- I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Minerva County Board of Commissioners.
- It is Thursday, June 5th, and I will note for the record that Commissioner Jones and
- myself are here and present in the NatU Hill Room.
- Commissioner Madeira should be joining us online, but I do not see her yet.
- I'm here.
- Great.
- There you are.
- Thank you.
- Appreciate it.
- All right.
- All right, and we'll begin with our public statement
- read by Commissioner Jones.
- We, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners,
- renew our commitment to welcome
- and protect the rights of all people,
- regardless of age, race, color, creed,
- disability, sexual orientation, gender,
- gender identity, marital status,
- economic status, and national origin.
- And we affirm the right of every person
- to live peacefully and without fear,
- and we will fight and resist at every step
- discrimination and harmful policies,
- whatever their source.
- We believe in diversity, equity,
- and inclusion and belonging.
- We also stand in support of our county public school systems,
- both our BB and MCSC.
- All right, thank you so much.
- We're supposed to have a proclamation on
- National Gun Violence Awareness Day,
- and I do not have it handy.
- So, but I will note for the record
- that Moms Demand Action is organizing
- their Wear Orange, Prevent Gun Violence Rally.
- So Wear Orange tomorrow, June 6.
- It is an annual event that occurs at the courthouse
- and there's a resource fair at 6 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.
- and there's a program that starts at 7 p.m.
- So Wear Orange, it's a sign that hunters use for safety.
- And Moms Demand Action is hosting that event.
- So we invite everyone to the courthouse for that tomorrow
- and our courthouse will be lit in orange
- this weekend as well.
- All right, with that, we will move on to department updates.
- Good morning, commissioners.
- As of June 3rd, emergency department visits for COVID-like
- illness have continued to decrease
- as well as wastewater concentrations.
- As of May 27th, the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer
- be included in the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule
- for healthy children and pregnant women.
- People who will be recommended to receive the vaccine
- are those over 65 and those with existing health problems.
- It's not clear at this time what insurance companies
- will do about the new recommendations and coverage.
- The health department does still have
- free COVID vaccines available.
- You can call 812-353-3244 for more information
- or to schedule an appointment.
- All right, thank you so much.
- What is the last day of that availability?
- For the COVID vaccines?
- Yes.
- So we do have them available at the public health clinic.
- I know that some of our childhood ones have expired,
- but we have various other age groups,
- so you can call for that.
- Okay, I think what I'm asking is when is that new--
- Oh, recommendation.
- It actually started May 27th.
- Okay, so it's already in place.
- Okay. - Yes.
- And there is a new RNA shot next spike
- that was approved by the FDA,
- but we don't know what availability will be or any of that.
- Okay, comments or questions?
- Commissioner Jones?
- No, I don't.
- Commissioner Madeira?
- This actually breaks my heart
- because what we're seeing
- is sort of the systematic taking a part
- of the vaccination system.
- And I think this comes at a time
- when we have new variants coming down the pipeline.
- I urge anyone who needs a COVID vaccine
- to get it as soon as possible
- because there is a new variant
- that has actually been found.
- It has, there has been news about this
- in the last two weeks.
- And I just had a question for Lori.
- Do you know whether there are certain criteria
- where healthy adults who may have health problems
- that are not, you know, normally considered life limiting?
- Like, for example, they may have asthma.
- And do you know like where people can obtain guidance
- on what kinds of conditions can qualify them
- for continued COVID vaccinations, I guess?
- I imagine that many of us have conditions
- where we may take medication for them.
- They may not prompt us to go to our daughter,
- to our doctors in a bi-weekly or monthly schedule.
- Where can we get this information?
- So other than talking to someone's provider, of course,
- you can check the CDC website
- to see updated information is listed on there.
- That's kind of the best guidance at this time.
- Excellent, thank you so very much.
- All right, thank you.
- TSD, I'm wondering if you could move
- the transcription box up the page a little bit
- because it's hidden for us here at the podium.
- Thank you so much.
- All right, any other departments have an update to offer?
- Ah, that'll work.
- Thank you so much, TSD.
- Okay, all right.
- Seeing none, we'll move on to our next item.
- The next item is public comment.
- This is open public comment time
- for items that are not on our agenda.
- Each speaker is limited to three minutes, please.
- We ask that you provide your name
- and your county of residence.
- You may come to the podium in the NatU Hill Room
- or raise your hand on Teams.
- It looks like we have two hands raised on Teams,
- but I cannot see the names here.
- So I'm gonna have to look.
- Good morning, commissioners.
- I'll just begin a public comment to get the ball rolling.
- I wanna continue the celebrating
- of Tuesday's convention center expansion groundbreaking,
- a truly historic day for our community.
- This milestone has been a long time coming
- and we're now on the path to that 12 month economy.
- I commend this body for their leadership.
- As commissioner Thomas said,
- the key was having the intuition to establish the CID
- and then get out of their way.
- Today, we're seeing the fruits of that vision.
- The other thing I want to bring up
- is what I witnessed at a recent
- planned commission administrative session.
- They had some robust, respectful discourse
- that democracy requires.
- It's not always comfortable, but it is necessary.
- So disagreements isn't dysfunction, it's engagement.
- I want to stress that.
- And that engagement means that people
- hear deeply about Monroe County,
- which is what we want to see on our boards and commissions.
- So I encourage the planned commission
- to continue leaning into that discomfort.
- Respect differences, ask hard questions,
- because even when we don't all agree,
- we're all working toward that same goal of more vibrant,
- a better, more balanced Monroe County for all.
- And I thank you for your time today.
- Thank you, Mr. MG.
- We also have Melanie from YSB with her hand raised.
- Good morning.
- Or muted.
- Now, the hand's down.
- OK, all right.
- All right, thank you, everyone.
- We'll move on to the next item, please.
- Move approval of the minutes for May 29th, 2025.
- I will second that.
- Any comments, corrections, or edits?
- No?
- OK.
- OK, thank you.
- We'll move on to the next item, please.
- Any comments, corrections, or edits?
- Ms. Turner-King, would you please
- call the roll on the approval of the minutes for May 29th, 2025?
- Commissioner Jones?
- Yes.
- Commissioner Madera?
- Yes.
- Commissioner Thomas?
- Yes.
- Motion passes 3-0.
- Thank you so much.
- All right, next item, please.
- Move approval of the claims docket, accounts payable,
- June 5th, 2025.
- I will second that.
- Ms. Gallardo from the auditor's office, good morning.
- Good morning.
- The accounts payable claims docket for June 5th, 2025
- totals $1,801,091.21.
- And this includes all emergency claims and adjustments.
- Thank you so much.
- Comments or questions?
- Commissioner Jones?
- No, I don't.
- Commissioner Madeira, comments or questions?
- No, none.
- I don't either.
- Is there any public comment on this item?
- You may raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, Ms. Turner-King, would you
- please call the roll on approval of claims docket,
- accounts payable, June 5th, 2025?
- Commissioner Jones?
- Yes.
- Commissioner Madeira?
- Yes.
- Commissioner Thomas?
