July 8, 2008

County engineer continues search for grant funding of Southern Bypass right-of-way expenses

Wells County Engineer Larry Owen advised the commissioners that he is still searching for funding to help the county pursue the costs associated with achieving its right of way requirements for the proposed Southern Bypass project.

Commissioners Paul Bonham, Kevin Woodward and C. Scott Mossburg heard the update from Owen at their regular meeting Monday morning.

The costs are expected to be in the $300,000 range, and Owen is continuing to look for grants to meet these expenses.

On a brighter note however, Owen was able to advise that the county may qualify for grants for road work through Transportation Enhancement Funds, and he is applying for funds through this avenue. The fund seems especially “helpful” towards projects that help link various trails through the state, and he is working with people from the Wells County Historical Society to try and establish a case for some of the key roads around Bluffton.

Owen hopes to be able to attract the funding to support a project of up to $1.25 million.

It was one of the last items of the meeting, and received little fanfare, but the commissioners gave the thumbs up to an initiative designed to help Wells County residents in the fight against identity theft on Monday morning.

Approved was a request from Wells County Crimestoppers for the use of the Washington Commons parking lot from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, 2008 to provide an opportunity to local residents who have private papers they wish to dispose of shredded. The shredding of such documents prevents someone from stealing the papers from garbage bins, and using the information contained therein for their own benefit.

There will be a small fee of $5 per “bankers box” of documents, with funds raised being used to help Crimestoppers, which is a non-profit organization.

Sheriff Bob Frantz reported that several equipment items at the jail had been damaged by a lightning strike at the jail at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

It is expected that costs of repairs to the damage will be covered by the county’s insurance. The strike took down the automatic door and radio systems. Smoke appeared in the Dispatch Center and fire units were requested, although no sign of a fire was found.

Staff had to rely on manual locking of doors to maintain security at the jail until repairs were made the following day.

Unrelated to the lightning strike, Sheriff Frantz reported that three of the computers at the jail are in the process of dying. The commissioners approved up to $2,700 for replacement computers.

On the other side of the ledger, Sheriff Frantz was able to advise the commissioners that he had secured $19,000 of funding from the Department of Corrections.

He also advised that in attempt to reduce mileage for his cars (and thus, reduce gas costs) he is looking at using closed-circuit television links to the courts for those appearances that don’t require the actual presence of the inmate in the courtroom. He advised that the Department of Corrections can arrange such a link provided that it has been given at least 14 hours notice.

While this option will not totally replace the transporting of prisoners to and from the jail, there are many cases in which it will be usable, particularly in the Circuit Court.

Sheriff Frantz also noted that the new computer system that his department and Bluffton Police Department hope to get will enable deputies to complete incident reports from their car, instead of returning to the jail.

He noted that newer cars in the fleet are only achieving a saving of one or two miles per gallon over the older cars, so upgrading to newer vehicles could not be justified on gas prices.

Family Centered Services (FCS) Executive Director Ginny Fenstermaker presented FCS’s annual report to the commissioners.

Fenstermaker advised that the $10,000 allocated to her organization last year by the commissioners was used to assist the “Student Out of School” and “Host Homes” projects, which received $8,500 and $1,500 respectively.

The “Student Out of School” project provides an alternative to out-of-school suspension that allows the student to continue with his or her school work in a structured, supervised and educational environment.

The “Host Homes” project provides temporary shelter to children at risk from abuse, neglect, homelessness, juvenile delinquency, or those who just need a “cooling off period” away from their family due to conflict situations.

The commissioners agreed to provide for another $10,000 grant in their budget for 2009, which they will submit to the county council later this month.

County Highway Supervisor Ed Herman advised that his department has completed regular sealing in Jackson, Chester and Nottingham Townships. His men are working in Harrison Township and will then move on to Lancaster, Jefferson, Union, Rock Creek and Liberty.

Herman also advised that roadside spraying has been completed, and he has spot checked some of the areas sprayed.

Herman reported that his department’s four 10-hour-days-per-week schedule is going well. Rising fuel costs are not yet adversely affecting his budget, although he may require more money towards the end of the year.

Herman also estimated that the county received approximately 1,850 tons of millings from the streets of Bluffton. These are being stored for later use.

Wells County resident Jim Vancamp asked what had happened to the plans to install rumble strips on County Road 300W by Ind. 124. The commissioners noted that they had decided not to put them in as they were investigating the use of flashing lights, and Kevin Woodward agreed to follow this matter up.

In other business, the commissioners:

— Noted a payroll amount of $241,184.78 with 377 claims totaling $411,515.30 requiring payment.

— Were advised that there are currently 97 inmates in the Wells County jail. Of these, 32 are Department of Corrections inmates.

— Approved two utility permits for Verizon at 6135N 300W and 2405W 200N.

— Approved the use of the Courthouse Plaza for this Friday by the Boys and Girls Club, which will be serving lunch as part of its “Bully Free Gang” project launch, to counter bullying.

The commissioners will meet next at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 21, 2008 at the Wells Carnegie Annex.

frank@news-banner.com

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