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. They need a letter of resolution as well as a signed minutes document from the previous commissioners meeting for CCMG. The school zone signs have been ordered for South Decatur and should be here in the next 6 weeks. CR 200 S and CR 700 W have been closed dude to a culvert pipe that is failing and needs replaced. This will be done as soon as the pipe arrives, as it had to be special ordered. There was a discussion on the CR 200 E closure. There were several suggestions made such as keeping North of 46 closed and open up South of 46 as well as staggering barricades. EMA has two electric signs they are willing to lend that can be programmed to say “no semis”. The board agreed to stagger the barricades to allow for local traffic and for the sheriff to keep an eye on semis.
Kenny Buening gave an update. There have been 24 inspections, 12 new building permits and plan reviews, and 1 red tag for an exterior stairway that needed securing and screws that needed ground in a dugout. There were 2 letters sent on a nuisance property with no response.
Patty Hensley, HR, have a hiring update. They have hired 4 employees and have postings for 3 jobs on the website. May 15 is the PERF employee meeting.
The commissioners discussed a county Facebook page, which had been previously discussed on March 20. Commissioner Paisel wanted to reopen the discussion as this was before Commissioner Blodgett was appointed and wanted to get their opinion. Blodgett likes the idea of having a Facebook page to broadcast to the community alerts, road closures, etc., as well as the opportunity for community feedback.
Sheriff Meyerrose discussed several items. There was a request to table the purchase of a water softener for the jail. This is because they are receiving another quote before a decision is made. This was approved and the commissioners requested they look into the pricing of salt solution softeners vs alternatives. There was a discussion on the landscaping around the jail. The shrubs have not been maintained since they moved in and they would like to either remove them or have them trimmed. The board agreed to look into options for maintenance of the landscaping. The board approved the FOIA request standard fee of $150. This will need to have an ordinance written in order for the money to be used.
The board approved the use of the Westport Covered Bridge for a wedding on September 2.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
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