- Yes.
- Motion passes 3-0.
- Thank you so much.
- I will note for the record that we have received two reports,
- Clerk of the Courts report for April 2025,
- and the Weights and Measures report
- April 16th to May 15th, 2025.
- And with that, we will move on to new business, please.
- Move approval of Reed and Sons construction contract number
- one, change order number five for Karst Athletic Complex
- Improvement Project.
- I will second that.
- We have Ms. Whitmer, Director of Parks, joining us.
- Good morning.
- This is very simple.
- This is not to increase the contract by a dime or penny.
- It's for $20,118.15 to be spent out of our contingency funds
- that is within the contract.
- It's for the equipment garage electric stone gate
- in a storm fitting.
- Thank you so much.
- Comments or questions?
- Commissioner Jones?
- I see no problems with this.
- Right.
- This is why there's a contingency line.
- Yes.
- Commissioner Maduro, comments or questions?
- None.
- Thank you.
- The community is starting to talk more and more about this.
- So this is in a good way.
- It's highly anticipated.
- We're very excited.
- So I know a lot of this rain doesn't help much.
- And we've had a lot this spring.
- But really appreciate all the hard work that's gotten us here.
- Well, and I just want to tell the public,
- we apologize for all the construction traffic.
- And it is what it is.
- Short-term pain, long-term gain.
- There you go.
- All right.
- Let's see if there's any public comment on this item.
- You can raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
- Let's see.
- None.
- Ms. Turner-King, would you please call the roll
- on the Reid & Sons construction contract number one,
- change order number five for Carson Athletic Complex
- Improvement Project?
- Commissioner Jones.
- Yes.
- Commissioner Madera.
- Yes.
- Commissioner Thomas.
- Yes.
- Motion passes 3-0.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- We will now have the-- there isn't really a motion,
- but we're going to hear the 2024 Community Corrections Grant
- Annual Report.
- Ms. Street, good morning.
- If I may share my screen one moment.
- Good morning.
- I'm Becca Streit.
- I'm the Community Corrections Executive Director and Deputy
- Chief Probation Officer.
- Every year, as part of our Community Corrections Grants,
- provide a annual report to the commissioners.
- I'm a little late this year, but better late than never.
- Just as a reminder that our Community Corrections
- and our Probation Department are a unified department.
- So all of our Community Corrections Officers
- are also probation officers.
- But these specific grants that we get for Community Corrections
- are from the Department of Correction.
- We've been partnering with them for, I believe, 43 years
- to receive money.
- This money funds staff for our Community Corrections
- program, like home detention, all of our problem-solving
- courts, and then also our pretrial program.
- So I wanted to just give a little bit of an overview
- of what 2024 was like.
- Just to let everybody know that the probation
- department and Community Corrections
- does have a mission.
- And it's all about helping individuals with rehabilitation
- and then also community safety.
- Like I said earlier, Community Corrections here in Monroe
- County began in 1983.
- That's when we began receiving Department of Correction
- funding.
- Again, we operate home detention and electronic monitoring,
- day reporting, pretrial services,
- problem-solving courts, including drug treatment
- court, mental health court, veterans, and reentry court.
- This is an overview of the funding
- that we received in 2024.
- Each grant entity receives its own funding
- from the Department of Correction.
- And then you can see the total there.
- So we receive a little over $1.5 million
- in grant funding for these specific programs.
- You'll also notice that the only problem-solving courts listed
- in this chart are drug treatment and mental health court.
- Those are the only problem-solving courts
- that the Department of Correction specifically
- funds.
- So that's why those are highlighted.
- Unfortunately, there is some bad news
- about the Department of Correction grants.
- They have been flatlined for the past five years.
- So we and, additionally, any counties across the state
- have not really received much increase in funding, if any.
- This means that our local money, including
- the fees that the clients pay, is
- having to make up the difference to make up
- for cost of living and fringe benefit increases for staff.
- User fees are significantly down.
- It's something that we do keep an eye on all the time.
- But I also want to dispel any myths out there.
- Monroe County Circuit Courts and the judges
- do not put people back in jail solely because they
- can't pay their user fees.
- Probation officers and community corrections officers
- don't solely file violations just because of fees.
- So while we recognize that we have
- the unfortunate position of being fee collectors sometimes,
- that is not the main goal or objective of our officers
- on probation.
- And then the Department of Correction grants,
- like I said earlier, they only fund staff salaries
- and benefits, which I will highlight here
- why we do that in a minute.
- So just some quick facts about 2024.
- We had 111 case referrals to our community alternative
- supervision program, or CASP.
- That's just the long phrase for both pre-trial and post-sentence
- electronic monitoring.
- So electronic monitoring can be used
- for people who have been ordered to serve
- a sentence in incarceration, but the court has decided
- that they can remain in their home.
- They do get jail credit for serving home detention.
- We also use it for pre-trial.
- However, our pre-trial clients, it's
- always less than 1% of our total pre-trial population
- that is ever on electronic monitoring or home
- detention pre-trial.
- So it's very low.
- There were over 1,700 pre-trial assessments completed in 2024.
- That means that our pre-trial officers were in the jail
- or in the office meeting with clients every day who
- were arrested the previous business day.
- Those assessments are used.
- They're provided to the court to give us
- additional information to the court about a person's risk
- to maybe not show up to court or to re-offend
- during their pre-trial period.
- And then the courts are using that information
- to determine if, while the person is out of jail pre-trial,
- are there any conditions that are necessary.
- The courts also use this to determine
- if people can be released.
- The purpose of pre-trial is to maximize release from jail.
- So that is what they're using those reports for.
- Drug Treatment Court had its 542nd graduate
- in December of 2024.
- And Mental Health Court had its 27th graduate
- by the end of 2024.
- Just a few visuals of some of our success rates.
- This is for home detention and electronic monitoring success
- rate.
- You'll see that 93% in 2024 completed successfully.
- We also keep track of pre-trial safety rates and success rates.
- Pre-trial safety rate means that people
- who completed their pre-trial period, so they were arrested,
- released from jail while their case was pending,
- and they did not commit a new offense during that pre-trial
- period.
- That's the safety rate.
- And so you'll see that it's fairly
- consistent throughout the past five years,
- hovering around 93% to 94%.
- We also keep track of pre-trial success rates.
- And this is people who completed their pre-trial period,
- never picked up a new offense, never
- committed a technical violation or a violation that's
- not a new offense, and then also appeared to all their court
- hearings.
- And again, that's remained very consistent as well,
- in 2024, almost 69%.
- And then just to highlight the successes of the problem
- solving court.
- So drug court, 75% success rate.
- I know Veterans Court isn't part of our Department of Correction
- Grant, but they're at 100% success rate in 2024.
- So I wanted to make sure to highlight that.
- Reentry court, people who have been incarcerated
- and are coming back to the community, a 64%.
- And then mental health, the percentage of success
- is about 36%, but that's to be expected with that caseload.
- There are a lot of things going on with those clients
- that we're addressing.
- So I said that I wanted to get back to why the Department
- of Correction and why we use the grant funds to invest in staff.
