass a “tree-range kids” law to support reasonable childhood independence. As Reason magazine notes, “Parents who live there cannot be investigated for neglect simply for giving their kids some old-fashioned freedom.”

My first thought was, how sad that such a law would even be needed. My second was hope that the 47 other states, but especially Indiana, would get on board. Fearful children become fearful adults.

And, heaven knows, we already have more than enough of those.

Another story that caught my eye was about the paralyzing terror some people are apparently experiencing over the arrival of Brood X, the billions of cicadas emerging after 17 years of hibernation underground. 

A woman in Ohio has made herself a cicada shield with an umbrella and two shower curtains so she can summon up the courage to go outside. A Virginia man talks admits the anxiety he feels about tasks like mowing the lawn, and a Penn State football player confesses his “emotional trauma” at the “devastating news” from his mother that cicadas are on the way. 

Our feelings of fear and disgust, says a university scientist, are “likely part of an evolutionary mechanism to protect us.”

But, come on. Yes, the cicadas are noisy and ugly, but the same could be said of a lot of people. It’s just about the insect mating dance. They’re going to have sex for a few weeks, then die.

Come to think of it, the way the world has been going lately, that doesn’t sound so bad to me, either.

For the last word, let’s turn to Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor and current president of Purdue University, and, as is frequently the case, the only adult in the room.

Speaking to the graduating class of 2021, he noted how many of the students’ elders have failed a fundamental test of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic: “They let their understandable human fear of uncertainty overcome their duty to balance all the interests for which they were responsible. They hid behind the advice of experts in one field but ignored the warnings of experts in other realms that they might do harm beyond the good they hoped to accomplish.”

Before the virus visited us, he said, “there were already troubling signs that fearfulness was beginning to erode the spirit of adventure, the willingness to take considered risks, on which this nation’s greatness was built and from which all progress originates. Rates of business startups, moving in pursuit of a better job, or the strongest of all bets on the future, having children, all have fallen sharply in recent years. And now there are warnings that the year 2020 may have weakened that spirit further.”

Telling students that “certainty is an illusion” and “perfect safety is a mirage,” he urged them to “weigh alternatives, balance priorities, assess relative risks” and have “the courage to act on the conclusions you reach.”

He closed with advice all graduating seniors need to hear, at least the ones who want to live as free-range adults:

“Take that readiness into a fearful, timid world crying for direction and boldness, where the biggest risk of all is that we stop taking risks at all.”

Amen.

Leo Morris, columnist for The Indiana Policy Review, is winner of the Hoosier Press Association’s award for Best Editorial Writer. Morris, as opinion editor of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, was named a finalist in editorial writing by the Pulitzer Prize committee. Contact him at leoedits@yahoo.com.

AGENDA May 24th DC Plan Commission Meeting

 PLAN COMMISSION AGENDA

 Monday, May 24th, 2021 7:00 P.M. 

*Location: Henry Dearborn Meeting Room; Dearborn County Government Center 

A. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 B. ROLL CALL 

C. ACTION ON MINUTES

 D. OLD BUSINESS – NONE TO BE RE-OPENED

 E. NEW BUSINESS Request: To vacate a part of the western portion of Bunkum Dr. and also a part of the southwestern portion of Hickory Dr., within the platted Bunkum Woods Subdivision and the Hickory Hills Subdivision. Applicant: Seig Surveying Petitioners: Mark & Sondra Willwerth Location : Bunkum Drive and Hickory hills Legal: Sec. 34, T7, R1 Township: Harrison Zoning: Residential (R) F.

ADMINISTRATIVE  To review and discuss proposed ordinance amendments the Dearborn County Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision Control Ordinance, and to discuss other administrative items—including updates related to Planning & Zoning staff activities and projects. 

Financial Guarantee Updates.

