Register Publications Interviews Kathy Hess and Covers Additional Details on the Case

Register Publications Interviews Kathy Hess and Covers Additional Details on the Case

Click on the two links below to go to the Register Articles:

Is Homicide Case Against Former Woodland Hills Nurse Over?


Family and Church Help Nurse Through Dark Times

Prosecutor's Reasons for Dismissal Without Prejudice in Kathy Hess Case

The motion to dismiss without prejudice in Kathy Hess Case states:

Comes now the State of Indiana by F. Aaron Negangard, Prosecuting attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, and moves the Court to dismiss the above -entitled cause of action without prejudice because counsel for Defendant has failed to provide discovery in a timely manner and the State wishes to conduct additional investigation at this time.

Signed by F Aaron Negangard and served to Robert Ewbank Counsel for Defendant on 27 Oct 2014.

Judge Cleary: Granted the motion and dismissed the charges without prejudice on 27 Oct 2014 also.

Kathy Hess Case Dismissed Without Prejudice Oct 27, 2014

The Final Pretrial hearing set for 3 PM Monday Oct 27 for the Kathy Hess Case was cancelled. 

Staff in the Superior Court I office stated yesterday that the case was "dismissed without prejudice." Reasons for the dismissal would be available in the digital paperwork at the clerk's office later Tuesday Oct 28.

When a case is dismissed without prejudice, the option for the prosecutor to refile charges still exists within the statutes of limitations. The defendant would be no longer jailed- or in this case no longer on home incarceration. 

Kathy Hess is a former long-time nurse at Woodland Hills in Lawrenceburg who was arrested in January of this year after being accused in the death of a patient there.

Nov. 4th: Voting Is a Right
But Being Informed Is a Duty

reprinted with permission of IPR

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D.

The other day my wife and I received postcards from the local election board informing us of a change in the location of our polling place. We also received a card informing a previous resident of our house of the change — a resident who is no longer in the state.

If I were a devious political operative, I could persuade a sympathetic person of similar political persuasions and low ethics to vote falsely assuming the identity of the former resident. This is why I think it is wise to require voters to show a picture ID when voting. This hardly seems an unreasonable requirement. Maybe you disagree, and that is all right; we can have a conversation about the issue later. 

The point I want to make today, however, is the one I make every election year: It is fine to encourage people to become informed and then vote but there is no reason to encourage, cajole or shame the uninterested or uninformed to vote. It is silly to encourage people to vote just for the sake of voting. This issue is different from the specific rules that should or should not be enacted about voting. I raise this because a more left-leaning colleague of mine castigated me last election for this latter opinion – arguing it was a mere stealth version of the former one. Well, it’s not.

In a free society the God-given natural rights of individuals are respected and the state is established to protect those rights. But as many wise women and men have recognized, rights also come with duties. A free society requires citizens who are willing to make sacrifices to maintain freedom and some of those sacrifices cannot possibly be attained by state coercion.

The government must coerce people to pay taxes under threat of prison time; but we really don’t want government to coerce people to participate in a park cleanup. (Note that is exactly what the government does in North Korea, perhaps the most unfree country in the world.) Yet I submit that the durability of our republic depends on the duties we as citizens voluntarily perform as much as those that are enforced by government threats. 

We all have the right to vote but this implies a duty to be informed about the issues and candidates for which we vote. We should not vote for a candidate because he or she has a cute name, sex appeal or because our friends pressure us to do so. Why should this be considered controversial? Sure, the requirement to be thoughtful and informed can only be self-defined and self-enforced — but if you can’t justify to yourself why you are going to the voting booth, then don’t go.   

Contrast this with standard political rhetoric: “You've got to grab your friends. You've got to grab your co-workers. You know, don't just get the folks you know are going to vote. You've got to find Cousin Pookie, he's sitting on the couch right now watching football, hasn't voted in the last five elections, you've got to grab him and tell him to go vote.”

The statement is from President Barack Obama, and I suspect he assumes Cousin Pookie will reliably vote for Democrats. I also suspect that John Boehner or John McCain would happily make the same statement — except refer to Cousin Billy Bob and assume he will reliably vote for Republicans. And I say unless you tell Billy Bob or Pookie to get informed, let them both stay on the couch. 

Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D., an adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, is a professor of economics at Ball State University.

Social Security: A Christian Objection- IN Policy Review

Social Security: A Christian Objection
reprinted by permission of IPR

By Tyer Watts, Ph.D.

I recently heard a politician promise that he would protect Social Security, arguing that this vaunted program is an inviolable “contract” between the government and seniors. Hah.

Now, this politician was just doing what comes naturally; that is, saying anything to appease a particular voting bloc, in this case the powerful American Association of Retired Persons. His statement about Social Security, however, obscures the economic and ethical problems that plague this and other entitlement programs.

First, we should realize that Social Security is not a sound retirement-income program. In a bona fide pension system, people contribute their own savings that are then invested. The retirement income of these investors is based on the principal plus the investment return of the fund.

With Social Security, though, “contributions” (payroll taxes) are not invested but spent. The lack of investment returns means current beneficiaries are funded by current taxpayers and not their own prior contributions. Indeed, Social Security began paying out more to seniors than it takes from workers’ paychecks in 2010, and this problem is set to get far worse due to the wave of baby-boomer retirements and meager employment growth.

So, Social Security is an unsound, bankrupt government excuse for a retirement program. We all knew that; what really should gall us is this idea that Social Security represents some kind of sacred obligation between the government and old folks. A contract between two parties that involves stealing money from a third party is not valid under Common Law. Indeed, we have another name for it — theft. So let’s recognize Social Security for what it really is: an inter-generational wealth transfer scheme, or, to put it bluntly, legalized plunder of the young by the old.

This aspect of Social Security is grotesque when viewed from a Christian perspective. Proverbs says “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.” And Saint Paul, further emphasizing that wealth should be handed down and not up, admonished the Corinthian believers that "the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.” Social Security reverses this, representing a financial version of Isaiah’s prophecy of how the wicked would “feed on the flesh of their own offspring.”

Though Social Security is morally perverse to those of us who adhere to Judeo-Christian ethics, economics informs us why politicians — both Republicrats and Demoblicans — continue to champion Social Security. They are power oriented and observe the first rule of (re)election: Old people vote.

They know that retired seniors have much more at stake in any federal election than the average working family, as 33 percent of federal spending is for old age “entitlements” in the form of Social Security and Medicare. Having more spare time and more wealth on average than working-age families, seniors also vote more and make larger campaign contributions — all aimed largely at keeping the gravy train of entitlement spending rolling. Social Security is known as the electrified Third Rail of politics for good reason: Any politician who touches it will die in the next election cycle.

Due to these political dynamics, prospects for Social Security reform are slim to nil. So what are the rest of us to do? Here’s what I’m doing, and what I advise young people to do: Forget about Social Security. It’s immoral, it’s bankrupt and even if reformed someday it won’t give you near the same benefits given to your grandparents. This should not surprise us. Why would the U.S. government, the same outfit that gives us airport security, the Postal Service and the Internal Revenue Service, do a better job administering a retirement program?

Even setting the insolvency and immorality aside, Social Security is a terrible retirement plan; it earns a pathetic return from its holdings of government bonds, faux investments that don’t contribute to capital formation or economic growth. Those who want real income security for retirement simply need to consistently save 10-15 percent of their income in a diversified portfolio in an individual retirement account or a 401(k). These are financial vehicles that promote actual business investment and therefore job growth, not just tax payroll.

Someday, perhaps, we can end this sham or change it into a welfare program for the truly poor. For now, let’s at least stop the political pretense that government is contractually obligated to take from the young and give to the old. Our politicians cannot magically transform theft into “entitlement” and draw up “contracts” that would offend the Mafia.

Tyler Watts, Ph.D., a longtime member and adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, now is director of the Institute for Economic Education in Texas.

Send Message to Politicos by NOT Voting

OpEd piece in Tuesday's Journal Press by Chet Wolgamot of Manchester Township- just click on the link below:

Send Message to Politicos by Not Voting

21 October 2014 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

21 October 2014 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

Present: Shane McHenry, President, Art Little, and Kevin Lynch

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

ABSENT: Gayle Pennington, Auditor – Leah Bailey covering in her absence.