- And as I've presented to this executive body before,
- and we've done other presentations
- around the community, our department
- is at the forefront of using evidence-based practices
- in our community supervision.
- Research shows that if our probation officers and really
- all of our staff are trained and we pay attention
- to the fidelity of evidence-based practices,
- that's going to equal better client outcomes.
- So that's better for the individuals
- and also better for the community for community safety.
- When I say evidence-based practices,
- that's referring to using the current research that's
- out there to guide what we're doing with our clients.
- It started in the medical field.
- Doctors, of course, should be doing what the research says
- on how to treat us.
- And criminal justice said, oh, yeah, we
- should be doing the same thing when
- we're working with our clients.
- And of course, the ultimate goal is
- to not have individuals come back through the system.
- I won't spend too much time on this.
- I could go into this for a whole day.
- But this is the basis of what our officers are doing
- or keeping in mind when they're working with our clients.
- This is called the risk needs responsivity principle.
- So it's about who we're targeting with services,
- what we're doing with them when we're meeting with them,
- or where we're referring our clients,
- and then how we're getting that done.
- So all of our clients receive a risk assessment
- when they start probation so we can determine
- what their risk level is and what their needs are.
- We also do a full background on our clients
- or to analyze what's bringing them to the system
- in the first place.
- And then we're also responding to any responsivity needs.
- That could be anything from gender responsivity,
- is there other issues with education levels like reading,
- so making sure that we factor all that in.
- Evidence-based research also shows that
- there are certain factors that are correlated
- with people's risk of offending.
- The top four or the big four
- are the antisocial attitudes and beliefs,
- antisocial peers, antisocial personality, and family.
- So our officers, when we're analyzing
- what's bringing a client here,
- if one of those top four are identified,
- we make sure that their case plan
- is going to address any of those concerns.
- You'll also see that there's the lesser four risks,
- substance use, employment, education, school,
- and then what they're doing in their free time.
- I know everybody's really surprised
- that substance use is considered one of the lesser four.
- We absolutely address it,
- but we know through research
- that usually the substance use is being driven
- by one of those top four concerns
- rather than just a simple use.
- And then I also could go on forever with this,
- but I wanted to make sure that I shared with you
- the eight principles of effective intervention.
- This is what our department adheres to
- in every interaction, every policy that we put together,
- every change in what we're doing,
- this is what we refer back to.
- So this is from the National Institute of Correction,
- and these are the things that we're supposed to be doing
- in our work with community supervision clients.
- So we're supposed to be doing a risk assessment.
- We're supposed to be figuring out
- where the client's motivation is.
- Are they even aware that some of these things are an issue,
- and if they're not aware, how do we raise that awareness?
- We're making sure that we're targeting specific needs.
- We're doing skill training with them.
- If you walk down our hallways at probation,
- you'll hear a ton of role play
- between a probation officer and a client
- just practicing things like how to tell my peer no,
- that I don't want to engage in this behavior.
- We increase positive reinforcement through incentives.
- We make referrals to the community services,
- and then, of course, we're using data all the time.
- I know on this screen, but I'm often asked,
- I do a lot of the hiring screening,
- and I'm often asked,
- what does a day in the life of a probation officer look like?
- And it's impossible to throw that on a screen,
- but I wanted to specifically narrow in
- on the evidence-based practice piece,
- because this is why we're investing our grant money
- into our staff.
- Our staff, it's more than just
- what we call checklist probation.
- Our probation officers are not sitting there saying,
- did you pay your fees?
- Did you go to treatment?
- Oh, you had a positive drug test, shame on you.
- That is not what's happening.
- We are completing risk assessments.
- We are working with the clients when they first start
- to figure out what brought them here,
- what are the patterns that are leading
- to their criminal behavior.
- We're addressing their behavior drivers
- to create case plans.
- Every client's case plan is individualized
- to address their specific goals and objectives.
- All of our officers are trained
- in cognitive behavioral interventions.
- So we are working with the clients
- to help restructure their thinking.
- Their thinking got them here.
- Their feelings got them here.
- It led to a behavior.
- How can we help them change that for the future?
- We're applying incentives.
- We're applying sanctions.
- We're helping clients navigate all the community services.
- All of our staff receive fidelity coaching.
- So we have evidence-based practices,
- probation officer coaches who don't have a caseload.
- Their caseload are the probation officers.
- They're sitting in on appointments.
- They're doing pre-coaching, post-coaching, watching videos.
- We have trainings monthly, learning teams monthly
- where we all come together to practice all of this material.
- These are just a few things that our officers do
- in their appointments.
- We do things like thinking, feeling,
- action behavior chains with the clients.
- We receive training in trauma-informed care,
- and we apply that during our appointments.
- We do interactive journaling.
- We're reinforcing positive behavior.
- We're disapproving of negative behavior.
- We're doing alcohol and drug assessments, case plans,
- and just even teaching problem-solving skills.
- So I say all that just because I did want the community
- just to know what's going on at the probation department
- when a client is in a probation meeting.
- That is what's happening.
- What we're doing next with Community Corrections
- and the whole department, we're of course
- gonna be closely monitoring funding.
- We did, I failed to mention earlier,
- we did learn that the state budget
- for the upcoming two years did cut Community Corrections
- across the state by almost 10%.
- So we are still waiting word
- from the Department of Correction
- regarding our 2026 grant applications
- to see how that funding cut will affect us.
- We will continue to invest in our staff,
- in their training, coaching, and fidelity efforts
- of evidence-based practices.
- We're of course always collecting data.
- We just put out our 2024 annual report,
- which is available online.
- And then we're of course always evaluating outcomes.
- So I know that was quick,
- but I do appreciate you letting me take the time
- just to kind of open the door behind
- what's going on at probation,
- especially when it comes to that relationship
- between staff and clients.
- So thank you.
- Thank you, Ms. Streit.
- I will say, and I always get your name wrong,
- and I do apologize for that, it's terrible.
- I feel so badly about Ms. Streit.
- Please don't.
- Thank you.
- (laughs)
- I just, you know, for some members of the community
- who see this either live or later recorded,
- this is their first opportunity
- and understand what happens in probation.
- So I think the way you presented this material
- was really, really good.
- And I think in a way you are minimizing the successes
- in your presentation because, you know,
- for example, on the slide about safety,
- basically success in the program, non-rearrest,
- you know, you set your graph up like 92 to 96,
- and so it looks like these big drops
- put it out there, here's zero to a hundred.
- Where are we at?
- It's way up there, right?
- I mean, really this is, it's to be celebrated.
- And I know it takes a lot.
- It takes a lot of engagement and learning
- and working with the community and community resources
- to make all of this happen.
- But let's see what happens with federal and state funding.
- Sorry, Commissioner Jones,
- do you have any comments or questions?
- I actually have a question
- that I think I probably know the answer to.
- Do we offer the pretrial services over the weekend?
- As far as assessments, we do not.
- At this point, clients can,
- or defendants who are booked into jail
- can either still post a monetary bond to get out
- or they have to see a judge at an initial hearing
- if they're still in jail.
