Chris Ramey covered the meeting for WTRE news
Decatur County Commissioners 1/2/24 Meeting
At 6 pm the meeting was called to order. All 3 Commissioners were present. The pledge and prayer began the meeting. Followed by approval of December 18, 2023, and the December 28, 2023 executive session meeting minutes. Approval of claims and Payroll claims were approved as well.
Todd Houck, Highway Department stated that he finished his quarterly report that is due to the state. He states that the window for the Community Crossing Grant closes on January 31st. Todd stated that he would have that completed in the next few days. He states that this round would be for 1,500,000 which will be for 83 miles of road chip and seal. Todd said that they are finishing up small projects at the new highway garage. The current goal is to be moved into the new facility completely on 1/22/24. Mark Koors stated that he has received calls about county road 1200 South and asked that the department give it some attention before spring. Commissioners Tony Blodgett and Jeremy Pasel discussed drop-offs as discussed at the last meeting. Todd Houck is going to reach out to other counties to see what they do to fix drop-offs on roads.
Kenny Beuning, Building Inspector, stated that he has completed 30 inspections, 8 permits, and 2 permit renewals since the last Commissioners meeting. He said he has received a complaint about a property doing work without a permit, however, upon inspection, that property is having renovations completed that do not require permits. Beuning stated that he followed up on the Letts property and found out that the property owner is transferring the title of the property to his neighbor to the east of his property.
Krista Duvall, Area PlanDirector came to the Commissioners to presented the Storm Water Management Ordinance and the Storm Water Technical Standards Manual. After discussion, they are going to bring this up at the next meeting when the individual who drafted these can come and explain them in detail to the Commissioners. This will happen at the next Commissioners meeting.
Bill Meyerrose, Sheriff requested the sale ofl a Dodge Charger and a Chevrolet Tahoe due to high mileage and maintenance. He stated that he would like to get them sold and then move forward with new vehicles. The Commissioners approved with Mark Koors reminding Sheriff Meyerrose that the revenue from the sale must go back to the account that paid for the vehicles. Sheriff Meyerrose also requested an increase on his jail credit card from $2,000 to $4,000. One of the major reasons for requesting the increase is he has discovered that purchasing bread from Aldi’s for the jail is cheaper than purchasing from their vendor. Approximately $19,000 per year cheaper. Commissioners approved his request to increase the credit card limit. Lastly the Sheriff updated the Commissioners that he had requested grant money for a Polaris Razor for the Sheriff’s department and they received $1,000 from REMC. Then The TIF board agreed to pay the remainder of the cost $36,898.00. Delivery will be in the next few weeks.
Teresa Kovacich, Parks & Rec Dept, came to the board to discuss the pool project. She stated that last week the Pool Committee held interviews with contracting firms that had shown interest in completing the Pool Project. All companies were scored by the committee while completing the interviews. The highest scoring was RL Turner Construction. Teresa asked the Commissioners to vote to choose RL Turner Construction. Once they have been approved then they can move forward with requesting different costs and designs. Commissioners did approve that RL Turner Construction would be the General Contractor for the Pool Project. Teresa did bring a copy of the pool design for anyone who would like to see it.
Patty Hensley, Commissioner’s Assistant, discussed stairlift quotes. Once the elevator work is conducted the stairlifts will remain for safety and accessibility. They received four estimates with the winning bid being awarded to Access Elevator for $21,997.50, this cost does not include electrical work that is minor. All Stairlift chairs will have battery back-up.
Mark Koors stated that they have received an increased bid for the sale of the old highway garage of $623,000. That is up from $530,000 reported at the prior Commissioner meeting. Mark Koors stated, “The $623,000 is before commissions and advertising is deducted. We will net $601 thousand and some change.” Jeremy Pasel stated that with the increased bid it makes sense to sell. He also stated that he has done some researching about remodeling the highway garage for EMA and the Animal Shelter. He believes that at this time it is not best to be spread thin and have to hold the buildings until remodeling can be done. He states that with the new highway garage having a balance of 1.3 to 1.5 million dollars he believes we need to move forward with the sale. Tony Blodgett then spoke up stating that it is more space than EMA can use. After speaking with other elected officials and researching they could build on to the current Animal Shelter. Tony also stated that the Coroner’s office would like more freezer space but that is not a current need. The decision to sell the old highway garage was motioned first by Jeremy Pasel and seconded by Tony Blodgett.
Tony Blodgett was appointed to the Community Corrections Advisory Board.
The next Commissioner meeting is Tuesday, January 16, 2023, 8 am. The Commissioners meeting was adjourned.
