I'm going to call to order this meeting in Monroe County Board of Commissioners. It is Thursday, October
9th and joined here by Commissioner Madeira. I'm Commissioner Thomas and we're waiting to see if Commissioner
Jones will join us via Teams. And we'll begin with our public statement.
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 also stand in support of our public school systems, both RBB and MCCSC. And we will now move on to
our department updates. Ms. Kelly. Good morning, commissioners.
According to the Indiana Department of Health dashboard, emergency department visits for COVID-like
illness have decreased and wastewater concentrations are decreasing as well. Flu activity across the
state is minimal. The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for all people six months and older. And
the community health clinic at 333 East Miller Drive has vaccines available.
You can call 812-353-3244 for more information or for an appointment. All right. Thank you so much.
Comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? I have none. Thank you so much for the update. Thank you.
Okay. Any other departments have an update for us?
Having done, we'll move on to our next agenda item, which is public comment. This is for general public
comment for items not on our agenda. Commenters are asked to provide your name and county of residence
and to limit your commentary to three minutes. Does anybody wish to offer public comment?
raise your hand on teams or come to the podium please come to the podium. My name is Molly Radecki.
I just wanted to publicly thank Commissioner Medeiros for helping me with my stormwater issue and sewage
issue. We've come to agreement with South Central Sewage District in Binyam Fanyam. We have the
the tools that will work now, which is a backflow device and a backflow valve that will keep me from
flooding. With that said, Steinsville has a unique infrastructure and needs help. And so I have reached
out to the Center for Rural Engagement. I did put in a grant, it's not a grant application,
but an application for partnership for the sustainable Hoosier communities. I don't know what
if we'll get it or not, but it's a step in the right direction. They also have tremendous resources,
and one of the resources they recently gave me was the Regional Development Authority, and I will be
writing them
a letter of inquiry for a development plan. And the person we really need to get involved in this is
Bruce Payton, who works for Hanson Professional Services. It's a civil engineering service. And I just
want to put that name in your head, Bruce Payton. He was born in Steinsville. He remembers when there
was a train coming through. And he can give us the right plan for Steinsville. Also, with that said,
if you haven't been out to Steinsville, it's the Hilly 100 on Saturday. And the mercantile is a great
that's a great place to watch the hilly 100. Thank you. I'm glad things worked out. I know we did it.
Some ARPA funding related to the to the sewage issue, septic issue, and I know it is unique. Thank you.
Thank you. Anyone else have any public comment to offer?
You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. We have been joined by commissioner Jones. Welcome.
Yay. Oh, nice to be here. Great to see you as always. Um, we are now on to the next agenda item, please.
I would like to move approval of the minutes for October 2nd, 2025. I will second that. Any comments,
corrections, edits? No, I already sent them in. Great. Thank you so much. Mr. Cockrell, will you please
call the roll on approval of the minutes for October 2nd, 2025? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner
Jones? Abstain. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Motion is approved to
to zero with one abstention. Thank you so much. Next item please. I would like to move approval of the
claims docket for accounts payable for October 9th 2025. I will second that. Good morning. Good morning
commissioners. The accounts payable claims docket for October 9th 2025 totals one million
$534,735.75. This includes all emergency claims and adjustments. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Rivera? No, I have none. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Let's see if there's, I don't either, so let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can
raise your hand on teams.
or come to the podium here in the NATU Hill Room. Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the
roll on the approval of claim stock and accounts payable October 9th, 2025. Commissioner Thomas. Yes.
Commissioner Jones. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. Thank you so much.
Uh, we did not receive reports, uh, this week. Um, but we will now move on to, um, new business, please.
I would like to move approval for Taylor concrete service incorporated to repair a damaged sidewalk
at the health building. Fund name 2021. Geo bond fund number 48 14 in the amount of $7,500. I will second
that Mr. Crider.