OLD BUSINESS:

Clerk of Courts- Rick Probst- Election Services and Software LLC Contract tabled at 10/7 meeting- Baudendistel clarified what they requested. They set the contract to be able to be terminated at will. Probst told Baudendistel there are not a lot of providers out there for this type of service and he does not see termination as a probability.  $19,000+ is the 2 year cost. Approved and signed.

NEW BUSINESS:

Knights of Columbus- Prayer on the Square Request- 5^th annual prayer day on Jan 16 or rain date of Jan 23. Approved.

Dearborn County Hospital Waiver and Acknowledgement- Change of Remarketing Agent- Randall said they had issued a bond when they built the addition. The county holds the bonds so they get notified. JP Morgan Securities is changing to 5/3 Securities as the agent. Approved.

Proclamation of Lauren Hill Day for Nov 2nd- Lauren and her family were present. Channel 5 recorded the proceedings. McHenry read the proclamation including the stating Lauren has diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Hill is recognized as someone who never quits striving no matter what the adversity. She personifies the true meaning of champion. They spoke of her being a 2014 graduate of LHS and dreaming of playing basketball for Mount St Joseph a Division III school and her first game will be Sunday Nov 2^nd is Lauren Hill day. This is a joint proclamation for Greendale and Dearborn County. Mayor Doug Hedrick represented Greendale. Pictures were taken at the presentation and Lauren thanked the commissioners and mayor.

ADMINISTRATOR: Teresa Randall- Midwest Data is managing the tech for the whole county now. She is asking to approach Council for $60,000 appropriation is the max needed to solve their immediate problems. Aging hardware and a server crashed. Transitioning to MS exchange. She and Pennington will do another review in the server room to be sure they are asking for the appropriate amount. Approved to go to Council in November. 

AUDITOR: - Leah Bailey presented the claims. Approved.  There were no minutes to approve.

ATTORNEY: Andy Baudendistel- talked about the small claims forms filled out by Hensley for him for the PTABOA hearing no shows that have a $50 fine. They will end up with $140 in court costs too and maybe requesting attorney fees. Because the statute says SHALL- they have to charge this. The petitioner signs a form acknowledging that they will be fined if they fail to show per Hensley. He said that he needs an attorney. They had 12 last year and all 12 paid their fine. There are 4 unpaid this year. Hensley doesn’t like having to do this. Spending more money than the fine to get it paid. Commissioners agreed to allow Baudendistel to represent Hensley on these claims.

The last thing on Old Orchard is 2 easements for access to do maintenance to retention areas between lots 72-73 and 65-66. Tucker signed these and there is also one thing remaining to complete on Seldom Seen Subdivision. The easements were approved. Tucker is to give $10,000 for the county to fix some roads in Seldom Seen.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- Lynch- this was a very emotional meeting- Lauren Hill is very inspirational. He also wanted to recognize two women’ soccer teams and also both Terri Randall and Celeste Calvitto as women of Distinction.

Little said no parent should outlive their kids and he knows that first hand.

McHenry said Donna Hartman working at Community Corrections also was recognized as a woman of distinction. He said that Lauren is an amazing young woman and on social media- she is helping other people in this fight of her life. We can pray for a miracle, he said.

LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- Bill Black- EMA- wanted to use the grant they got to work on sirens. It won’t cover it all though. He needs to divide the money into 2 amounts to upgrade radios also. $125 per radio because now $75 extra is needed to do recommended retuning of each also. $8,485.29 is the grant. Lynch said that Rep. Randy Frye is working to get some additional fund for these radios. Approved to proceed with the grant application.

Randall- wanted to thank Staples in Harrison as Sue Hayden worked with them to get the Proclamation all done up for tonight for Lauren Hill and they did it at no cost.

Randall- Items will be displayed at the statehouse and a lot of items have come in for this. Sue Hayden and Randall will be there Monday to see the display at the Statehouse.

McHenry thanked them all for getting the proclamation together.

