The Decatur County Commissioners met on Monday.
Mark Mohr gave an update. They have scheduled March 7 to open bids for stone, culvert, and fuels. The potholes are setting in quick due to the freeze-thaw cycle we have been trapped in lately. They plan to continue patching and running the mower tractor. On NE 80 going into Rebecca Park there is a suck hole that has developed. They did a fill in and the next day it was sucked back in, they plan to keep the road closed until repaired, hopefully before spring.
The commissioners went to do an inspection on the armory which has sever foundation issues. This will be an expensive fix if it is repairable.
Kenny Buening have an update. There have been 44 building inspections, 6 new building permits, and 3 red tags- 2 for boat docks and 1 for a panel box.
Sean Durbin gave an update on the Health Department move. The move went very well and they are now fully operational. They do have a few repairs needing to be done still and they would also like to add building identification and an outdoor digital sign.
Dr. Mary McCullough will now be the permanent Health Officer for the county. Dr. Mary Fogler will take her place on the board.
Robin Parmer came to the board to discuss a miscommunication with Hillbilly Corner. This was a miscommunication between them and the APC, as they had believed they would be able to run a business out of the bottom part of a residence with the current zoning that they have. They just built the building that would serve as the residence and Hillbilly Corner and they got the recommended state commercial septic. The APC had approved this at prior meetings, however are now saying that steps for skipped. They cancelled the final inspection as the APC said they will not approve residency until they get done what they say still needs to be done. The state fire Marshall also says they need to rip out walls and add a sprinkler system, despite being under 3,000 square feet and having the double wall. The commissioners biggest problem is the state fire Marshall as they do not want to cross the state. They have no ability to grant an occupancy on a commercial building that does not have a CDR.
Sheriff Durant came to the board to request road closures for emergency vehicle operation training. This will be from May 26-June 6. The road is CR 250 W between between Base Rd and Vandalia Rd. This was tabled to notify one more farmer who could be impacted by the road closure. The Sheriff requested that the board un-table the longevity pay discussion. They came up with a plan for all county departments to give longevity pay to their employees. This has been sent out to all department heads and there have been no “no this can’t happen” received. This is the best time to bring it back up, as they are going to do a salary study this year. They believe it to be an affordable solution and the goal is to retain knowledge in every department. This was initially for the corrections department, as the national turnover rate is astounding. The commissioners would like to wait until after the study and then will look into longevity pay.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
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