Good morning, commissioners, Richard Crider, Monroe County Building and Fleet. This request is to accept
the proposal submitted by Taylor Concrete Services, Inc. in the amount of $7,500 to remove and replace
the damaged sidewalk and curbs leading to the northeast accessible entrance at the health building.
All right. Thank you so much. Comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? No, this sounds absolutely
critical. I know that we're doing a lot of work on the health building and this will no doubt help us
round out that project.
Commissioner Jones? Yeah, this stands needed. I know it is needed. I absolutely agree. Thank you for
working on this. Any public comment on this item?
Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Taylor Concrete Service Inc. agreement
to repair a damaged sidewalk at the health building? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes.
Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right,
next item, please.
I would like to move approval for Eagle View Master Services Agreement for reassessment. I'm sorry,
fund name reassessment. Fund number 1224 in the amount of $450,000 and six cents over six years. I will
second that. Assessor Sharp, good morning. Good morning, commissioners. Thank you very much.
letting us come up tonight or today. This is our pictometry product, the Eagle View. If you've all been
on GIS in the last, Lisa and I were just talking, we can't really remember when we started this project,
probably a good 20 years ago. And it's the background, it's the background for everything that we do
in my office and a lot of other offices. I'm sure if John was here with the GIS, he would be saying,
it's great.
I'm so excited about this contract because Dave Askins just asked me, I don't think he believed when
he read the contract that we're going to one inch pixels. We're going to go down to one inch. When we
first started this, I'm pretty sure they were three inches when we first started. You know, you could
hardly see anything. It was out there. Then I think we went to two inches and now with the cost of this
kind of stuff, you know,
all of this you know the old Apple computer probably you know would fit in this room and it was a million
dollars and now look what you get them on your phone this happens to everything and this has happened
to this this product so we're going to go to the one inch pixel with your approval and it'll start they'll
start flying over
next spring before the trees come up and come out. So that's the whole contract, and it did raise a
little bit. Of course, now we're going to the one-inch pixels. The last contract that we signed, it
was at $63,519 a year, and now we're going up to $75,000, which for what we're going to be getting here,
I think it is well worth it, or I wouldn't have agreed to this. I've seen it.
It's been demonstrated, other people already have it. Lisa reminded me when we first got into this,
it's been a while, the city had their own, they were part of us, but they had a one-inch, was it one-inch
pixel for one year? And we only had the three because we're the county. But what's happened, and since
we started this, you know what's happened in this county as well as I do. Look at the development.
And this this pictometry is another tool and our toolbox and everybody else's that works in the county
And the public they use this tool like you cannot believe every appeal I have They've used the tools
that we have which is fine. That's why we do this But I think this one inch is going to be so exciting
when it finally comes in I said something to Dave and he thought it was kind of creepy but when
When we first started this, we always told people, don't go outside if you don't want your picture taken.
But some of the things that we've seen over the years, there was somebody playing tennis in some place.
And when they went over, they got the shot. And you saw the tennis ball. And there's been fun things
like that. So it's going to be one inch. So you're going to be seeing a lot more stuff. So stay in the house.
If you don't want to be seen, I'll try to tell people when it happens that they're going to fly over.
But I'm excited about this. I'm asking, I'm asking for your approval on this. And I know you probably
have questions. Thank you so much. Uh, comments or questions, commissioner Jones. Yeah, this sounds
very exciting. Uh, I know it'll make a big difference for a whole lot of people. Commissioner Madure.
Um, I was just curious in general, um,
You know, what does the flyovers help to accomplish for the assessor's office? Well, that's the whole
background of what we do. When you pull up a parcel, you can see everything. And this is part of our
GIS. This goes into the GIS. So this development, we're out in the field. I have people in the field
all the time. We're out in the field.
with development and not everybody gets permits maybe. And so when we're analyzing everything and we
do this continuously, we can completely go around the house and around the property. And you can see
so much in appeals where it really helps is, you're talking to the customer, the taxpayer, and we're
talking about everything in the yard
barns and all of this kind of stuff. It just makes it so much easier for everybody to see it. But just
as I was leaving, one of my field people were talking, was telling us that we just had a fire in a barn.