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

Meeting adjourned at 5:45 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township

AGENDA- 21 October Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting

AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

October 21, 2014

5:00 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.  Clerk of Courts – Rick Probst

                        Election Services Contract tabled from 10/7/14 meeting

IV.        NEW BUSINESS

            1.  Dearborn County Hospital Waiver and Acknowledgement

                        Change of Remarketing Agent

           

            2.  Knights of Columbus “Prayer on the Square” Request

            3.  Proclamation for Lauren Hill Day

V.         ADMINISTRATOR – Terri Randall

VI.        AUDITOR – Gayle Pennington

1.  Claims/Minutes

               

VII.       ATTORNEY

               

VIII.       COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

IV.        LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION

X.         PUBLIC COMMENT

XI.        ADJOURN

WSCH 99.3 Broadcasts Meet the Candidates Night Hosted by Chamber of Commerce

The Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce’s Meet the Candidates night will be broadcast live by WSCH 99.3 on Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. The public is also welcome to attend this event in person for no charge at the Ivy Tech Community College Riverfront Campus, 50 Walnut Street, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Dearborn County Government Unveils New Website

Dearborn County Government Unveils New Website

At their meeting on October 7, 2014, the Dearborn County Board of Commissioners was provided a final review and demonstration of the county’s proposed new website.  County Administrator, Terri Randall walked the Commissioners through the features of the site which includes “hot buttons” on the home page for quick access to frequent services such as tax information and payments, obtaining a building permit, election information, GIS mapping, and access to meeting minutes and county ordinances.

The website was designed by E-Gov Strategies and the project was led by an internal website development committee that included representation from county department who were high users of the website and interacted frequently with the public.  The project is a culmination of many months of work, requiring each department head and elected official to re-think the way they interact with the public and begin to embrace technology to be more responsive to the citizens of Dearborn County.  There was a concerted effort to personalize the site, including photos of the region and elected officials and more biographic information.

“The committee’s goal was to make the site look more inviting, professional, and reflect patriotism without being over-the-top.  We wanted visitors to get a feel for the warmth of our community while being functional, easy to navigate, and easier for our citizens to get the information they need,” stated Randall.  The new site is ADA compliant to meet the needs of disabled citizens.  A bold banner on the front page will include “breaking news” such as emergency information, road closures, important deadline reminders, etc. as appropriate. 

The site now offers a “Report It” button.  Citizens will be able to report concerns (i.e. road conditions and other concerns) and an email will immediately be sent to the responsible county official for timely handling.  Links to government transparency websites, like Indiana Gateway (budget and financial information) are also easily accessed.  The “Find It” link on the front page quickly retrieves key information; including answers to frequently asked questions about roads, how to access services, how to get a birth certificate, etc.

The Commissioners believe the new website, an upgrade they say is long overdue, is one more step toward making county government accessible and convenient for citizens.  This is another step in the right direction and the Commissioners have the intention of continuing to improve the site based on user feedback and are considering additional enhancements such as providing email blasts and updates to citizens, regular newsfeeds about projects and issues the county is working on, and generally making better use of technology.

The new site will be transferred and operational on Wednesday, October 8, 2014.  The county does not expect any disruption and the prior website address will automatically redirect citizens to the new site.  Citizens who experience any difficulty accessing the site, adjusting to the new format, or wish to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the website should contact the County Commissioners office at (812) 537-1040 or via email to shayden@dearborncounty.in.gov.

For further information concerning this release, contact Terri Randall, County Administrator, at 812/532-2085 or trandall@dearborncounty.in.gov.

9 October 2014 Dearborn County Redevelopment Meeting Notes

9 October 2014 Dearborn County Redevelopment Meeting Notes

Present: Dave Deddens, Chairman, John Rahe, Jim Deaton.

ABSENT: Dennis Kraus, Sr.(vacation), Jim Helms, Dusty Burress (non- voting school board member)

Also present: Terri Randall, county administrator and economic development director, Andrea Ewan, attorney, Sue Hayden, minute taker, and Randy Maxwell, consultant.

 ABSENT: Gayle Pennington, Auditor and DCRC treasurer

The meeting began at 8:12 without a quorum. Jim Deaton arriving in 30 minutes. Holding voting items until he arrives.

Approval of September 11 minutes- approved.

Rahe congratulated Terri for being voted Woman of the year (woman of distinction)- Board concurred.

New Business:

Claims and TIF Financials - Accepted.

Claims:

Oren Turner- $7166.68 for Sept and Oct.

