Kudos shared for county’s handling of snow storm
Multiple county department leaders expressed their appreciation this week for the handling of early February’s snow storm.
Sheriff Scott Holliday said there was a lot of communication and numerous people involved in the decision-making process. They were prepared and for the most part, the sheriff’s department did not get overwhelmed with calls.
Holliday said given the low number of accidents reported — there were no accidents involving injuries — people were making their own decisions about driving and staying safe.
County Engineer Nate Rumschlag shared his appreciation for the highway department staff, who put in a lot of overtime and some overnight shifts, he said.
While the county didn’t get as much snow as anticipated, Highway Supervisor Shawn Bonar worked hard to get a plan together, Rumschlag added.
Drainage board approves tile replacement work
During Monday’s drainage board meeting, Surveyor Jarrod Hahn presented two quotes to replace about 1,200 feet of the Fryback tile near 1100N and Meridian Road.
Bolinger Ag Drainage LLC of North Manchester submitted a quote of $21,380. Gruss Ag LLC of Ossian quoted $18,700. The low bid was approved, and Hahn was hopeful the work would be done this winter.
IDACS coordinator for the jail approved
On Monday, the Wells County Jail population was 80 inmates, including 37 pre-trial holds from Superior Court, 25 pre-trial holds from Circuit Court, five Level 6 felons and five from the Indiana Department of Correction.
By Tuesday evening, Sheriff Scott Holliday said there were 76 inmates in the jail, 34 for Superior Court, 24 for Circuit Court, five Level 6 felons and four from the DOC.
Holliday also received permission from the county council to compensate an employee in the jail as the department’s Indiana Data and Communications System coordinator, which “is a computerized law enforcement/criminal justice communications and information storage and retrieval system,” according to the state.
County engineer presents project updates
County Engineer Nate Rumschlag said this week that the plan is to go out to bid next month for the new highway garage.
He also updated the commissioners on a few projects, including a note that bid opening was scheduled for March 3 for the Murray stormwater project.
Commissioners approve WOW reimbursement
The commissioners on Monday approved the latest Wells on Wheels request for more than $188,000 in reimbursement from the state. Representatives will be asked to resume coming back before the commissioners for regular reports, which were on pause due to the pandemic.
Council OKs financial matters
The following financial requests were approved by the county council Tuesday:
• Additional appropriations of $168,830 for the federal aid Rock Creek bridge project and $614,425 for the 200S reconstruction project.
• Transfers of $1,000 from pauper attorney to psychiatric services for superior court; $2,300 from part-time intern with $1,900 to training coordinator, $175 to social security and $225 to retirement for Community Corrections project income; and $20,000 from part-time public health nurse to part-time medical assistant for the health department.
— Compiled by Jessica Bricker