- So right now, there's not a policy in place
- where even if we were in the jail on the weekends,
- that we would be able to release someone.
- It's a wishlist item.
- Yes, yes, very much so.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Commissioner Madure, comments or questions?
- None, thank you.
- And I really do appreciate this information
- because I think that a lot of people
- don't know exactly how evidence-based and data-driven
- all of this is.
- Also, Monroe County is really lucky
- to have the wealth of problem-solving courts that it does
- and the wealth of devoted staff members that it does.
- So thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Pre-trial diversion numbers,
- how are they over the course of the actual numbers?
- Is it increasing?
- As far as the number of clients that were?
- The clients, yes.
- It's been about between about 1,500 to 2,000.
- So that's the number of people
- that we're actually seeing in the jail every year.
- Not all of those clients end up on conditions.
- That's a much, much lower number.
- That's usually hovers around 150 at any given time.
- But everybody that we assess
- is receiving court reminder calls to come to court.
- That's helpful.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Okay, great.
- And I know that capacity is only so much as well.
- I mean, there's only so many people who can do this work
- and there's only so many people in the jail
- for the first time, you know.
- Yes.
- Gotcha.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Appreciate you.
- Please give our thanks to all the staff.
- Absolutely, thank you.
- We will move on to the next item, please.
- Move approval of Bloomington Junk Service Agreement
- regarding 8281 North Central Street,
- fund name County General fund number 1000 in the amount not to exceed $6,000. I will second that
- and with a motion and a second I don't know I assume it's our director planning Ms. Nester
- Jelen who's going to be providing this information. Yes. Great. Good morning. Thank you. Good
- morning.
- Thank you, Commissioner. So the Planning Department did receive an appropriation
- from the County Council. This property is part of a litigation case that we have.
- We have an interlocal between the town of Steinsville and Monroe County and so during
- that time period we had filed this litigation and part of the court order is to go ahead
- and give the county the ability to clean the property. So we did receive three estimates for
- the work and we went with the lowest of the three estimates that we received. The third estimate
- came in after the packet had already gone out but it was a little bit higher than this one here so
- we do have an estimate below for the property. I do want to note that we did go out to the
- property this morning. This property is located in the floodway and I have just a quick video
- from this morning just to give you an idea of right behind the property how quick moving and
- how much water is actually flowing directly adjacent to this property. The person that we've
- been working with they have been able to clean some parts of the property with two dumpsters that
- we've placed. One dumpster was completely full and then we placed a second dumpster but there
- is still quite a bit of items on the property that we need to have cleaned up. So with this
- estimate
- we will be able to clean the property just the items on the ground are the number one priority.
- There is a camper in the back of the property that is something that we are going to address
- possibly later. We do not have a title for that so to remove that is going to be a challenge that
- we are not dealing with at this juncture. So as you'll see in the estimate there is a number for
- the removal of the RV but we'd like to prioritize the property cleanup first. So with that I'm
- happy
- to take any questions. Great thank you so much Mr. Jelen. Commissioner Jones comments or questions?
- Yeah I think this is a very needed project. Thank you for taking it on. Commissioner Madeira?
- I echo Commissioner Jones. I don't have any other remarks just thank you.
- Yeah I appreciate the difficult circumstances surrounding this but this is something that
- planning doesn't typically have to get involved in but we have a floodway and the community's
- safety is paramount so I appreciate the way that this was managed and handled and that you've
- gotten
- what appears to be a good estimate. All right let's see if there's any public comment on this item.
- You can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none Ms. Turner-King would you please call the roll on the Bloomington Junk Service
- Agreement
- regarding 8281 North Sycamore Street. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes.
- Commissioner
- Thomas? Yes. Motion passes three zero. Thank you so much. So we have our next item please.
- Move approval of ordinance 2025-18 to amend text edits to the county development ordinance.
- Second. That was not on mic second. Ms. Nesterjohn would you tell us all about it?
- Sure this will be one of two text amendments on the agenda today so I'll try to keep these
- succinct. The first one is separated from the second one mainly because this is just
- contained to formatting errors, Scrivener errors, things like that. With this being such a large
- document after it passed and we've used it for about six months we've notified we've identified
- as staffed with some areas that could use improvement such as code reference updates
- or usability updates so I have those for you today. I do want to mention that this did receive
- approval or a recommendation of a favorable recommendation by the plan commission by a vote
- of seven to one and then also on the cover page that starts on page 46 of the packet I have an
- exhibit one of the page references if anyone's following along you just need to add 47 to that
- since this is within a packet so I will go ahead and start with the first revision so the first
- revision is that we are adding in a table in the beginning of the ordinance this is very exciting
- to people that like myself who like to track over time how the ordinance changes and when things
- were
- added in when things were taken out that really helps us as we have to start versioning this
- document as people will use prior versions of this and newer versions of this and questions like
- this
- often come up so we will have this for the future the next change is this is going to be a a nicer
- clean version once the clean copy is out but for track changes purposes we're going to have some
- more clickable links as people get to the beginning of the ordinance just for usability
- these links will take them directly to the two-pager that i'll show in just a minute
- and then as far as the two-pager we did have some edits as it relates to the use table so the use
- table is really the driving document that says where all the different uses are permitted within
- each zone but we created these two pagers because it's a really nice shortened condensed version
- that the public can take and read and easily digest okay i'm in this zone here are my uses
- and here are my development standards or design standards and just two quick pages it gives them
- a lot of really good information we alphabetized this and then also identified some uses that we
- had missed in the two pager but that were in the use table so that is just a summary of the two pager
- edits additionally we realized that in the last code we had the use kennel and we had standards
- for the kennel below but we forgot to actually add just a regular kennel use we do currently
- have in the cdo commercial breeding operations but a lot of people do not do breeding of
- dogs and cats so this kennel use is going to be helpful to have that back into the ordinance
- and this these use permissions are actually the same as the prior code so this is what we wanted
- to have in there we just missed it the next change is we did some alphabetizing this is again for
- usability so green means that the text was moved it does not mean that we added text so
- if people are following along all of the green text that struck out means it moved just to be
- alphabetized okay and then as we're using the document we do have four places to see definitions
- the first is adult oriented business so we added to know where you're at in the definitions section
- we added the green text to identify the chapter you're in we did the same for airport and then we
- did the same as well for floodplain and this is just so that if anyone is going through the text
- and they are looking at a definition in a certain chapter sometimes definitions are very specific
- to that chapter so if you're not in the airport noise and sensitive overlay you would not use
- those definitions you would use the definitions in chapter 850 so this helps people identify
- where they are at in the code this section in chapter 813 does it is red text i want to spend
- a bit of time on this so we previously had language for having people that want to combine their
- lots
- for planning and zoning purposes the reason being sometimes people have two lots that they would
- like
- to build over the lot line of the two this gives them a very easy and quick process without a
- planning procedure to combine those lots and that language has been used pretty widely
- by title companies and attorneys and private landowners so we would like to have that added
- back in we give people back that language and added option we also added number six here for
- setback relief for people that were in plotted subdivisions so people that plotted their lots