AGENDA May 25th @5 PM DC Council Meeting

 AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY COUNCIL

TUESDAY, MAY 25^TH, 2021 @ 5:00PM

HENRY DEARBORN ROOM

DEARBORN COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER

165 MARY ST, LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA 

CALL TO ORDER-

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

TITLE VI STATEMENT FOR COMPLIANCE- 

NEW BUSINESS:

LAWRENCEBURG CONSERVANCY DISTRICT- Request for budget funding.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

AUDITOR

Financial Consultant- $20,000

Computer Maintenance- $2,000 (additional license for Highpoint Health files)

Fencing- $7,500 for Highpoint Health Files

Additional for replacing Retiree- $2,830

JUVENILE CENTER

Overtime- $11,885

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

RACES Equipment Purchase- $ 20,000 (amateur radio group under EMA)

Equipment Repair- $ 1,536

MAINTENANCE

Part-time-$5,383

PROSECUTOR

Employee retirement payout- $11,409 & $16,496

BUILDING COMMISSIONER

Part-time Building Inspector- Will use current Part-time money.

Secretary- $40,520

CLERK

Computer/Maintenance Repairs- $5,200

HIGHWAY

Replacement Small Structure #121 Alans Branch Rd- $590,000

Replacement Bridge #44 Turkey Point Rd- $1,500,000

CORONER

Part-time wages- $26,912

New response vehicle- $37,573

Equipment for new Vehicle-$57,098

911 COMMUNICATIONS

 Replacement of 3 Consoles- $ 73,069 

SHERIFF 

Body Cams for Deputies- $62,077

HEALTH

Supplement for Employee- $2,419

PARK BOARD

Miscellaneous Operating costs- $ 4,000

Park Supplies- $6,000

Park Improvements- $5,500 & $16,000

DEARBORN COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS CENTER

$350,000

DEARBORN COUNTY REGIONAL SEWER DISTRICT

Engineering Services- $90,000

Easements-$50,000

DEARBORN SUPERIOR COURT II

Mental Health Evaluations- $25,000

PLANNING & ZONING TRANSFERS

Planning Consultant DAAP Student- $2,340 (Dillsboro Interlocal)

Computer replacement- $1,000 (Dillsboro Interlocal)

Code Enforcement Officer- $6,000 (Aurora City Interlocal)

AUDITOR- Minutes

TIF Management Report

Aurora Library Board Appointment- Jascia Robinson to replace Mary Fields, who is moving out of the library district.

Salary Ordinance to extinguish COVID pay.

PUBLIC COMMENT-

LATE ARRIVAL-

ADJOURN-

21 May 2021 SE Indiana Regional Port Authority Meeting

 21 May 2021 SE Indiana Regional Port Authority Meeting

Present: Jim Thatcher,  Chairman, Alan Weiss, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Tom Palmer, Treasurer, Eric Krantz, Mark Drury, Benny Turner, EG. McLaughlin (via phone), Sarah Jordan (via phone). 

ABSENT: Mark Drury, Derek Walker, Al Abdon, Kelly Mollaun, Lennie Fryman

Also present: Andy Baudendistel, Legal Counsel

ANNOUNCEMENTS- Baudendistel said the new law requires different rules on telephone attendance at meetings and roll call votes now that COVID restrictions are lifted. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: March 19^th, 2021 Meeting- approved via roll call vote.

GUEST SPEAKERS- none

OLD BUSINESS

FINANCIAL REPORT / INVOICES

State Board of Accounts - $350.00- audit they did for us to get our records up to date from 2014-  per Benny Turner. Approved to pay.

Legal Services – A. Baudendistel - $1,225.00- Approved to pay. Weiss asked what his per hour rate was- $175. He motioned to increase his rate to $200 per hour. All ayes to raise it to $200/

NEW BUSINESS

Presentation – Beam, Longest and Neff- John and Libby presented. Survey sent out by the firm to members of the board to help them focus on the mission of the board. This was not to be long term but to seek guidance on how to proceed. Some have not sent in the survey. They would like to encourage them to get it to them by the end of May. 