Terri Randall- mileage- $86.26+179.02=265.28

Seitz Agency- $100 bond for Dennis Kraus

ePop Studio- $35 + 35 = 70 domain renewal and web hosting Sept

Terri Randall and Sue Hayden- Salaries- $1736.32- deducted thru payroll

Randy Maxwell- $825- Sept consulting

Ewan Law Office= $1425- May thru Sept 9.5 hours

FTC&H $4000- evaluation of Whitewater River Channel survey- pd from TIF 4303

Barnes and Thornburg- <112 .94=""> refund for overpayment

FINANCIALS and TIF FUNDS BALANCES:

Cash of Fund 4931- $399,934.23

FUND 4932- Commission Match- $500,000

Growth and Development Fund- $500.000

FUND 4301- TIF Washington TWP- West Aurora- $164,357

FUND 4302- TIF St. Leon Kelso TWP- $79,559.64

FUND 4303- TIF St. Leon Harrison TWP- $36,553.43

FUND 4304 TIF West Harrison- $12,502.43

FUND 9139 Economic Development Research Grant- $91,646.42

Lead Economic Development Officer’s report: Randall sent out a letter to the woman (Mrs. Taylor) who owned the land for the signage at Aurora Industrial Park. The woman said her husband had passed away after a long battle with MS and had been researching it and no one knew much about how it got there. Final word on that conversation was that they would go thru Doug Denmure and see if they could move the sign or purchase the piece of property.

Guinevere Emery is present and is the new Aurora city mgr and assisting Jeff Stratman there. She was asked by Randy Turner and Stratman to bring up the Aurora sewer pump requiring continual repair. Thinking some of Aurora Casket manufacturing product might be causing this. There is considerable cost to repair this grinder pump. The cost is up to $250,000 possible as discussed at the Aurora utility meeting.  Randall said this had come up as a problem before when she was out there. They are not in the city limits. If we get TIF money out of that maybe we could discuss this. Emery said more research needs to be done. Aurora Municipal utility might require pretreating before these go thru the sewer facility. Aurora is getting a committee to look further into this. Randall asked for a copy of the study that had already been done on this. Emery said that she is finished with her county community corrections job and also with being clerk treasurer of Moores Hill with 30 day availability for consult to them. POWER OUTAGE IN LAWRENCBURG AND SURROUNDING AREAS AT 8:30 AM so typing in the dark for a few minutes.

Rahe brought up an economic dev lead. Randy Maxwell is following up on this now also.

Governor was accommodating here and lt. gov. made a phone call to the “project” they are still waiting to hear about. She thought we were the underdog- they said no he wouldn’t say that. Sent him that basket of IND goodies and little things to make them think they would be part of our community. The company is concerned about our labor pool.

Signatures for Grant Sponsorship-RR Infrastructure grant of $100,000 thru IEDC and DCRC is the administrating sponsor agent. Ewan has reviewed. They will set aside the money and it gets paid by reimbursement to DCRC. Approved and Deddens signed.

Update by Vernon “Red” Tegeler -VP Production and Sunil Maheshwan – plant manager of this plant when it starts- from Whitewater Mill – Res said they will open by April 1, 2015. They used a laptop to show pictures as the power was out. He had nothing but good things to say about all the local help they have had. Randall said she had met a local man recently hired by Whitewater Mills and he liked it. Todd Sargent manages the new workers. Red said they also have been blessed to have Maxwell Group on site and helping them to pick the right contractors. 130-140 people working on site now. Sunil showed pictures of the 24/7 concrete pouring for the building. Maxwell built the office building in front. The manufacturing building is nearly as tall as the silos. There are additional safety measures. They have an expert from Switzerland helping in this construction. Precast concrete building for loading went up quickly. The facility is designed for future growth and another building can slip up right alongside the new one. They plan to be here for a long time. They will add steel storage bins when expanding. They have Coppage Construction to prepare for the rail construction site for the rail spur. They will be making offers in two weeks for some more hires. The millers and maintenance crew need to be hired first. Training will occur at Teutopolis, IL and Hopkinsville, KY plants and at Kansas where millers are trained. They have had several conversations with Harrison FD so they know what is going in and what is needed. Permitting and EPA also have been handled. They will also have the FD tour the entire plant so they know how to get in etc. They will have an ongoing relationship and will have more tours when new things are introduced. This plant will be very clean and sanitary.