- prior to the cdo and then had their zoning change we wanted to make sure that since the plat had
- already received approval likely through a plan commission or plat committee which is a subcommittee
- of the plan commission that we could still recognize those plotted setbacks because some
- developments are already halfway built out and to change the setback halfway through the
- development
- we'll change the look and the buildable area really of the rest of the land that they weren't
- maybe anticipating so this allows people to follow the plotted setbacks as opposed to the zoning
- setback
- okay and then throughout the code you'll see that there are code reference corrections these are
- just
- Scrivener errors that we want to point out we also accidentally omitted three native trees so we're
- adding those back into the ordinance formatting we just had some corrections here to point people
- to
- the right location these are changing to a b and c for clarity and chapter for the environmental
- constraints overlay we had the old text of 125 feet this is listed correctly in the two pager as
- 200 feet but it was missed in this chapter so we are creating clarity and correcting the Scrivener's
- error the reason this went from 125 to 200 feet is actually because the state of Indiana requires
- this setback for any septic system so we're matching what the state says for separation distances
- from lakes for septic systems and we believe that was a good change
- and then this is again some code reference changes and these will all be clickable and linked
- by the time we upload a clean copy and then this section here we did point people from the
- subdivision requirement to this section of the landscaping ordinance for street trees
- our assistant director worked closely with Purdue Extension to come up with a standard that makes
- sense for the rural areas in the case that they're not in an area that otherwise requires street
- trees for subdivision and that allows people to preserve a certain area of tree canopy in return
- instead of planting new trees so we're having a standardized area for people to be able to preserve
- trees that they are able to meet the standard in the rural areas one when subdividing
- the next change is in regard to the table that requires a certain level of plot plan
- certified plot plan or site plan the biggest change here is that for residential storage
- structure which is a accessory structure before you put any other development on the property
- it was requiring a certified plot plan where we are now moving that back to just requiring
- a scaled plot plan which is the way it was in the prior ordinance we're finding that a lot of
- people
- at the time of residential storage structure may not have a intent or plan to immediately
- develop the property with a single-family home and so asking for a certified plan at this juncture
- has been difficult for some people and not necessarily required
- the next change that we have is in regard to removing the hearing officer from the code
- this was something that was identified under the CDO amendments we either needed to better identify
- when cases go to a hearing officer or remove it from the ordinance we had the hearing officer
- in the prior ordinance and it was carried into this ordinance but we still didn't have good
- guidance on when that hearing officer could hear certain cases instead of say the board of zoning
- appeals with it being in there and us not using it and it not having great guidance we decided
- that with the planned commission's guidance we would go ahead and remove this and if and when
- we would like to add that back in we would do so in a holistic way and try and come up with a
- process at that time so we removed that throughout the ordinance in a few places
- and then last but not least we just did some definitional changes these are just for clarity
- really not substantial definition changes they were mainly to residential storage structure
- and also the definition for planning director just because it was referred elsewhere in other ways
- and we just wanted absolute clarity so with that I think this is my last change I can take any
- questions
- right thank you so much as with any massive book of code there are always things you find
- after the fact or that come to light as things are implemented that need to be addressed so I
- appreciate
- the attention to detail here Commissioner Jones comments or questions just that this looks like
- it was a pretty thorough going over and I hope that it'll last for a while
- Commissioner Maduro comments or questions again I really appreciate all this thorough work that
- Darren Scrivener he makes so much work for us yeah yeah Scrivener is sloppy um yeah so uh let's see
- if there's any uh public comment as with a planning ordinance we will proceed as we usually do um
- anybody wish to speak in favor of this petition you may come to the podium in and at you hill room
- or
- raise your hand if anybody wish to speak in opposition to this petition please come to the
- podium or raise your hand on teams the other general comment questions any comment from the board
- yeah okay I don't see any other public comments so uh Ms. Turner King would you please call the
- roll on ordinance 2025-18 Commissioner Jones yes Commissioner Madera yes Commissioner Thomas
- yes motion passes 3-0 thank you so much um next item please move approval of ordinance 2025-19
- to amend text edits to the county development ordinance regarding impervious coverage exceptions
- and calculations second with that motion and second uh Director Nester Jelen if you would
- please walk us through this one there so this is a text amendment specific to the impervious cover
- calculations so unlike the first text amendment that we just saw this is going to be edits that
- are content-based or things that have been for discussion by the planned commission and planning
- staff and now the commissioners so this is uh this was recommended a favorable approval by the plan
- commission on May 20th they forward it to you with a recommendation of 6-0 so just a little bit of
- background prior to the CDO we had some open space requirements and also we had something that was
- called building coverage maximum so we consolidated that under the CDO and streamlined it across
- all
- zones to just be an impervious cover maximum instead of just regulating rooftops or regulating
- open space we just regulated the impervious surface I have in here some changes to that
- definition but basically it's anything that slows the passage of water through it or blocks the
- passage of water through it so we're trying to with this text under the CDO encourage more compact
- development what we found through the adoption of the CDO is that there are already a lot of
- non-conformities existing and so if anyone wanted to build a shed or a pool or a garage or anything
- additional on their already developed property they are running into needing a variance so we've
- updated the numbers and also added some exceptions we also went through the ordinance review
- committee
- and plan commission process and we were asked to provide some visuals and some data regarding some
- of the properties that were not meeting their impervious cover and then also ones that even
- if this passes what still would not meet the impervious cover maximums so what we've put
- together is a table of different properties the ones that are in green would be conforming they
- would meet the requirements under the new text amendment that is before you today the ones that
- are in yellow would potentially not be able to be developed from scratch if they were to be under
- the new ordinance now i put them in yellow because under the exceptions that you'll see we are
- going
- to basically allow we're going to grandfather if you will prior driveways that were built before
- march 11 2024 which is our last date of last flyover imagery or we're also going to allow
- for driveways that were that had already received approval before december 19th which is the day
- after the cdo passed so we are going to see this being utilized mainly for new development so i
- will
- go through a few pictures here of some examples so the yellow property for instance if developed
- newly we would encourage them to possibly build up closer to the road and possibly have
- a shorter driveway possibly front-loaded garage or a different design of the garage in relation to
- the
- house to reduce this amount of impervious but since it was existing before march 11 2024 and
- december 19 2024 we would not count the driveway as part of their impervious we would only count
- the actual structures on the screen so they would be able to add additional impervious to this lot
- because we would not be counting this in this example in this example as well i have some
- calculations over to the right and also to keep in mind we lower the threshold when they're in a
- critical watershed so that's also hindering a few of these properties because of the critical
- watershed nature and then we do have an exception for driveways that will go to other properties
- such as like easements along their property to gain access to another property but we did not
- build in an exception for what we would call a flag lot where the driveway is extending through
- their personal property and stops at their property so this is something that if built new we would
- still likely need to go through the variance process and if this still becomes an issue we
- will keep the plan commission updated and see about further text changes and this is another
