Good morning, everyone. I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.
It is Thursday, December 18th. We've had lots of end of the year activity in our office, and so I apologize
for the start. We're going to begin with our public statements. 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, inclusion, and belonging, and we stand in support
of our county public school systems, both RBB and MCCSC. All right. And with that, we will move on to
our department updates. Ms. Kelly's here. Good morning. Good morning, commissioners.
Just a few updates. According to the Indiana Department of Health dashboard, as of December 16th, there
have been no increases in emergency department visits for COVID-like illness, but wastewater concentrations
are continuing to trend up. According to data from wastewater scan, we are now seeing moderate levels
of flu, but very low levels of RSV.
The health department still has free COVID tests available. Anyone can walk in Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. to pick up free tests. And the public health clinic located at 333 East Miller Drive has vaccines
available. You can call 812-353-3244 for an appointment. Great. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Thank you. Commissioner Madeira? No, thank you. Thank you so much.
any other department updates for us for items? It could be on teams or you can come to the podium here
in that you hill room. Okay, seeing none, we will now move on to public comment. Public comment is time
reserved for items that are not on our agenda. We ask speakers to limit their time to three minutes
per person.
and to please provide their name and their county of residence when they speak. You raise your hand
on teams or come to the podium here in the NETU Hill Room. We have someone online TSD called with the
name or the initials ES. Good morning, commissioners. Can you hear me okay?
We can thank you. Yes, this is Eric spoon more proud Monroe County resident and taxpayer. I would like
to encourage the commissioners to establish just some basic standards of decorum for your meetings.
We hear the opening public statement each week and see the sign that's displayed there behind you that
says this is a space for no hate or something to that effect yet.
The community is becoming routinely subjected to some of the most hateful, vulgar expletives in the
English language in these meetings. And it kind of gives the perception that control has been lost.
And I can't imagine that's the perception that some of you are going for. Or maybe it is. I really don't
know. But I do think we can debate flashpoint issues in a spirited way.
that doesn't involve cursing and shouting obscenities to make our points. And so when it feels like
control has been lost in these meetings, it becomes less welcoming and less inclusive for the community
as a space. And I think that preserving an inclusive and welcoming environment are the kinds of values
our community wants to see reflected in your management of these meetings. So please consider establishing
some basic standards of decorum. I think it would be easy. You have the ability to do that if you want.
and I'd encourage you to do so. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else have public comment for items not
on our agenda? All right. We will now move on to the next item, please. Move approval of the minutes
for December 18, 2025. Second.
We have a motion and we have a second. Any comments, corrections, or edits? Seeing none, all those in
favor of approving the minutes for December 18th, 2025, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0.
Next item, please. Move approval of the claims docket, accounts payable December 18th, 2025. Second.
We have a motion and we have a second. Good morning. Good morning. I have two items I'm going to read.
The first is the accounts payable claims docket for December 18th, 2025, which totals $113,777,463.57.
This includes all emergency claims and adjustments. Okay. Thank you.
I'm going to I have two things. So first I do want to ask a question. There was a unapproved claim that
was in the second motion. Okay. Is that all that's in the second motion? Yes. Okay. And does this amount
include that amount? Okay. Thank you.
questions. All right. I'm going to make a motion to remove. A $30,000 item from this claim. Because
we have not heard it here. At a commissioner's meeting.
Second. All right. We have a motion and we have a second. Any public comment on the motion to amend?
Good morning, Council. My name is Clark Greiner. I'm the interim president for the Bloomington Economic
Development Corporation. I wanted to just mention that I think funding of the BEDC is an important thing
to consider from now into the future, and I'd like to see if there's anything we can do to get you to
reconsider those opportunities. The BEDC has been instrumental, particularly over this last past year,
with the CEMTRA,
Tax abatement. We led the way on that work very closely with the county on this. We have lots
of opportunities now we're working on out at the airport and many, many other things that we do. We
we act as I believe the lead economic development organization for Monroe County overall. So we continue
York would appreciate your support financially to help us continue to level up our expertise and our
business attraction business retention program so.
Thank you. Thank you. It's not, we're pulling it out of the claims because we don't have anything that
we've approved on our agenda. Okay. It's a technicality. So we will be considering this, I believe,
in January. I don't know which meeting, but early first or second week of January. All right.
Thank you. Well, then I'll get it. I'll get to come back and say it again. Keep an eye on the agenda.
I'll do it. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Any other public comment on the amendment? Seeing none,
all those in favor of approving the amendment to the claim, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0.
You have another item. I think you just voted on the amendment. You might want to vote on the rest of
the claim document. But it sounds like there's another potential amendment here. I think it's a separate
item. It's totally separate. OK. It's not part of this. All right. Great. I didn't know if we had amendments
coming from. No. No. Excellent. OK. So now we'll be taking public comment on the
amended claims docket. You may raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all those
in favor of approving the amended claims docket for Council Pable, December 18th, 2025 signify by saying
aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero.