They have been trying to get more involved with producers in the area here. They have met with Farm Bureau in the area. They offer some programs for producers to entice them to grow more wheat. In Teutoplois, IL plant area they see the possibility of double cropping and different types of wheat. They want to give them good price. They need to use fertilizer and fungicides etc. Trying to get two crops a year. These are areas that used to be more corn and soybean areas and they are getting more wheat grown.

Randall said that we couldn’t be prouder of this partnership. We take it on faith that we will be more partners- feels almost like family. Red and Sunil agreed. Randall said that when she came for her tour she wasn’t prepared so they gave her some boots for her tour.

They said they can opt for more automation and the recipes for flour mix could fill overnite. They have 3 customers that they will provide for ultimately. This will get 3 businesses moved to the site. The third one is owned by Conagra but does McDonald’s biscuits. Randall thanked them for coming in for this and they are coming to the luncheon today at the event center. (The Women of Distinction Luncheon)

Attorney report- Andrea Ewan- has nothing

Other Business- FTC&H report came back and the data is very middle of the road. There is not a strong argument to get more land out of the flood plain. Generally disappointing result for the board. Maxwell said it was still money well spent. They don’t think they should spend any more money on this now. The info may be valuable to the homeowners down there. Maxwell said that homeowners down there have had issues with them and this will be useful for that.  [NOTE: Perhaps they should share this info with planning and zoning.]

Per Randall- Ted Nagele is already moving from Cincinnati here and he will be the first producer using the mill product.

Randall said we have to realize how much of an asset Harrison is to us. We have also lost a few projects to them in year’s past- they are competitors. Harrison benefits from our TIF too with downtown business etc.

Meeting adjourned at 9:30 AM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township

Family Court and the Reality of Grief, Loss and Trauma for Children and Families.

Family Court and the Reality of Grief, Loss and Trauma for Children and Families.

Guest Hosting on Blog Talk Radio- Dan Brewington

Here is the url for blogtalk radio tonite: 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bill-murray/2014/10/10/stop-child-abuse-now-scan--939

Tune in tomorrow October 9, at 8 pm EST as I will be a guest host on "For Our Kids," an hour and a half bi-weekly show heard internationally. 

***SPECIAL TOPIC Night - "For Our Kids" - Deborah Maddison, and Tracy Baxter, Canadian activists from British Columbia, will welcome Dan Brewington from Norwood, Ohio, as our US guest host. Dan was one of the subjects of the "Divorce Corp" documentary. The three will lead this evening's discussion about the Rights of Children and Families in North America. Tonight we are covering a very sensitive topic, "Family Court and the Reality of Grief, Loss and Trauma for Children and Families." It should be noted that although we have 5 different individuals who have different stories to tell, the outcome, and the trauma they suffered, is remarkably similar. These are all people who were in need of compassion and understanding. At the most vulnerable time in their lives, and with literally everything at stake, they were instead completely victimized by our judicial system. Going through the system while in a state of acute emotional distress is much like how Prisoners Of War suffer in battle. In fact, the judicial system has become such a hostile environment that Litigation has actually been referred to by lawyers as the last Blood Sport in America. We will also be discussing something the system seems to forget, which is the grief and trauma suffered by children who have been ripped from a loving parent, and how this affects them for the rest of their lives. The best interests of the system are NOT the best interests of the child. ~~ Every two weeks a new THEME will be presented in this series, with frequent special guests speaking from their own experience. ~~

AGENDA October 9 DC Redevelopment Commission

 AGENDA

DEARBORN COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONS MEETING

October 9, 2014

8:00 a.m., 3^rd Floor Commissioners Room

County Administration Building

215 B West High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana

I.              Call to order

II.             Approval of Minutes

1.  September 11, 2014 Meeting

III.            Unfinished Business

NONE

IV.          New Business

1.  Claims & Financials

                   

V.           Lead Economic Development Officer’s Report

1.  Signatures for Grant Sponsorship – RR Infrastructure

2.  Update by Red Tegeler and Sunil Maheshwari from Whitewater Mill

VI.          Attorney’s Report

           

VII.         Other Business

VIII.        Adjournment

7 October 2014 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

7 October 2014 Dearborn County Commissioners Meeting Notes

Present: Shane McHenry, President, Art Little, and Kevin Lynch

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

OLD BUSINESS:

Ordinance to rezone parcels in Miller Township –Baudendistel prepared the ordinance that was already approved at the previous commissioner’s meeting. He also read it and the reasons it complied with the IC stating the five reasons it complied with the code as well as the declaration of commitments and agreement to be signed. Approved and signed.

