Meeting was covered for WTRE news by Chris Raamey
The Decatur County Commissioners met Monday at 6 pm for their regularly scheduled evening
meeting. Mark Koors and Tony Blodgett were in attendance, with Jeremy Pasel joining by
Zoom.
The Commissioners began the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, prayer, approval of the
November 20, 2023 minutes, and then approval of claims and payroll claims.
First to speak was Todd Houk, Highway Department. He stated that Kevin Colson will be retiringon December 7, 2023. Over the past 4 years, there have been over 358 years of retiring
experience in his department. Todd was very happy to report the bridge by the GreensburgJr. High School is complete and open with just minor things left to complete. The Highway
Department is out patching and grading roads throughout the county. The Highway Department’s present building and property will be going for auction on
December 16, 2023. The new Highway Department is near completion. Todd added that onDecember 5, 2023 Building inspections and Fire Inspections will be completed at the new Highway Department building. An open house is scheduled for 12/20/23 from10a-2p with light
refreshments, Mark Koors said more information will be released on the open house. Kenny Beuning, Building Inspector, stated that he has completed 26 Building inspections, 5newpermits, 3 renewals, and 1 red tag since the last Commissioner’s Meeting. He states he has
gone to the Clarksburg home which has been a concern and it has been cleaned up for the most part, however, he will continue to keep an eye on that property to ensure it doesn’t return to the same state. Kenny also stated that he received a subpoena from an attorney on the Westport property and he handed that over to County Attorney Chad Smith. Krista Duvall, Area Plan, brought forth proposed Ordinance Changes David & Heather Gray requested to rezone from A1-A2 2.99 acres to build a single-family home. Steven Heart
requested to rezone A1-A2 2.99 acres to build a single-family home. Paul Stone requested to rezone A1-B2 1.147 acres for future expansion. Also, Krista requested that the Area Plan Commission make an Area Plan Commission membership change to reflect the current
Extension Educator not being a current resident of the community. All Ordinance changes wereapproved unanimously. Rick Nobbe and Bryan Robbins spoke about a meeting that they recently attended and the importance of expanding broadband into the county. Robbins stated that one of the options is to offer tax abatements to the ISP provider to come in and help expand broadband access. It
was stressed that this was just an introduction to the Commissioners and they didn’t need any commitment at this time. They would like the Commissioners to review a proposed ordinancethat would help attract ISP providers and broadband to the area. This ordinance is uniqueasit
expires 6 years after it is adopted as written, however, Robbins pointed out that it possibly be changed by the Commissioners. Mark Koors handed the ordinance to County Attorney Chad Smith for his review. Hospital Board appointments were reviewed and approved as requested by DCMH. After discussion, the 2024 Holiday Schedule was approved with the understanding that Chad Smith would be contacting the Child Support Bureau to discuss a deposit question that was brought up by auditor Janet Chadwell Depending on this conversation outcome the Commissioners may have to revise later this month. The 2024 Decatur County Commissioners meeting schedule has been approved with the first
meeting of the month being a night meeting and the second meeting of the month being a morning meeting