The Decatur County Commissioners met on Monday.
Todd Houk gave an update on the Highway Department. They are continuing work on mowing and patching while doing in house county bridge maintenance and repairs. There is currently a bridge inspection going on in the county. Decatur County was approved for the CCMG 2023. The board approved for school zone signs to be placed in the South Decatur area. These will be for 25 mph and say “when children are present” as well as “end school zone”.
Kenny Buening gave an update there have been 43 inspections, 19 new building permits/plan reviews, 1 permit renewal, and 1 red tag for building a pole barn without a permit which has been corrected.
Howard Cathey came to the board with several neighbors with a complaint of vehicles on a neighboring property. There is an abundance of vehicles and trash on the property, some of which are leaking and getting into the creek. The property is being rented from the renters father. The board will be sending letters to both the owner and resident and then will seek an abatement.
The Clerks office will now be offering notary services for the community. The clerk and all deputy clerks have become notaries.
Shannon McLeod and Diane Hart Dawson presented a YMCA grant during a public hearing. This was to request that the county be the sponsor for an OCRA grant for the YMCA. They are seeking a grant in order to replace the roof from the decking up, which will cost upwards of a million dollars. The grant they are seeking is a max of $500,000 matching grant, however only a city, county, or government can apply- thus the need for a sponsor. In order to obtain the grant they must prove that Decatur County has a 51% less to moderate income. This can be done through a survey conducted by the YMCA. There was no public comment. The board approved the study and agreed to be the sponsor.
Mayor Josh Marsh discussed a multi-use trail easement with the commissioners. They have been presented with an opportunity from the state that could allow the construction of a walking trail from downtown to the Greensburg Decatur County Public Library. This would leave a gap between the library and Rebekah Park, which they would like to connect with their own multi-use trail. The nursing home would allow an perpetuity easement, however is requiring that they have a 10 year rent abatement for a building they have been renting from the county for $3,000 a year. The city agreed to pay a third of the cost to the county if this were approved. This would need to be discussed with attorneys from the nursing home, county, and city before anything was finalized. The commissioners gave their approval for this to move forward.
Chad Smith discussed the jail pods. The pods were sold a few months ago, however some damages have occurred while still under Decatur County ownership. These need remedies and it was requested that the county contribute to the repairs before they are moved. This was approved.
The board approved Resolution 2023-4, for the Cumulative Bridge fund to be put back to its original levy. This will cause another to lower to keep it tax neutral. The board approved Resolution 2023-5, for the Cumulative Capital development fund. This will raise taxes on property.
The board approved the request of use of facilities for the the Decatur County Right to Life cross display. This will be on the SW corner of the lawn and they had proper insurance.
The board approved the annual cost of $424 for fire door maintenance and testing.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
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