Ordinance to vacate roads in Wilmington –this was tabled to hear from the other property owner. Baudendistel prepared two versions of the ordinance depending on the decision today. Dennis Kraus, Jr. surveyed this and presented maps and materials. Weisicles ( sp?) did not want to deed their half of the vacation to the cemetery. He pointed out that it did not hinder access to the cemetery. He showed how the criteria to address during a vacation were met for the Indiana code. The cemetery could build a private drive along the 20 ft strip they get with the vacation.  Mr Probst, who maintains the cemetery, spoke about not really having use of that 20 ft for a driveway. McCormack said that he can put the driveway right on the line. Some land from adjoining property owners may be donated to expand the cemetery some day. The owner said she was not wanting interfere with the cemetery in any way. She plans to just be able to maintain the land there as it is difficult to mow. There was only one cemetery board member in favor of the vacation per Probst. Lynch motioned to vacate the alleyways but NOT Water Street. he did not want to create a problem for the future as this is a historical area. Little seconded. Approved and signed the ordinance as stated by Lynch.

NEW BUSINESS:

Assessor- Gary Hensley- The state requires a $50 fine for all petitioners who fail to appear at a scheduled PTABOA hearing. He has 4 now who have not paid. The IC says shall- not may.  Andy Baudendistel says it costs more to file a small claim. Hensley said that the petitioner gets a letter 30 days prior to the hearing to remind them and they also sign a letter when they request the hearing acknowledging they will have a $50 fine if they miss it. Tabled for more research.

The contract for XSoft Cama Software is fo r$206.400 to be paid over 4 years at $51,600 per year. The annual maintenance and support is $34,000 per year. Council approved the budget for this. He presented the contract for signatures. Approved the contract and the maintenance agreement. Signed.

Clerk of Courts- Rick Probst- election services contract- this is a service and maintenance agreement for them to be used for two years. They cut expenses if we agree to the two years. $17,000 + spent on maintenance for one year and it goes to $12,000 for 2 years. Baudendistel said they have to be able to terminate for convenience or any reason. Tabled until that can be addressed. [NOTE: What election occurs in 2015 that would require their services?]

Per Probst- Absentee voting began today.

Maxwell Construction- Brad Rullman- Jail expansion change orders:

Security Automation Systems- door change to sliding doors for $1,866.20 Approved.

Fourteen additional cameras $28,639 requested by sheriff to Security Automation Systems. Approved. sheriff pays part out of community correction fees also

Banta Electric- modification to fire alarm system $14,462 for subcontractor Siemens for their part of this system. Approved.

Banta Electric- time and material for conduit and cabling for the fire alarm system $2560.27 and change of the first floor area to add receptacles and lights 6388.04.  Total $8948.31. Approved.

Valley Interiors- hang and fire tape walls for maintaining the fire-rating. Modify shower wall drains etc. Security soffits for ductwork in J-Cap classrooms. $9725.00 total. Approve.

Valley Interiors- repair existing first floor walls, hang ceiling in dorm B, fire rated ceiling in corridor and elevator, and small deduct from damage they repaired. Total $12,400.00 Approved.

Right now the addition is finished. Meals are being prepared for the entire facility. Dorms being moved into this week. Women moving in this week also. Some of the video visitation rooms are online now. Working on the existing kitchen turning it into the medical area. Also working on the old booking area. Hope to finish the overall project in January.

Community Corrections- Steve Kelly - SERCC Grant Amendment- Baudendistel said it was an increase due to state law $8464. Now it totals $493,000 grant is their operations fund. This is the same grant they receive every year- and the auditor’s office manages it in a separate account. Approved.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Todd Listerman, Highway Engineer:

Stateline Road- Realignment contract- around the Georgetown Rd area for federal dollars of $822,650.00 for FY 2019. Contract agreement. Little motioned even tho they will go faster by his house after it is fixed. Approved.