So we're going to take it off the rows. We go out and we look at this, but now we won't be able to see
it today, but we can see the barn that they're talking about. And we'll just take that off. And then
the next time we're in the field, then when I say we, it's me.
two of my staff, and we'll go out and make sure that it is destroyed. And that was a barn. Ungodly,
it's a house, but no one was hurt in the barn. But we do that for everything. So you can really pinpoint,
because when you're out in the field, things aren't marked real well sometimes. And so we look in, and
then we have everything on our phones, just like everybody else does. So we're out in the field, we
can pull up stuff, and we do it all the time.
This is the background and the basis for everything that we do. The tool in our toolbox is so important.
Yep. Yep. I thought it might be really important for the public just to know how critical it is. It's
really the backbone of the system. And it plays an important safety role, too, so that you guys know
what to expect when you go out in the field. Hopefully. Yeah. But it's the public uses it. Yes. I think
everybody in Monroe County and out of Monroe County uses this. And it's free.
And that was the commitment we made to the public when we started this, that we wouldn't charge. And
some counties charge. Wow. Well, it's money. And as things get tight, but the public paid for this.
So we shouldn't be ever thinking that. Exactly. If Askin's involved, it's not going to be Eagle View,
though. It's going to be Hawk View.
Please note, I'm having enough trouble. I'm having enough trouble remembering eagle views sometimes.
But yeah, eagle view. I think I was most impressed with the penny a year additional, the 0.06, the six
cents over six years. That's kind of funny. No, just for clarification,
on our sheet, the third flight is spring of 2030. It says flight two, flight two, but it's flight three
is 2030. Every two years? Yeah. Yeah, they do it. That's the third flight. Now, the reason we're paid
per year, even though they don't fly every year, is because they house the data. Yes, and even though
they're not flying every year, it's completely, I don't know how to explain this,
So much new stuff is happening all the time, so they're having to go in and change things just like
we do. So it's an ongoing thing. I was talking to one of the counties, and it had to be a very rich
county. I don't know who that is in the state of Indiana, but it was someone that was, I think it was
Hamilton, that was, I think they're having to re-look at that because they're in the same crisis everybody else is.
they were gonna go to every year flyover. Because it's the development that's happening. And they have
tons of development up there, if you've ever been up there. We're doing the same thing here, and that's
why we went to more flights. It's the development out there. And I'm not gonna go, who knows, maybe
we'll get rich again, the state of Indiana, the world. It's not gonna ever be.
While I'm here, I don't think we can ever go. And we don't need it. The two years is working beautifully
for us. And so right now, let's just go to two. It's never going to get, I wouldn't think it's going
to get closer to one inch. Who knows? Technology changes.
I think the one thing that we're missing, and it's not your department, but I think the one thing we're
still missing are accurate property lines on the GIS and that it drives us nuts on the planning commission
as commissioners for the residents. It's really terrible because people don't know and they rely on
it. And I don't know if there's anything that could be done about that, but we're going to have to get
rich to fix that. Okay. It's cost. We've talked about this from day one.
And there is a thing down at the bottom when you're looking at this, and I'm not even going to say what
I really wanted to say down there, but people don't pay attention. And then they come in and yell at
us in hearings, well, look at this property line. And I'm like, guys, this is just for you to look at.
This is not a legal document, period.
People wanted to act like a survey. I would love for it to act like a survey. When you guys come up
with that kind of money, then tell me about it, and I'll be the first to have my lines fixed on my house.
We have houses that aren't even on a way out there. It was the people that started our GIS, 39 Degrees
North. One of the owners, his house,
was way down here, two lots over, not in his lot. Those lines were so off. And we talked about and talked
about, there was no way of fixing it without major money, so much money. So that's why the taxpayers,
the customers out there need to understand this is a phenomenal tool, but it's
It's not perfect. It's not a, it is not a survey. It's not a survey and you and somebody that's on the
planning commission and all of that kind of stuff really understands that. Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. Wow.
