Notes -- May 2011 Council Meeting

Note: These are my personal notes from the council meeting. They are NOT the official minutes, nor should they be construed as an official record of any kind.

Boone County Council
5/10/2011
Present: All Council Members present, Secretary Heather Barton.
The council approved the minutes of the April meeting.

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:
Elections (no one present):
Requested a transfer of $1500 for voter registration per diem, which must be moved into a new line. Approved.

Local Road & Street (Tom Kouns):
Requested $3018 from road maintenance to new equipment to replace shop equipment. Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Rainy Day/Sheriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested $69525 from grant money deposited by the probation department for community corrections officers to provide jail supervision. Approved.

Rainy Day/Stone & Gravel (Kouns):
Last month the council asked Kouns to come up with a proposal to spend $2M on equipment and summer road maintenance. Kouns proposes to spend $500,000 on purchase of one road grader and lease of five dump trucks. He also proposed $1.4M+ for road maintenance – 13 miles of chip and seal, 3 miles of cold mix overlay, 16 miles hot mix overlay. Council President Steve Jacob asked about the amount of contracting out of services the department does, and whether more contracting out might be more cost effective, particularly in terms of capitalization of equipment. Kouns disagreed that there would be a savings, arguing that the department could provide services cheaper and faster than a contractor. The council asked several questions regarding the proposed leasing of trucks and the long-term equipment replacement plan Kouns and the commissioners have been planning. It was also suggested that Kouns might take the $275,000 for the initial (and then annual) lease payments for the five trucks out of the food and beverage fund. The council approved $500,000 from the Rainy Day Fund for the equipment replacement, as well as $1.225M for road maintenance. The council suggested that Kouns could return for an additional $275,000 from the food and beverage fund for road maintenance later in the year if he wished. Approved

Highway (Kouns):
Requested $5000 for tires & tubes and $50,000 for equipment from the highway fund for existing repairs. Those funds’ budgets have nearly been depleted for the year. Approved.

Sherriff (Campbell):
Requested roughly $600 for inmate medical and other reimbursement funds. Approved.

Jail Maintenance (no one present):
Requested transfer of money collected from inmates for damages. Approved.

Commissioners (Jeff Wolfe):
Requested transfer of grant money ($3500) collected for Friends of Boone County Trails. Approved.

Health Department (Vicky Foster):
Requested transfer of grant money collected from the state for emergency preparedness money. Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:
County Attorney Bob Clutter addressed the council regarding an interlocal agreement with Whitestown to apply for federal matching funds to upgrade two miles of county road 650 South between (roughly) Indianapolis Road and State Road 267. 85% of the road in question falls within Whitestown limits, but the commissioners, town and their attorneys have determined that grant and maintenance would run best through the county, which would agree to take over maintenance of the entire stretch for the duration of the agreement, which is four years. Tom Kouns addressed the council on the history of this road improvement project, which was initially approved in 1999, then dropped in 2002 when some parcel owners refused to sell right-of-way. Commissioner Charles Eaton also spoke in favor of the agreement and answered questions. The project cost estimate in 1999 was $1.5M, while the current cost estimate would be nearly $5.5M. The county would have to commit to 20% of the cost, which would be just over $1M. The council asked many questions about the terms of the agreement and the grant project, particularly on the county’s relationship with Whitestown. The council had several concerns about the source of the county’s funding responsibility. The most likely source will be the $1M the state will be paying the county for taking over State Road 334 (which is 650 S on the east side of the interstate) over the next three years. The council approved the agreement (I voted against), as well as the associated financial commitment letter.

Kouns also asked approval of a financial commitment letter for an already-approved federal highway project upgrading county road 400 S east of I-65 as part of the 146th street extension. Approved.

Auditor Melody Price addressed the council on our financial standing, as requested last month. The council requested a regular update on the county’s general fund operating balance, which stood at just over $1.1M as of January 1. Part of the summary for 2010 included that the county spent only about 95% of what was budgeted. The council also set the 2012 budget hearings for the week of August 22.

Dax Norton of the Economic Development Commission gave an update on several companies looking at the Lebanon Business Park. The EDC’s current top priorities are marketing the county’s open land and adding building inventory. A recent announcement by Amazon to add space in the Indy area highlights the county’s shortage of ready space. Norton also asked for guidance on his upcoming budget request.

Tom Kouns presented the council with a FCC directive to switch the highway department to a narrow bandwith system (12.5 kHz) by January 1, 2013. Some other departments (jail, sheriff) might also be affected. Kouns estimates the cost at roughly $75,000. Several members asked questions about using cell phones &/or Nextel systems instead of radios, but Kouns was pessimistic.

OLD BUSINESS:
Council member Brent Wheat gave a brief update on the personnel committee’s first meeting, which consisted primarily of gathering data for future decisions. The committee will meet again at the end of the month to look more closely at the numbers and include HR consultant Dennis Dunlap.

The joint council/commissioners meeting in June is tentatively scheduled for the 22nd at 6:30. Meeting space issues are preventing that being a firm date, though the suggestion to hold this and future such meetings at a county library may solve that problem.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Meeting adjourned at 10:50.

Next regularly-scheduled meeting will be 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 14, in the Courthouse Annex, Lebanon.