Small structure inspection-For 4-20 ft wide structures. Fed dollars for this are $115,785. Approved.

Stateline project in Bright- they are tree trimming to move electric lines. Listerman thanked Kelly for Community Corrections working 4 days cleaning Stateline. Road slips finishing up and Johnson Fork Bridge Paint getting finished up. Going on vacation but will be able to be contacted if needed.

Contract for Manchester EMS- $20,000. Approved.

PAWS Agreement- to get them onto a calendar year they need to make this for Oct – Dec 31. Approved. They also need to get the termination clause to be 3 months instead of 6 per Baudendistel in January to be in line with our general policy on this. 

Clothesline Project- McHenry read it. Domestic Violence project to be a visual tribute to the victims of these crimes. Oct 9 with rain date of Oct 16 in the Courthouse Square. Approved

Port Authority Joint Agreement- Greendale is trying to set up their own.  One county commissioner will be on the board of directors. Stratman from Aurora prepared this. It is a joint agreement with the County and Aurora and Lawrenceburg. There was to be legislation last year not allowing any new port authority. Meet on 3^rd Friday of the month at rotating locales in each participating entity. Joint Agreement approved. McHenry is our board member.

SCU- Special crimes Unit- Project Escrow Agreement- Baudendistel said this puts money with UCB Bank. McHenry ABSTAINS from all discussion or voting.  Approved.

ADMINISTRATOR: Teresa Randall- contacted by Lt Gov office for historical items to be displayed in her entry office. They will be displayed for 2 weeks up there. Nice opportunity for the county to be spotlighted in the statehouse.

The recommended design for the Courthouse Annex is ready.

 Kraus suggested Nov 18^th she said. Commissioners approved that date.

Randall asked Bill Black who was present to give a quick update on the fire and Hazmat for the Whitewater Mills project. He said he has discussed that with Harrison FD. They plan to get into more depth with chemicals there also. There are also mutual aid agreements in place should we need more aide on a site. He said they do not go into whole detail to keep info from terrorists on their procedures. They will be reviewing the company policies and procedures also. Sometimes they will do a mock disaster preparation. Kathy Scott alerted them to the Chlorine and a potential blowout from that. She wants to be sure they are aware and appropriately trained. Black noted that we also have a contract with Greater Cinti as a Hazmat and they are a Class 1 certification. These are available. Scott asked about the company paying for the costs of the response. Black said- the company is responsible for all of that. Randall said that the chemical and grain won’t be stored until March. They have already started to hire and train.

Randall showed them the county website so far. They are going live today if commissioners approve.They still want some to get more on their pages still. Nusibeh will be redirecting to another IP address late today. They will announce to the media. She thanked Pennington, McCormack, Hayden, GIS, etc for their committee work. They wanted a crisp and patriotic hometown feel. There will be a breaking news bar on the intro page. You can also subscribe to that feed. It is ADA compliant. There is also an official county news button. The dept pages can personalize their photos etc. She showed the commissioners page and her link on it etc. There are also links to each commissioner with their profile etc. Four times she mentioned the records request form being online.[NOTE: Has that form been approved by commissioners?] Meetings and minutes. Link to the Gateway and transparency in Government. Redevelopment minutes etc will be online. County ordinances section has a button. They are still backfilling some of this she said. Randall said as we use it, we will perfect it. Lynch said it was wonderful. Always a work in progress- it is a good update. McHenry agreed. Randall said it was a lot of work.  She asked for their approval to go live with the new website. The residents will be directed to this from the old site. Approved to go live.

AUDITOR: Gayle Pennington- Claims and Sept 2 and Sept 16 minutes approved.

ATTORNEY: Andy Baudendistel- nothing more

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS- Lynch said an exciting 2 weeks with Gov in town for town hall meeting. Good interaction at that event. Exciting to display county history at gov. office.

McHenry- commended Aurora Lions Club for work at the Aurora Farmer’s fair. They cleaned up too. He also said that 3-4 complimented him about how great the roads look- so he passed that on to Listerman. He will pass that on to Grieve too.

LATE ARRIVAL INFORMATION- none

PUBLIC COMMENT- none

Meeting adjourned at 10:32 AM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township