Thank you. It's good to have that edification for the public. All right. Let's see if there are any
members of the public who wish to comment on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the role in the Eagle View Master Service Agreement?
Commissioner Thomas. Yes. Commissioner Jones. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Motion is approved, three
to zero. Thank you so much, commissioners. Thank you. All right, next item, please. I'd like to move
to approve the Cars Farm Park easements to Duke Energy. Second. Ms. Whitmer.
Hello. Duke Energy is requiring two easements on Carr's Farm parks so we can have electricity at our
new athletic complex lighting system. County legal has reviewed this and these easements will produce,
will be no problem for us. And oh yes, I need to have a, if you approve it, I need to have it assigned
as fast as possible because they will not schedule the work until they get their payment and they get
their easement.
We know how the utility companies are. I'm very, very happy to oblige. Okay. Let's see if there are
any comments or questions. Commissioner Madeira? No, they're very sparky. Commissioner Jones, comments
or questions? No, I don't. I don't either.
And let's see what we can do about getting this signed ASAP. Any public comment on this? You can raise
your hand on Teams or come to the podium. So exciting getting close to the final days here. All right.
Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Carson farm park easements to Duke energy?
Mr. Thomas. Yes. Commissioner Jones.
Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. Thank you. Thank you. All right next
item please. I would like to move to approve ordinance 2025-28 amend Monroe county code chapter 341
retail food establishment sanitation requirements. I will second that. Mr. Kazemka good morning.
Good morning, commissioners. In April, the Foods Indiana Administrative Code 410 IAC 7-26 was adopted.
We've been working with County Legal to update the retail food establishment ordinance. The major change
is the way we cite violations. It's no longer critical. Non-critical is now a core violation that regards
to general sanitation, and then a priority foundation, possible result of food safety, and then also
a priority violation directly linked to a food board illness. And also, we included language in there
to include
We're no longer pin-on-paper inspections. We're now digital. Fancy. All right. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira? Sounds like this will be much more efficient.
Really good. All right. I don't have any questions either. Let's see if there's any public comment on
this item. Raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, Mr. Cockerell, will you please call the roll on ordinance 2025-28? Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner
Jones? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you. Thank you. Have
a good morning. You too. Next item, please. I would like to move to approve resolution 2025-43,
commissioner's authority to sign approved documents. Second.
Mr. Cockrell. Yes, from time to time. And I think the easement we just approved is one of those. We
have documents that are signed by one commissioner, but they reflect a decision by the entire board.
I know at least some of the, I think, NDOT in particular likes to have this documentation for when they
get their grant agreements. And so this is just saying that if something was approved at a public meeting
of the board of commissioners at a public vote, that any of the commissioners can sign the document
to demonstrate authority that it was approved. Right. Thank you. All right. Uh, comments or questions,
uh, commissioner Majira. No, this seems very efficient. We've already approved. Yeah. So it's been approved.
Absolutely. Yes. Commissioner Jones comments or questions. Yeah, this makes sense. It doesn't.
Let's see if there's any public comments on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, Mr. Copper, will you please call the roll on resolution 2025-43? Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner
Jones? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Motion is approved, 3-0.
Thank you. Next item, please. I would like to move approval for the MOU with the Indiana Cave Survey
Incorporated. I will second that. Ms. Ridge. Good morning. So this was presented to the Stormwater Board
on October 1st and was approved. It's basically a database sharing with the Indiana Cave Survey. They're
going to be collecting, compiling, and
data for information concerning CAVE and CARS features in the state of Indiana. So it'll be up to our
staff when they come across the CARS feature, they'll have limited access to be able to add this to
that database. There's no cost. Excellent. All right. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? Yeah,
this is definitely a good thing. The more we know about CARS, the better.
