The Decatur County Council met on October 15, 2024, at 9 am.
During the meeting they approved the September meeting minutes, Transfers, Exempt & Non-Exempt Payouts, and the following Additionals:
-ARPA- New Directions $100,000 Capital Building Project
-ARPA-Parks Department for Turf at the ball diamonds $450,000
-ARPA- EMA Tornado Sirens $86,166
-Matched Riverboat funds to give all requesting non-profits 100% of requested funds $60,300
-Best Friends Animal Society Grants for the Animal Shelter $64,000 in grant funding
The council also appointed Ernie Gauck to the Insurance Committee.
Minde Myers, Animal Shelter Director, came to the council to let them know that the Animal Control Officer (ACO) resigned. She said that during her four years of employment she has covered both the Director and ACO positions more times than not. She requested approval to receive a $500 stipend to be paid to her one-time monthly. The Council approved this request with a 90-day limit or when the ACO position is filled.
Minde also requested guidance on how she can take the profit from flea medicine to purchase the new batch of flea medicine that she is selling to the public. After further discussion it was decided that she would purchase the medication and put the money earned back into her restricted account. This will not require appropriations. However, the audit added that the account is managed and overseen just like other line items.
The Council adopted the 2025 County Budget in the amount of $28,931,995 with a tax rate of .3951. They also approved the Solid Waste budget.
Council approved Part-time pay from $16 per hour to $17 per hour.
Judge Tim Day came to the board with Jeramiah McAdams to provide an update on the Juvenile Diversion Grant that they received for $71,906. Jeramiah let the board know that this grant is for 2025-2027 and could possibly be something that could be renewed. With these funds this will allow them to increase their current instructors’ hours, fund their salary, FICA, and supplies. With this increased funding this will allow them to work more with DCS, schools, and the police departments. Jeramiah did add that he works closely with Centerstone with Juvenile Probation.
Janet Howell, Clerk, came to the board to request a second look at the Perpetuation Budget & Stipend that was voted on at the September meeting. Janet asked for an individual vote. She provided statistics on what the office does including clerk duties, election duties, and general office duties. Council members stated that they already voted on this at the September meeting and the majority of council members felt this was taken into consideration with the salary study. The council did not re-vote and ended discussions on this matter.
Ernie Gauck presented his research on what the pool’s costs could have been “if it had been done correctly.” He emphasized that he had always believed the original estimates were too high. To back this up, Ernie reached out to contractors who specialize in similar work for apartment complexes and shared the figures he received:
– Demolition: $80,000 (Ernie noted that a county commissioner believed this could potentially be handled in-house, saving costs.)
– Dirt/Sand & Compaction: $40,000
– Design and full pool construction: $2.5 million (not including a slide, which would add an additional $250,000)
– Backfilling and replacing concrete decking: $374,000
– Electric and plumbing: $200,000
– Fencing: $30 per foot, based on a quote from a local contractor
Ernie also pointed out that the county commissioners would need to act as the general contractor to further reduce costs. If not, an additional $100,000 should be budgeted for hiring one.
In total, Ernie estimated that the pool could be built for approximately $3.5 million, significantly lower than the $6 million pool originally proposed. He stressed that this approach would save taxpayers a substantial amount while still delivering a functional pool.
Deanna Burkart, a council member who has spent the last two to three years working with the pool committee to develop a comprehensive plan for a pool, voiced her concerns. “So now we’re looking at getting half the pool we originally planned for but paying the same amount that we would have paid for the larger pool, which would have included additional features to attract more visitors,” Burkart stated.
The discussion heated up when two council members suggested the possibility of reclaiming READI grant money that had been allocated for the pool project. Burkart quickly shut down that idea, explaining that those funds had already been reallocated. “That money is gone,” she said.
Councilman Bill Metz pushed back, saying that he had been previously told the funds were still available. However, Burkart corrected him, stating, “That’s not accurate. You didn’t ask the right people.”
Burkart went on to clarify that if the council had moved forward with the original pool plan, the cost was projected to be around $6 million, with $1.5 million coming from READI funds and another $1.5 million from ARPA funding. Now that those funds are no longer accessible, taxpayers would bear the full burden of financing the newly proposed pool, which would offer fewer amenities and would have a harder time of being profitable would cost taxpayers the same amount that the bigger pool would have cost.
Bryan Robbins requested a copy of the proposal so that he could take it back to the Parks Board Meeting. Teresa Kovacich added that this design would be missing the amenities that the community wanted included.
The meeting was adjourned.