- example here this is near Lake Monroe and it has quite a bit of driveway area and then what they
- would like to add to the property was fairly significant so it was something that would not
- if built completely new today would not meet the standard and then I have an example of a property
- camp rock out by Lake Lemon because of the number of driveways in the residential zone
- unfortunately
- did not meet the impervious requirement so this is something that we did not necessarily
- account for but if their driveways are already in they're going to be allowed to continue and
- add more structures but they also received a variance prior and then this is another example
- in yellow here with existing and then they also were received a variance to build a
- another garage at this location and extend the driveway so just to give you an idea
- and then just a few I'll roll through these pretty quickly some photos of properties that would be
- able to be built and meet the maximum pervious so some areas and then I also added additional
- area that could also be added and this is with the text change that these would be allowed to
- be conforming so with that I'm going to go through the text amendment changes
- so the first zone that we did some changes to was the agricultural residential zone district
- which is the two and a half acre minimum requirement and what we did to try to solve
- some of the issues that we are seeing is break this out a little bit further by acreage so zero
- to 2.5 acres they have both a increased percentage it's going from 20 percent to 25 percent and it's
- going from 20,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet of impervious and then that number is slightly
- lower in the critical watershed once you are at beyond 2.5 acres we broke it up into 2.51 to 5
- acres and then 5.01 to 20 acres and then 20.01 acres or greater so just as a context for people
- 43,560 square feet is an acre so this is quite a bit of impervious cover for an entire site
- but understanding people have very large pieces of property so we'll continue to update people
- and as well we exclude agricultural buildings from this requirement so if you're building
- agricultural structures we are not counting that against this number because we understand those
- have to be larger so we did something very similar for the cdr district and then for the forest
- reserve or forest residential five district those acreages are a minimum of five acres so
- we broke this out only into what would be three general categories for if you kept the maximum
- for critical watershed so one less category because they start at five
- and we matched sort of what we did for the prior but met it to more like five acres at the start
- and then the cdr is identical to the agr so i won't spend too much time on that
- and then we did make some changes to the residential one district this has been one that
- we've seen a lot of variances to the standard especially because of the critical watershed
- mapping being closer to a lot of the areas surrounding the city of Bloomington in the town
- of Ellesville and people tend to have smaller lot sizes so going with that whichever is less
- is less sometimes can make it so that people do need a variance but we've increased this percentage
- on both or on under a critical watershed we've increased this from 10 to 30 percent
- because without a critical watershed it's 50 and then we've also increased the square footage
- depending on how much acreage they have to see whichever they can go with so that is the standard
- here then we did add the exception standard for all of the zones so you will see that as a footnote
- there was one change to community development as well just slightly increased so as you go
- through you may see some amendments to the numbers and we did work closely with the
- stormwater program manager and the drainage board to come up with some of these figures
- i would like to go down to chapter 813 which has some of the exceptions that i've been
- talking a little bit about so we added a purpose statement which is important to have in there for
- people that aren't sure why there is a maximum impervious cover and we want to remind people
- that the purpose of this standard is to try to encourage compact development and therefore
- reduce overall impervious cover, implement open space requirements on individual lots, and
- possibly reduce negative stormwater impacts. We want to reduce erosion related to excessive sheet
- well runoff as a result of greater impervious cover, reduce ponding of water, reduce impacts to
- adjacent neighbors, protect critical watershed areas and areas prone to flooding, and increase
- flash flooding as a result of larger impervious cover. I also want to just explain for just the
- public's edification, critical watershed is not the same as floodplain, so some people are in a
- critical watershed but their elevation is quite high but what that means is that that area is kind
- of all tied together right even though your elevation is high what you do on your property
- is still going to impact your neighbors in that same watershed and some of our water quality
- and some of our watersheds are experiencing flooding problems so it is important to kind
- of bring it back to why this is an important standard we do want to acknowledge that with
- increased rain events more severe rain events in shorter time periods having more impervious cover
- leaves less area for the water to drain and get away from structures property and people
- but we have built in some exceptions like I mentioned from the CDO passage for those existing
- built out lots the first is that driveways in existence on March 11th 2024 would be exempt
- in addition driveways that had proper approval for installation prior to December 19 2024 are
- exempt
- secondly driveways within access and utility easements or utilized to access another property
- shall be considered exempt and thirdly sidewalks within private property that are for public use
- are exempt for impervious cover and with that I can take any question all right thank you so much
- I know there's a lot of material there and it took a great deal of time and energy to get to where
- we are now comments or questions Commissioner Jones yes well this is one of these really
- tough problems impervious surfaces really do have a big impact on the community as a whole
- especially given what's happening with the weather lately at the same time I happen to have a very
- very long driveway and I'm not sure I would have been allowed to have a house so I this was way
- prior to any of this but I I do appreciate the fact that for people who already got themselves
- into that position there are they their situation is being taken into account absolutely yeah and I
- yeah pre-existing non-conforming yes yes Commissioner Madure comments or questions
- no I appreciate all the detail and the hard work I've been attending the Planning Commission
- meetings and reviewing those actually several times because this is very complex and I also
- appreciate why these changes are necessary and I do think they will solve a lot of problems and
- save a lot of effort so thank you very much all right thank you so much and the Planning Commission
- did support this petition as well correct yes they forwarded a six to zero vote with favorable
- recommendation six zero thank you yeah thanks all right let's see if there's any one who wishes to
- speak in favor of this petition you can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium
- raise
- uh surveyor Enright Randolph
- yes uh I'm having a little bit of a glitchy uh connection so I apologize for that hopefully
- I'm coming in clearly um I just wanted to say serving on the stormwater management board drainage
- board and plan commission that I am in in support of this and I hope that it is approved and asking
- for your approval I also want to say I think this is an incremental step of getting it right and
- currently what we have in in place is a more strenuous uh burdensome uh provision with our
- impervious surface max and this is going to give relief where it's needed um I do know from uh I
- wasn't able to attend the plan commission so I would have voted in favor so that could have been
- a 7-0 but it was discussed about how we need to continue to look at this and you know bring it
- back as needed so I think this is a great first step and again just uh asking for you to approve
- that this uh amendment tonight thank you all right um thank you I don't see any other raised
- does anybody wish to speak in opposition to this petition may raise your hand on teams or come to
- the podium any follow-up commentary uh from my colleagues on the board
- okay all right um Ms. Turner King would you please call the roll on ordinance 2025-19
- commissioner jones yes commissioner madera yes commissioner thomas yes motion passes three zero
- thank you so much thank you uh Ms. Nestor-Gelan appreciate you all right next uh item on our
- agenda please move approval of ordinance 2025-16 west gate on third pud outline plan amendment
- three
- second all right we have a motion and we have a second Ms. Cresulius
- good morning commissioners this is the uh proposed amendment three to west gate on third it is
- currently in development as a multifamily residential uh pud um you have seen this
- you saw this twice last year for amendments to their ordinance phasing plan uh introduce a phasing
- plan as shown on screen and also a phasing narrative so this amendment includes proposed
