NOTES – JULY 2016 BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
All members present; Secretaries Tiffany Merritt and Chelsea
Young.
Meeting was called to order just after 8:30 A.m. by President
Steve Jacob.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council approved the minutes from its June meeting
without amendment.
President Jacob recognized Councilor Debby Shubert, who
has resigned from the council effective at the end of the month. She and her
husband will be moving to Bloomington for a new job opportunity. The council
and audience recognized
RE-APPROPRIATIONS: None.
ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Clerk (no one present):
Requested $2,240 for Meals and $4,500 for Absentee Board.
These monies will bring those lines up to the necessary balance for the fall election.
The numbers used in the budget were estimates made before the vote centers were
approved, and the estimates were a bit short.
Approved.
Highway (Nick Parr):
Requested $136,000 for removal of Bridge 303. The
department had waited to make this request until public meetings and
discussions with affected landholders could be completed. Approved.
Requested $450,000 for Land Acquisition for the
Whitestown Connector. This higher number was necessary as land values in the
area have risen significantly since the project was first estimated. Whitestown
has also nearly doubled the amount they will be contributing to the project.
Approved.
Requested $1M into a new fund (Road & Bridge Grant
Fund) and a new line within that fund (Matching Grant Program), as discussed
last month. Approved.
Requested $2.080M into a new line within the Road &
Bridge Grant Fund for the Whitestown Connector for a local 50/50 match from the
state. After some discussion, Approved.
Health (Greg Inman):
Requested creation of a new fund for the Sharps Program.
This will ease moving grant funds each year, eliminating some paperwork steps.
Approved.
Probation (No one present):
Requested $50,000 for Juvenile Detention for secure
detention. The department had budgeted $60,000, and already spent $55,000
through June, with an outstanding bill of over $5,500. The council was
reluctant to approve such a large expenditure from the general fund without
explanation, so requested input from the department. Michael Nance, Director of
Community Corrections, was called into the meeting to shed light onto the
issue. He stated that the number of juveniles being assigned secure detention
has skyrocketed this year. Mr. Nance also explained that both the
recently-implemented JDAI program and Community Corrections have taken many of
the youth who would previously have been detained, but those programs cannot
handle all the cases they face. Population increases and increases in crime
have led to more juveniles being assigned detention, and thus the increased request.
Sheriff Mike Nielsen noted that the county has no facility to house juveniles,
which means added cost to the county to send them elsewhere. He also noted that
for the first time in the county’s history the county jail housed over 200
inmates (205) this past weekend. Approved.
CCD (Commissioners):
Requested $14,8000 to HVAC to restore money moved last
month to make a bond payment. Approved.
NEW BUSINESS:
Nick Parr of the Highway Department presented the
Interlocal Agreement for the Whitestown Connector. Approved.
Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry approached the council to
inform the county of Lebanon budget discussions regarding charging the county
for the parking spaces its employees use. Since 2007, the city has allotted the
county 28 permits free of charge. The city is looking to upgrade its parking
enforcement efforts, and charging the county may be part of paying for those
upgrades. Mayor Gentry will be discussing options with the commissioners moving
forward.
Cindy Murphy, Health Department Director, distributed
information about the upcoming Boone County Substance Abuse Symposium on
Thursday, August 4th, at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds.
OLD BUSINESS:
County Attorney Bob Clutter presented an updated draft of
Resolution 2016-01, as discussed last month, regarding creating a reverting
building maintenance fund for the Key Bank Building, dealing with debt
repayment issues from the bond as well. The council unanimously approved the
resolution.
Chelsea Young of the Auditor’s Office updated the council
on the status of the 25% of the state road funding money discussed last month,
totaling just over $1.026M. The council voted unanimously to move the money
into the Rainy Day Fund, then into a specific line called State Distribution.
Surveyor Ken Hedge introduced Jim Swift and the Section
Cornerstone Perpetuation project. Mr. Swift presented this spring at the state
surveyor’s conference. Mr. Swift explained the project, its history and the
project’s progress in the past year. The project, which began in 2007, is over
halfway complete. Swift also noted that the county had recently passed an
ordinance assessing a fine for illegally moving a section corner monument.
Steve Jacob brought up some suggested changes to
scheduling for the council’s upcoming budget hearings. After much discussion, it was decided to move
the council’s August 9th meeting to an evening meeting, starting at
6:30. The planned September evening meeting will now begin at 8:30 a.m. on
September 13th. Budget hearings will begin after that meeting, at
approximately 10:30, and continue through the afternoon. Budget hearings will
continue 8:30-4:00 the succeeding three days, if needed.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:30.
Next regularly scheduled meeting will be an evening
meeting, Tuesday, August 9, at 8:30 a.m.
