The meeting began with the approval of the March 17th regular meeting minutes and the March 28th Executive Session meeting minutes. The commissioners approved the claims, and payroll claims in the amount of $388,797.70.
Todd Houk, Highway Department Superintendent said that the department continues to perform general maintenance in the county, and they worked this past weekend working on flooding concerns. The commissioners signed the Unofficial Detour Reimbursement Contract with the amount of $124,312.50. This amount will be bid out once Todd is able to create the specifications. The commissioners reviewed and awarded all bids for stone. They approved Premier Energy’s fuel bid. Todd also stated that their bridge inspection contractor will be performing inspections on 140 bridges in April and 40-50 bridges in May.
Commissioner Jeremy Pasel brought forward CCMG 2025-1 for discussion and asked County Attorney Chad Smith to clarify issues surrounding the bidding process. Chad explained that of the three bids received, one included a pre-qualification certificate as required, but it was discovered that the certificate had been superseded by a more recent version. The contractor was asked to provide the updated certificate but failed to do so. The other two bidders submitted certificates with coverage for $1 million, though the project should have required $2 million in coverage.
Upon further review, it was determined that the request for bids did not specify a required coverage amount, leading to confusion among the bidders. The Commissioners initially discussed rejecting all bids and rebidding the project. However, a representative from one of the bidding companies addressed the board, stating that according to INDOT, a specific dollar amount is not required and that he confirmed this with the Decatur County Auditor’s Office. Auditor Christy Smiley, who was present, confirmed the representative’s account and added that she had verified the same information with the Highway Department.
The Commissioners paused the discussion to allow Attorney Chad Smith time to review the relevant Indiana statutes. After completing the remainder of the agenda, they returned to the topic. All three Commissioners expressed regret over the situation, acknowledging that the bidding companies had followed the instructions provided. Chad Smith noted that, according to state statute, if the Commissioners were to accept the lowest bid that lacked the appropriate documentation, the contract would be null and void.
The representative voiced concern that his company was being penalized despite following the guidance given and that reopening the bid would disadvantage all bidders since bid amounts had already been disclosed. Another contractor’s representative questioned whether the statutory requirements cited by Smith applied only to state-level projects. Smith responded by reading the statute aloud, clarifying that the requirements apply to all public agencies, including county governments. He also pointed out that this was the same information that other bidders had provided the year prior and requested to know why things were different this year. Jeremy stated that they had someone reviewing the bids more thoroughly.
Considering the confusion and the concerns raised, the Commissioners agreed to postpone any decisions on CCMG 2025-1. They requested additional time for legal review and scheduled the matter for further discussion and a final decision at their next meeting on April 21, 2025.
Doug Westerfeld, Area Plan Director read the 1st reading of the Fines & Fees Ordinance. He then received the commissioner’s approval for APC ordinances 2024-13, 2024-15, and 2024-17. Jeremy Pasel, Commissioner President asked Doug what the status on the solar project is because he continues to be asked questions about the petition and the project. Doug stated that they are still collecting agreements from Cobia Solar LLC. He states that he hasn’t received the agreements that were to be turned in by the end of March yet. He states that they are requiring Cobia Solar to do more engineering work and Cobia Solar LLC must decide how much to spend. After further discussion Jeremy Pasel requested that Doug speak with the Area Plan’s attorney and request a deadline be set for Cobia Solar LLC to turn their documents in.
Erin Thomas, Lifetime Resources received commissioner approval and signatures on the Authorizing Resolution Interlocal Agreement.
Kim Carpenter, Power of the Past received approval to have St. Paul Tavern be an alcohol vendor at this year’s show. They will be changing a few things since the Community Building will be demolished before the show. They will have a barricaded area for individuals to have their beverage and/or food. The Alcohol vendor will be checking ID’s each time someone goes to the window to ensure that only those of legal drinking age is served.
The Commissioners approved a change order for the ball diamonds project, which includes installing Astroturf on the back four diamonds.
The Commissioners also interviewed three applicants for the Veterans Service Representative position. After reviewing the candidates, they selected Applicant #1. The individual’s name will be announced once the offer has been officially accepted.
David “Spanky” Vanderburg was appointed by the Commissioners to serve on the Fair Committee.
The Commissioners approved a contract with King Brothers Rodeo for the 2025 Fair, scheduled to take place on July 15, 2025. They also approved the 2025-3 Fairgrounds BOT Agreement related to the Fairgrounds Project under READI 2.0.
Additionally, the Commissioners authorized the creation of a line item in the EDIT Fund to support fundraising efforts led by their vendor for the fairgrounds project. This will allow for the purchase of marketing materials.
The Commissioners approved Pay Application #3 in the amount of $25,463.21 for the YMCA Roof Project.
The Commissioners approved an expenditure of $10,000 from the Build Decatur County Fund within EDIT to support a Decatur County Housing Study. The $40,000 study cost will be shared among the Commissioners, the County Redevelopment Commission, the City of Greensburg Redevelopment Commission, and the Greensburg City Council.
During the meeting, the Commissioners discussed the need to review current policies related to cell phone reimbursement to ensure that employees who are required to use their personal devices for work purposes are being compensated. The goal is to establish clear guidelines that outline eligibility and reimbursement procedures. Additionally, the Commissioners addressed concerns regarding the calculation of overtime and agreed that a thorough review of the existing policy is necessary. Both topics will be evaluated in detail prior to the next Commissioners meeting, where updated policies are expected to be discussed and potentially approved.
Ryan Maddux, Visit Decatur County Board President introduced Erica Gunn as the Executive Director for the Tourism Office. Erica requested use of the bathroom facilities at the courthouse for the train visit on 6/28/25. The commissioners approved this request with the understanding that security will be available to supervisor visitors that day.
The commissioners discussed the candidate for the Maintenance Position requested an additional $10,000 for their salary. The commissioners discussed the amount and decided that Jeremy would go to the Decatur County Council and request that additional amount because they need to be able to pay someone for the going rate of the job and the individual is a great candidate for the position.