- changes to the pud phasing plan narrative so there are no proposed changes to the uses or the
- design
- that have been established in within the pud ordinance but with it with that ordinance we
- have the phasing plan and the narrative the narrative describes what type of improvements
- across the site whether it is uh final stabilization of grade on the site
- whether a building is completed sidewalks are installed landscaping installed or ponds finished
- it describes in which of the phase um what has to be done at what time in order for
- planning to issue a conditional land use certificate that allows them to seek their
- certificate of occupancy for the structures from the building department assuming the building
- department has is satisfied with their inspections and is able to do so a conditional land use
- certificate means that there might be some final improvements that need to be completed and we
- normally set a timeline for that so currently the site they have received a conditional land use
- certificate or luc for phase one and two they have applied for phases three and four this amendment
- was brought up by phase three so within these phases there are a total of eight
- stormwater bioretention ponds on site which is quite a bit the phases not is described within
- the narrative is not everything is always complete when you go to get a conditional land use
- certificate
- because there are still active construction on different portions of the property so it's very
- detailed and of course a project manager manager and the petitioner is dealing with a lot of moving
- blocks on site so when they started to approach the time for a conditional luc for phase three
- they had encountered some issues with a specific line within the phasing narrative so that's on
- screen it's point number three so it discusses that landscaping permanent stabilization is
- completed in phases one two and three so side note within the narrative there are kind of what
- we would call checkpoints throughout the document that so for example in phase three we got to this
- point where in the prior phases they then have to complete and make sure that landscaping permanent
- stabilization stabilization is done within the same sentence that it states that pond one
- three a and four are fully finished to do this is quite an extensive process that does require
- a week to multiple weeks of very dry weather so with this very rainy spring they
- have had issues with being able to complete these ponds so they are they are currently
- waiting on this on this amendment in order to receive the conditional luc i was visited the
- site yesterday and it it looks ready for it there's still maybe some landscaping areas that aren't
- quite perfect but this site looks the phase looks really good so on screen is the phasing plan
- where
- i have circled pond four one and three a they see on my next slide here as they were coming up
- against the the extremely wet weather of this spring you know they provided some information
- it was a definitely an education session for me learning about stormwater and how these large
- ponds get installed and how much time is really needed so since this amendment has been applied
- for and has gone through the process they've actually been able to make quite a bit of
- advancement on some of the ponds so on screen is a couple of status photos pond one has been
- completed
- and pond three well pond three a has been fully completed pond one has soils
- drains installed and soils stabilized and we'll be waiting for landscaping and if that's it's a
- work
- in progress so i know the petitioner might be able to clarify more but they are actively working to
- complete these ponds as weather allows so what they are proposing within their phasing narrative
- is to include a sentence that the planning director worked with county legal on which gives
- us some flexibility when it's added into the narrative at certain points throughout the
- document so if they do run into poor weather they might still be able to continue working and get
- conditional luc and it allows some discretion for what is referred to as the administrator which is
- the planning director to be able to issue a conditional luc so that language is it has been
- added to a few points it states however if weather conditions could prevent these actions from
- occurring prior to the completion of phase number the following shall apply as if the proposed use
- building or other structure is in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance except for final
- landscaping and final stormwater infrastructure improvements a conditional land use certificate
- may be granted at the administrator's discretion that the conditional land use certificate shall
- be valid for no longer than six months but may be renewed for an additional six month period at the
- administrator's discretion this few sentences have been added into a few points within the
- narrative
- it has been added for where it was requiring pond completion it has been added for final surface
- asphalt and that is because they currently the petitioner is thinking right now that some of
- the final phases may be approaching a land use certificate during winter months of which the
- asphalt plants would be closed it was also added for final completion of the fountain and fountain
- walkway that are adjacent to the greenway so a little assurance for planning in the county
- on this site is that the final luc issuance would not be able to be issued it would be after phase
- eight until all of the improvements have been completed also it would include that we recommended
- that the letter of credit release that's held by planning for stormwater infrastructure it has to
- be installed to the required plans and approved by stormwater so if there were any issues we could
- hold the letter of credit that we have on file and of course a lot of this is the stormwater realm
- and is revolving around the completion of these ponds the stormwater program is in support of
- these proposed changes and they've been sympathetic with with the weather this year as it has been
- so
- wet so the planning commission heard this on may 20th this year and they did forward a positive
- recommendation by a vote of six to zero and of course as we like to include 90 days from that
- planning commission hearing is august 18th because of how quickly the petitioner and the the
- project
- is moving the petitioner stated yesterday on site that they are completing a building every one to
- two months i am sure we will not be running into that august date so staff's recommendation for
- ordinance 2025-16 is that we recommend approving the plan unit outline plan amendment number six
- request for westgate on third beauty all right thank you so much go ahead all right was there
- anything else that is it thank you okay um all right and um this uh was approved by the
- planning commission by vote of six zero um commissioner jones do you have comments or
- questions for miss chrisilius yes i'm just wondering since a number of buildings are being
- completed which of course means there's a fair amount of impervious surface going in um and we
- are getting all of this rain is this causing any problems for other residents in the area or
- businesses or anything or roads um is the flooding able to be contained on the project
- i have not heard any complaints so all of the stormwater runoff all of the stormwater on site
- is going to be directed to one of or multiple of those eight ponds that are on site so even
- though the ponds are not completed um they are holding water and working as they should under
- the guidance of stormwater for water that is hitting the site during construction but in order
- to complete them it requires some improvements that would take dry weather to install right
- yes and and i certainly understand the problems with the weather uh commissioner madira
- sorry i was on mute i have no comments again i appreciate the thoughtful explanation
- uh this all makes sense to me uh and i know that during our planning commission uh hearing on this
- that um we had um questions from miss ridge um about park square drive and paving and
- ensuring that everything works together and i think that her question was addressed but i would
- just ask that you um maintain communication between the petitioner and um miss ridge as
- they're trying to move forward with their paving projects thank you all right let's see if there's
- any public comment on this item you can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium
- i want to wish us to speak in favor of this petition is a petitioner or petitioner's
- representative here i didn't ask that question sorry ah did you want to speak i'm so sorry
- i went out of our protocol okay thank you all right sorry the last two items didn't have a
- petitioner so i got out of the habit very quickly thank you so much for being here
- um all right so uh is anybody wish to speak in opposition to this petition you can raise
- your hand on teams or come to the podium
- all right seeing none um any further comments or questions for my colleagues
- no okay all right uh miss turner king would you please call the rule on ordinance 2025-16
- commissioner jones yes commissioner monera yes commissioner thomas yes motion passes three zero
- all right thank you i was going to have an identity crisis all right uh we don't have
- any appointments today um i don't think um miss turner king is there anything for work session
- to my knowledge no okay yeah there isn't anything on the agenda now i just am giving you that
- one second opening to throw something on our agenda all right great thank you uh so
