County wants city to extend utilities to 200S
A utility extension agreement has been offered to the City of Bluffton to help get utilities to the county’s new highway garage.
The utilities have to be extended from the Valero Renewable Energy plant off Adams Street south to the intersection of 200S where the garage will be built.
Commissioner Blake Gerber said the offer, which was not detailed during the meeting, gives Mayor John Whicker a chance to approve or present a counter offer. A deadline of three weeks to respond was set.
Hourly rate OK’d for county highway garage advocate
An agreement has been approved with Mike Swann of Cube and Company to serve as the owner’s representative for the county’s new highway garage project.
The hourly rate for his services is $118. That was not voted on by the commissioners at their last meeting, but Swann’s hiring had been approved at that time.
Swann’s firm out of Lafayette will serve as an advocate for the county during the project.
In this role, Swann will represent the county’s interests and make sure the project comes in under budget. Commissioner Jeff Stringer noted last month that Swann will serve in the capacity because the commissioners are unable to dedicate themselves to those oversight tasks.
Jail renovation continues as meals are prepped offsite
Sheriff Scott Holliday said the new roof on the county jail should be finished next month as HVAC work continues at the facility.
In an update to the commissioners on Monday, Holliday said as work moved into the jail’s kitchen, meals for inmates are being delivered from an offsite prep kitchen in a local church temporarily. He hopes that lasts only a few weeks.
He also reported 89 inmates in the jail, including 29 pre-trial holds from Superior Court, 21 pre-trial holds from Circuit Court, 19 Level 6 felons, and five from the Indiana Department of Correction. That count was the same for the county council on Tuesday.
He told the council that the population has increased significantly compared to this time last year.
River group still needs to hire assistant
The Upper Wabash River Basin Commission continues its search for an administrative assistant.
Due to recent delays in hiring someone to fill that position, Stacia Henderson has been hired to temporarily help out. Henderson was the longtime administrative assistant before the most recent person, Alicia Douglas, who had resigned.
The board also received updates for the ongoing study in Huntington County of the Little River and discussed asking their respective county commissioners for more funding in 2023.
Road conversion petition period closed for ’22
County Engineer Nate Rumschlag said the 2022 tally for road conversion petitions has closed. He said he would start working through the list and determine what right of way easements the county has ready and then will establish the 2023-24 projects.
He also reported “significant” work has been done on the bridge project on 800S since the last commissioners’ meeting.
Also, the storm sewer in Murray is complete and the crossing of Ind. 116 is completed. He is awaiting the asphalt paving subcontractor’s schedule to finalize the project.
Commissioners hear more updates at meeting
Other updates the county commissioners received Monday included:
• Conor Jackson of James S. Jackson Co. said the plans are nearly set for the highway garage as they work to tighten up cost estimates and bring in subcontractors. Then on Tuesday, he told the county council that he anticipated having all pricing done by the end of the week.
• Two applications for the county’s new appointment to the property tax assessment board of appeals were taken under advisement as County Attorney Colin Andrews plans to contact them both about possible items that may prohibit their appointment.
• Andrews said he has seen movement in the matter of combining 911 services with the City of Bluffton. While he has seen movement and the county is pushing to get it done, he said, it is currently in the city’s hands.
• Following a lengthy discussion with multiple members of the audience regarding the county’s Vision 2035 comprehensive plan, they were encouraged to submit their concerns in writing. The discussion centered on the idea to create a four-lane highway bypassing Ossian.
Ditch spray work has begun in Wells County
County Surveyor Jarrod Hahn told the drainage board Monday that the ditch spray contract has officially started his work north of Ind. 218 by the Adams County line.
Among project updates, Hahn also reported that he has been doing a lot of work for INDOT projects lately that involve county drains or tiles.
He said he has spent a lot of time recently gathering information for INDOT.
County council approves financial matters
The following financial matters were approved by the county council Tuesday:
• Additional appropriations — Community Corrections Project Income: $15,000 for vehicles and $3,000 for vehicle equipment.
• Transfers within departments — Community Corrections Project Income: $2,000 from PPE and $3,000 from monitoring fees with the total $5,000 going to training and seminars; Custodian: $51 from machinery/equipment to vacuum cleaners; Circuit Court: $2,500 from pauper attorney to psychiatric services and $8,000 from guardian ad litem to pauper transcripts; Community Corrections Grant II: $100 from wearing apparel to office supplies.
According to the documents submitted as part of the request, the Circuit Court requests are to clear up negative balances and budget for the remainder of 2022.
Board approves several city personnel matters
Several pay increases were recently approved by the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety. They include:
• Megan Bowling, animal control officer, to $17.66 an hour. “Ms. Bowling is a motivated employee and has continuously shown improvement in her job performance,” Police Chief Kyle Randall said.
• Zach Smith, operator in the water treatment facility, a $1-an-hour raise to $18.65. “Zach has done a great job in learning the operations of the new treatment plant and has also taken a bigger role in the operation of a bacteriological lab,” said Todd Shady, superintendent of the water treatment facility.”
• Erin Pezo, operator of the wastewater treatment plant, a $1-an-hour increase to $15 an hour. Tony Fey, superintendent of the wastewater plant, noted that Pezo is in her first year at the facility and “has been moved around to help us in all plant positions when needed.”
• Bill Vaughn, assistant supervisor of the wastewater treatment plant, a $1-an-hour raise to $27.69. “Bill is doing a good job in this position,” Fey said. “He meets all my expectations and assists me in daily operations and supervision at the plant.”
The board also granted Fey permission to hire a new plant operator at the wastewater facility to replace an employee who had transferred to another department.
— Compiled by Jessica Bricker
and Dave Schultz
