On Monday there were two County meetings and two City meetings. Writing about all four produced a result that is too long for one post, so this one covers only the County meetings. I do not have a picture for these meetings, but I do have a picture for the City meetings. The reason for the picture will be revealed in the next post.
Commissioners' meeting
The Jasper County Commissioners had a long list of items on its agenda for its February meeting. After the usual preliminaries, it held a public hearing about adding stop signs on two intersections that are getting increased traffic due to construction of a solar farm near Kniman. No one spoke and the Commissioners approved the stop signs.
Andrew Boersma gave an update on the proposed forensics center. Hamstra has come up with a cheaper alternative plan than the first plan. There is also the possibility that an existing building might be modified for use as this center. There is a building committee for these plans and it will meet with Commissioners and Council members to discuss the various options.
The Sheriff's Department was allowed to seek a 911 GIS Grant. It would be 100% funded and its purpose is to standardize GIS data among counties. The Commissioners approved a request from the Health Department to hire a full-time food inspector. This request had been discussed at a previous meeting without an action. Also approved was a request by the prosecutor to replace a second deputy prosecutor who is leaving.
A Health Department postage machine maintenance agreement was approved. Annually the County contracts with Lake County to house juvenile offenders, and this year the contract approved was for two beds, each for 100 days. The cost will be up to $50,000.
The Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District gave a brief presentation about what it does. A primary goal of the District is to keep soil and nutrients out of waterways. Jasper County has 290,650 acres of agricultural land, 40,865 acres of forests and wetlands, 25,481 acres of developed land, and 2,026 acres of other. The bulk of the funding for SWCD comes from the Federal Government. There was mention of invasive species, with a note that poison hemlock was out of control.
At a previous meeting the House of Grace had requested a donation of $30,000 from the opioid settlement fund. At this meeting the request was approved. The Commissioners also approved an invoice from Kimley Horn for work on Courthouse sidewalks. Several trees in the Courthouse lawn are affecting concrete walls or sidewalks, and the Commissioners awarded a contract to remove and trim trees to Wiseman Tree Service for $3,000, the lowest of five bids. They also opened bids for concrete floors for a maintenance building at the Highway Department that is being upgraded. They received three bids and accepted the low bid from McElfresh for a total of $39,500.
The Commissioners approved a lawn-care contract for various County locations. They appointed Scott Walker to the BZA. He will fill the remaining term of Mark Jordan. The appointment they previously made to the PTABOA was not eligible to serve, so they appointed Scott Barton. He will resign from the Northwest Indiana WorkForce Development, so they will need to fill that vacancy. They quickly approved an employee bond and a conference request from the Clerk's office.
Valley Oaks requested a small increase in County funding for its Child Advocacy Center. The Center interviews children about sexual and physical abuse and witnessing crime. Most of their funding comes from the Department of Children and Families (DCF). They conducted 53 interviews in 2024, 40 of which were from Jasper County. The interviews resulted in 11 prosecutions. It was noted that human trafficking is happening in Jasper County.
Having reached the last of the items listed on the agenda, the meeting turned to "other business". The Commissioners approved an invoice of $250 for an exterminator. NIPSCO wants an easement to set poles on land that technically belongs to the Jasper County Building Corporation, an entity created to finance the jail. The Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with NIPSCO allowing NIPSCO to be exempt from the frost law on a road on their campus that NIPSCO will improve. Community Services replaced a water heater that failed, paying from its funds and requested and received a reimbursement from the County. REMC is beginning a new phase of installing fiber optic cables, some on existing poles but 26 miles to be buried. The County has a resolution that it does not charge for broadband installation but the Commissioners may want to change that. They approved REMC's use of the right-of-way contingent on the cost being updated.
The new head of the Jasper County EMS was introduced. The construction compliance manager for the solar farm starting construction has been responding to concerns. The Commissioners took under advisement a proposal for new glass doors at the prosecutor's office.
In public comments, a farmer complained that the travel route for the new solar farm was poorly planned. It is using a gravel road for access. He also noted that NIPSCO was starting work on a gas peaking plant. Another citizen had concerns of how JCEDO fit into the County government structure. The Commissioners decided to adjourn rather than continue the meeting. (In the afternoon I got notice that a special meeting will be held on the 18th at 8:30. Something came up.)
Drainage Board meeting
The Drainage Board meeting followed the Commissioners' meeting and fortunately it was not nearly as long. It began with a bid opening for reconstruction of the Kelly Benton Tile. There were two bids, with the low bid from a company that has not done work previously for the County. On the recommendation of the Surveyor, the Board accepted the higher bid of $145,000 and the Surveyor will recommend to the other company to do some small projects so the Surveyor can judge its work.
There was only one bid for engineering the reconstruction of Zimmer Ditch, for $129,200 from BF&S and it was accepted. The Board approved the construction of a pond.
The big item on the agenda was variances for four encroachments on drainage right-of-ways as part of the construction of a gas peaker plant at the Schahfer generating station. NIPSCO wants to construct crossings over and roads next to ditches for hauling materials, for access to a tap on the gas line, and for building the plant. The Commissioners suggested that NIPSCO also clean the ditch that will be adjacent to an access road. The Board approved the variances contingent on the project cleaning the ditch and signing a hold-harmless agreement.
The REMC broadband project discussed in the Commissioners' meeting also needed Drainage Board approval, which it received.
(Sorry for the length of this post, but these two meetings lasted almost all of Monday morning.)