- so um do you have a few announcements um today um we did um all three of us attended the
- convention center groundbreaking um and it was a great event it was a beautiful day it was hot
- sunny ish uh but it's it was exciting to see so many people in the community
- um coming out to support that groundbreaking and we can't wait for the ribbon cutting i'm just
- gonna say it that way um and i'm glad that um council member crossley um noted the that that
- sheryl munson would have really appreciated that day she worked hard for it she did she worked hard
- for it i'm i'm gonna um see what we can do about getting something a room or something named that
- would be for her very appropriate yeah she was she's amazing um but uh yeah you know when i was
- driving over to it i was thinking sheryl would love this oh yes yeah um so just uh we did it's
- it's been a while but we did have a tornado come through our community on um can't forget that it
- happened um and um there uh we're coming to this is mid-may and so we're coming to the point where
- there are some still there there's assistance available still and um one of the things that
- has opened now is a disaster recovery center at ivy tech in room b as in boy 201 now this
- disaster recovery center closes friday at 3 pm the 18th friday the 18th at 3 pm um
- so it is open monday through friday 8 to 5 saturdays 10 to 2 this information is available on our
- website under the what's new feature in the center of the page so this is where you can go get
- information about the potential because we have been declared this has been declared emergency
- for small business administration long term and or low interest loans and this is not just for
- businesses um and also um state disaster relief fund but if you aren't sure what you're eligible
- for go to the disaster recovery center at ivy tech and find out that's that's how this works
- i will also note that um we had um dumpsters placed uh at three locations in our community
- lighthouse christian academy east jackson creek drive and south sandpaper drive and elrin and
- hermony road um this ends tomorrow right miss purdy the dumpsters that ends tomorrow the six
- so please um get your um yard debris uh in a separate bin from the construction debris
- please do not put debris in the roadway we are county highway is not responsible for
- cleaning up trees on your property um and we appreciate everyone's help and assistance with
- this um american red cross is accepting applications for case management so if somebody is impacted
- by
- the tornado they can call 1-800 red cross um and or go to the location at 441 south college avenue
- furniture needs go to st vincent de paul call 812-961-1510 extension three salvation army has
- clothing available 812-336-4310 uh the hoosier hills food bank can help with food needs
- and veterans are encouraged to contract contact the minero county veterans service office at
- 812-349-2658 um and just a reminder as we've had a bunch of rain today yeah yeah it was a lot um
- that there is a county alert notification system just go to co.minero.in.us click on the megaphone
- in the center of the page and sign up to receive alerts about any emergencies in the area um i will
- note that um i had a conversation um with emergency management because the tornado sirens went off
- at
- iu on tuesday at like 2 30 and it was clear and sunny and apparently they've got some technical
- software difficulties going on so uh but that's the first thing i did is i looked at my phone
- did i get an alert and miss it well that's it's just how how it should go uh we do have office
- hours six times each month um just go see our calendar at co.minero.in.us there is a blood drive
- at ivy tech um c 130 a and b uh today one to six uh go to redcross.org to make an appointment the
- next blood drives are wednesday july 9th thursday july 10th um july 9th is 10 a.m to 3 p.m july 10th
- is 1 p.m to 6 p.m um i will also note that we had such an interesting week last week because on
- thursday the united states department of homeland security in response to presidential executive
- order 14287 issued a list of local communities nationwide that the federal government alleges
- violate unstated federal immigration laws um we are the only county that was on that list um so
- we responded um and um uh the list is gone but i'm my guess my best guess is it's going to come
- back
- not as a big long list but as something that's going to come back later in other form or fashion
- so we're uh we're we are ever vigilant and we appreciate the members of the community who wrote
- to us afterwards and said thank you and my response is always we have the easy job you know um i
- feel
- for members of our community who are wondering what what their future holds i really do and i'm
- sorry about the anxiety and the stress that our government is putting them under and i wish they
- weren't so i'm going to leave that at that um so uh gun violence prevention um we're orange
- tomorrow
- um there is a resource fair here at the courthouse at six p.m seven p.m there will be a program and
- again this is um friday uh june 6 um uh anything else for the good of the order
- commissioner madera um just i wanted to underscore remarks that you made actually
- commissioner thomas at uh the groundbreaking and that is to recognize the contribution of
- commissioner givins to the project um she worked on this along with you guys for years and along
- with many other members of the community and uh i do think that that was of a very a very
- demonstrated and heartfelt and um energetic commitment uh and and i think that that um
- does need to be commemorated and recognized as long as we're also recognizing the contributions
- of sheryl once and again um and it was my pleasure to be there and again just other
- remarks of mr mg earlier there are moments we disagree uh there are moments that we talk with
- each other and we always come out i think better people for it and i think the convention center
- expansion is sort of a testament to that process so again just proud to be um serving with you guys
- right thank you um i do want to take a moment of personal privilege if i might um and i have a
- statement i'd like to make and this is just for me this is not from the board of commissioners
- but it's important enough that i'd like to make the statement um so the chamber of commerce issued
- a newsletter a little more than a month ago disparaging me as an elected official it's sort
- of uh whatever you know i'm used to it yep however the chamber which in my opinion spends a bit too
- much time on political affairs for a 501 c3 has an agenda pro housing no matter what the chamber
- the developers have a mutual relationship meanwhile people like our plan commission president margaret
- clements gets caught in the crossfire the chamber is doing what the chamber's doing that's fine
- that's their role that's fine but the chamber didn't like her vote on the zoning petition
- they didn't tell the readers of a newsletter that the majority of the planning commission
- supported that petition as well it then came to the board of commissioners for a decision
- dr clements like some other members of the planning commission are appointed by the board
- of commissioners we don't direct them to vote in any particular manner and we have appointed both
- democrats and republicans over the many years it is inappropriate for the chamber to direct their
- vitriol against an appointed member of a body it is disrespectful to her personally
- maligning someone who is essentially volunteering her time to the community
- is misdirected and disgraceful how's that for the word community if you go to the newsletter you'll
- get why i said that i am so proud of margaret clements she had stood up for the interest of
- menorah county residents in the fight against the city's annexation process her mom wasn't targeted
- for annexation but she cared so much about people in the community who faced potential property tax
- increases if their homes were annexed meaning their affordable homes would become unaffordable
- let's talk about affordable housing and she stepped up she's worked hard for this community
- that she loves she didn't gain anything but in fact spent a great deal of her precious time and
- funds to support county residents and when dr clements fought annexation for so many years she
- didn't do it again for financial gain similarly her role on the planning commission is as a
- resident not someone with a vested financial interest in a particular outcome her service on
- the planning commission is for the betterment of the menorah county community after these personal
- attacks appeared in the chamber's newsletters dr clements reached out to the chamber and asked
- for a meeting a month later here we are a month later and they have not had the courage to sit
- down with her i say shame on them dr clements and others who serve our community deserve our thanks
- whether we agree with their votes or not they do not deserve to be attacked we want to encourage
- residents to share their time talent and expertise as members of boards and commissions
- not discouraging them with disparaging comments if the chamber wants to malign a resident who
- serves the community the least they could do is have the courage to meet with her
- thank you for letting me get that off my chest all right um anything else for the good of the
- order all right our next meeting is june 12 10 a.m here in the natu hill room with that we are
- adjourned thanks everyone
- ("Pomp and Circumstance")