NOTES – APRIL 2015 BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING

All council members present; Secretaries Carla Newcomer and Chelsea Young.

Meeting was called to order at 8:30 and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Council approved the meeting minutes from its February meeting without amendments. (As I was not in attendance, I did not vote on the motion.)

RE-APPROPRIATIONS: Approved.

Highway (Commissioner Jeff Wolfe):

Requested just over $5500 from Equipment Repair to Equipment to cover a cost overage for purchase of a new dump truck which was approved last fall. Apparently funds were not pledged for a second dump truck, which was also ordered last fall. Sufficient funds will be available to cover both trucks from the Motor Vehicle Highway fund, but only by nearly depleting it. The commissioners will ask for additional funds next month to refill that fund, and hopefully to have a summer road program ready for consideration.  Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

EMA (Rachel Hansen):

Requested transfer of two grant reimbursements totaling about $5800. Approved.

Probation (Kari Ragsdale):

Requested $1500 for extradition expenses. The fund is collected from user fees. Approved.

Community Corrections (Kari Ragsdale):
Requested $8000 for Mobile Breath, a program funded by project offender income. The program has seen a large increase in use recently. Approved.

Area Plan (Rachel Cardis):
Requested $10,000 for Litigation. The budgeted $5000 has been exhausted, primarily by a single case, which resulted in a $500,000 judgement in favor of the county but is now in the appeal process. Approved. 6-1

Superior II (Judge Bruce Petit):

Requested $4000 for Med/Psych. Original budget of $1500 has been exhausted. Approved.

Highway (Commissioner Jeff Wolfe):

Requested $49,000 to the Gas & Oil line to cover shortage on the 2014 county fuel contract. As gas prices dropped last year, other entities who were on the county’s fuel contract purchased their gas at the pump rather than through the contract, leaving the county with a bill for unused gas. The commissioners are in the process of seeking to collect from those entities. Approved. 6-1

Circuit Court (Judge Petit for Judge Edens):
Requested $4230 of grant money from the cash balance line to Interpreter. Approved.

Coroner (Sean Hough):

Requested $34,655 for a new truck for the coroner to use for calls and transport, as discussed at the council’s February meeting. The cost includes lights, a cover and slide-out bed. Approved.

Clerk (Jessica Fouts):

Requested $2225 to pay a contract to Courtview on behalf of a vendor who requested a report only Courtview could provide.  The county is essentially acting as a pass-through facilitator. The vendor’s check has already been received, and this will allocate those funds to pay Courtview. Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:

Attorney Bob Clutter approached the council in regards to an ordinance pledging County COIT funds to   back a second bond from the Redevelopment Commission (RDC) for expenses on the Jamestown FTC project. Several contracts have come in at higher cost than estimated, additional expenses for utilities and electric are being incurred, and a 10-acre parcel of land will be purchased as part of the project which had not originally been foreseen.  The new bond will be issued not to exceed $1.020M. State Bank of Lizton has agreed to purchase the bonds, which will be repaid through revenue from the project’s TIF revenue.  Jamestown has pledged their COIT revenues as a back-up to the TIF revenues, so Boone County will be their third option to cover the bonds should the other two fall short, which is highly unlikely. Both Clutter, Boone EDC Director Molly Whitehead and Brian Colton of Umbaugh, who is administering the bond, answered questions about the process and the level of debt service from the TIF revenue, the progress of the project and the economic impact the project is already having. The council approved the resolution 6-1. A second reading and vote will be conducted next month to move the resolution to final approval.

Mr. Clutter also presented a question about payments for a 911 bond refinancing from 2010. The county has been paying out of the bond itself, and now needs to decide which fund to pay from going forward. After discussion, it was decided (tentatively) that the items would budgeted through the Sheriff’s non-fee-based 911 budget.

Cindy Murphy of the Health Department presented the department’s 2014 Annual Report. Among other items discussed, Ms. Murphy shared that her department has seen a slight increase in HIV testing spurred by the recent outbreak in southern Indiana. Some Boone County staff will be traveling to Scott County to shadow their health department’s employees as they deal with the crisis.

Alan McCloskey of Consolidated Union, the county’s health insurance broker, presented an update on the county’s claims and coverage. Among the highlights was that 82% of employees are participating in the county’s wellness program.

OLD BUSINESS:

Sheriff Mike Nielsen presented a summary of activities, including 2014 Jail Commissary Fund Profit & Loss statements. The department will also be partnering with Witham Health Services for vaccinations for officers at no charge.

Marcia Wilhoite pointed out that the county’s cash balance in the County General fund (property tax) is running extremely low, as predicted, while waiting for the upcoming infusion of tax payments.

Tom Santelli reported that he continues to work with the IT department in updating the county website, including pictures of officeholders, and upgrading the county’s recording technology to ease access for the public.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith opined about TIF districts.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:30.

Next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, May 12, at 8:30 a.m.