They are trying to scope the workshop at  an appropriate level to meet SIRPA’s needs. They want to set a July agenda and set a workshop date. 

Strength is public  sector planning and the banking and development areas. Noted that time to devote to this is somewhat limited for them. No full time staff focused on Port Development. Goals of Workshop: Authorities of the ports, Connections to Transportation Systems, Partnerships- how to work together 

Lots of interest in Tanners Creek Facility and that old AEP site’s status.

Need a balanced commercial and recreation plan. Need a financial plan and also tourism. No one seemed interested in fright for example. 

Weaknesses in lack of attendance, lack of knowledge of port development and knowing how to move forward. 

Opportunities- Create a revenue stream, project identification, truck parking revenue and solar panel development were mentioned. Opportunities for the LARGER region for commercial and industrial revitalization. 

Threats and Risks- lack of land and environmental issues, leadership turnover and also Lawrenceburg hesitancy. Hard to stay interested if the board is not moving forward on something. 

71% were in favor of recreational etc and also a smaller percentage for freight moving.

Expected timelines- need to look at short term -2 year, near term and 3-5 years, and long term in 10-20 years. 

SIRPA’s critical partners, such as One Dearborn etc.

Preferred sources of funding: Rents, leases, Grants, services, and loans. Some mentioned self-sufficiency. Federal rail grants for example. $4 million funding from Maritime development with no matching for example. These are 18-24 months before you enter into  contract with the government. Surface transportation grants are focused on freight. It is not easy to use these funds for recreational goals.

Inland Port system to consider. Most board members do not have enough information to consider this yet. The inland river system is Mt Vernon, IN, Jeffersonville, IN, Cincinnati, Huntington WV, and Parkersburg WV. Libby showed pictures and stats on these ports. Huntington /Parkerburg is on a national water trail to encourage tourism and eco-travel. 

OKI has launched a Recreational Digital Guide to the Ohio River. Port of Evansville is focused on a River City Revival. 

America Marine Highway- MARAD - we are on a designated gateway. If you put together a plan to load and unload vessels as they come by that’s step 2. $10 million a year is available to the ports with this inland designation. This is containerization, if you want this on your list. 

Resources that are absent- Vehicle infrastructure on US 50 was a concern among others.

Potential SIRPA headlines. 

Libby said the potential elephant in the room is still the Tanner Creek site and what will happen there. 

SIRPAs priorities: Typical planning such s plan, mission statement, learning about authorities and jurisdiction and so forth. 

Workshop Dates- Friday- September 17th or Thursday, September 30th 

Agenda Proposed- What Can a Port Authority Do? Evaluate a Cincinnati Market, Gove some light homework for port members, and Focus on next steps. 

Comments were made in surveys to review the One Dearborn Plan and the Dearborn Franklin County 2020 Regional plan. 

At the July meeting SIRPA and Beam Longest and Neff will set 3 items they need to decide prior to the Workshop. They will also decide on a workshop date as mentioned above.

Request to Speak to Board – Larry Boyd (via phone)- questions involving the marina in Aurora. He gave a brief overview until the next meeting when the mayor and mgr of Aurora are present. Larry Boyd owns the Bayview restaurant ( Old Tradewinds) and they have married the restaurant and the marina. The dredging of the Bay is an issue because of the silting that ends up in the bay marina area from Wilson Creek. He has 44 acres in the city of Aurora. Kayak and boat rentals and a small store for incidentals is planned. They would like some help with the dredging if that is possible. Eagle Hollow Marine Construction- $210,000, plus $100,000 2nd phase. Looking for $210,000. Campsite planned there also. SIRPC Board took it under advisement until July meeting.  

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING - Currently scheduled for July 16^th, 2021. Thatcher encouraged all to be there for that. They have been having issues getting a quorum of 7 at the last couple meetings. 

ADJOURNMENT: 2:05 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township