Commissioner Majira, comments or questions? Nope, just critical for both, I think, bodies in protecting
these valuable resources. Yeah. And we did hear this at the stormwater meeting as well, and it was approved
there by unanimous vote. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item.
can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call
the roll on the Memorandum of Understanding with the Indiana Caves Survey Inc. Mr. Thomas. Yes. Commissioner
Jones. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. Thank you.
Next item, like to move to approve loose own tree for tree removal for eagles and bridge 922 replacement
fund name cumulative bridge fund number 1135 in the amount of $15,300. I will second that this rich.
Um, so we reached out to, um, three tree removal services. We received a quote from bluestone tree service.
Um, the work is actually going to be performed tomorrow during IU fall break and the letting for this
bridge project, uh, goes to letting January 14th. Thank you so much. Um, comments or questions, commissioner
Madera. Nope. This sounds like an essential project done at an essential time. Commissioner Jones.
No, I don't. All right. I don't have any questions either. Any public comment on this item? You raise
your hand on Teams or come to the podium. All right. Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call
the roll on the Bluestone Tree contract for the Eagleton Bridge 922 replacement?
Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Motion is approved, three
to zero. Thank you. Next item. I'd like to move approval for HNTB assignment number two, post-construction
attention basin maintenance assessment, fund name Stormwater, fund number 1197, in an amount not to
exceed $28,500. I will second that. Ms. Ridge?
So this was also taken to the stormwater board on October 1st, and it was approved. Basically, it's
coming up with a plan for maintenance for these two detention basins, which are located on county property.
We want to make sure that those are brought up to county standards, just as we have other property owners
do. Sounds good. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? Yeah, this certainly makes sense. Thank you.
Commissioner Redira. No, I remember discussing this at the stormwater management board. And again, it
made perfect sense. Thank you. Appreciate you bringing this forward. It's a good idea to have this done.
It does not involve any work or construction. It is just an assessment. Yes. All right. Let's see if
there's any public comment on this item. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the HNTB assignment number two, post-construction
detention base and maintenance assessment? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Commissioner
Madero? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. All right. Thank you so much. We don't have any appointments today.
I do want to make note that our next meeting is going to be on Thursday, October 23rd, so we are not
meeting next week. I am wearing my Hoosier Hills Hunger Action Month shirt because
The book sale is coming up and it's before we meet again. So at Monroe County Fairgrounds beginning
October 16th, over a hundred thousand items for sale, which is awesome. And it runs through Tuesday,
October 21st. So lots of folks in the community have donated
books and DVDs and collectibles and all kinds of cool things. And all of the proceeds will benefit the
Hoosier Hills Food Bank. And I'll just note that the first day of the event, which is always a hot commodity,
admission is $10. And the first day starts at 9 AM. But veterans will get in for free, which is nice.
Yeah. Awesome. So it'll be a great event.
probably will be there helping out. And really excited for Hoosier Hills Food Bank. This is a really
good time for the community to support the food bank. They really, really need it. So just a reminder
to residents, they can sign up for the resident alert system to be notified of health, weather, other
emergencies.
And this is available on our homepage, at our new homepage, at in.gov slash county slash Monroe. We
are also accepting applications for all boards and commissions. Go to that homepage and run a search
and you can find out more information. The boards and commission member list and expirations are not
quite updated yet.
They're in progress. So if you see a board or commission that interests you, you should just apply.
And if we don't have an opening for that, maybe there's something else we can suggest. We also host
office hours, six hours each month. Just go to the calendar on that home page. And a note as well that
we continue to support
co-sponsor the blood drive at IV Tech. Thanks IV Tech for all of your help on this. Today from 1 to
6, Friday October 10th from 10 a.m. to 3 and that is at IV Tech room C130 130 A and B. You can go to RedCross.org
to make an appointment. If you just show up I'm sure they will find a way to help you out.
to help out our community. So it's a great thing. Any other announcements for good of the order? Commissioner
Jones, nothing? Okay. We do have a work session item. It is 1040. I wonder if we could come back at
11 for that. If that's okay with everyone. Okay. All right. So our regular session is adjourned. Thanks, everyone.