The uncertified claims docket for December 18th, 2025 totals $15. I'm not sure we do. We have to vote
on this. Mr. Cocker. I think you should because it is a claim request. Okay. Um, that doesn't mean that
we're supporting its payment, right? Okay. I think that if,
If you approve the uncertified, then it will get paid. If you do not approve the uncertified, then it
will not get paid. I think that's the gist of it. I'm picking up what you're putting down. All right.
So I'm going to go ahead and make a motion that the uncertified claim of $15 on the claims docket today
is not paid. So a vote yes is a vote not to pay it.
Do I have a second? Second. Any public comment on this item? All right. Seeing none. All those in favor
of denying the unapproved claim signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Was that sufficient, sir?
Yes. Thank you. Something new all the time, you know, doing this for years. All right. Um, so we don't
have any reports today. Um, and we'll move on to our next agenda item. Please move approval of integra
realty resources agreement. Fund name reassessment fund number 1224.
in the amount of $17,170. I'm not sure what this amount is. Could you tell us what the amount is, ma'am?
Of course. I'm Judy Sharp, county assessor. Gil, put the glasses back on. The total amount, phase one,
will be $17,700. Is that what you're asking?
Can you go ahead and finish your motion? The amount is $17,700. Second. We have a motion and a second.
Assessor Sharp. Okay, thank you. Good morning. What this is is two appraisals that I'm going to have
to have with David Hall Integra tax again. They've been doing our appraisals for us.
I have to have an appraisal when this goes up to the state, when an appeal goes. These two are at the
state. I'll lose if I don't have an appraisal. That's bottom line. And so anyway, David will do this.
We've spelled this out to you guys. It's a lot to read. I know the scope and all of this kind of stuff.
phase one fees valuation or report 5900 then they have to do the written is 4300 and then it just you
know goes on and on this is not overnight this doesn't get done overnight so but he does put a cap on
on how much the appraisal will cost what I don't know yet is when we if if we go to state which we're
going to the state I mean it's already set but sometimes if the if the people that
are filing these things against us. They don't have an appraisal and they don't usually want some of
them. Yes, let me. Most of them will get an appraisal, but these two so far not one would have not had
an appraisal. So with our appraisal and they see it, maybe they'll pull it their appeal. If they don't,
what happens when we go to the state? It's a it's a court of law and we'll be up there
depending upon the most I've ever had to sit there, it was five days. And, uh, God, please never have
to do another five days, but, um, it will be two or three days. And the, unfortunately our, um, appraiser
has to be there also because you have to listen to the other side, you know, Jody, you've done this.
So that's where the fee comes in. That will be a little bit more, but we'll keep you guys appraised.
This comes out of reassessment. So,
That's for this year. We'll see what happens next year. All right. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Madeira? I have none. Thank you. Commissioner Johns? No, I don't. Thank you. I don't either.
We've done this before. We've been there before. All right. Any public comment on this item? You raise
your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
all those in favor of approving the integral realty resources agreement signify by saying aye aye motion
carries three zero thank you everyone have a great holidays you too we'll see you the new year you too
thank you don't think we have to be back so anyway thank you we do but you don't um next week you're
not working next not a commissioner's meeting not a commissioner's meeting we have a meeting monday
night thank you okay
The fund never ends. All right. Next item, please. Move approval of the Harold Fish agreement to replace
the controller in the clerk's office. Fund name 2025 GeoBond. Fund number 4820 in the amount of $23,845.
Second. We have a motion and we have a second.
Mr. Crider. Good morning, Commissioners. Richard Crider, Building and Fleet Manager. More controls expansion
at the Justice Building. This request is to accept the proposal submitted by HFI in the amount of $23,845
to replace HVAC controlling devices in the clerk's office and integrate the devices into the new supervisor
software. Thank you so much. Comments or questions, Commissioner Jones?
No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira? No, thank you. I don't either. Any public comment on this item? Raise
your hand in teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the Harold Fish
HFI agreement to replace the controller in the clerk's office, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries
3-0. Next item, please.
move approval of waste of the waste management district green business network agreement renewal fund
name county general fund number one thousand in the amount of five thousand four hundred fifty dollars
second we have a motion and we have a second mr krater
Okay, this request is to accept the annual service contract renewal with the Green Business Network
for recycling pickup at multiple county buildings in the amount of $5,445. The contract details or community
corrections, that's 900 for one pickup a week. Courthouse, 900 for one pickup a week. Curry Building,
900 one pickup a week. Health Building, $475 for two pickups a month.
Justice building, 900 for one pickup a week. Showers north, 900 for one pickup a week. Youth Services
Bureau, $475, twice a month. Okay. I don't think this math is correct. Uh-oh. It is not correct. I don't
think. So we have $4,500 with the one, two, three, four, five at 900. We have
Okay. I think that's where I got
Okay. Nothing to see here. All right. Uh, comments or questions? No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira.
Nope. Um, glad we're using the waste reduction district. Um, this is an important program. I know there
are some things they can't take like shredded paper as we found out on our tour of the health building
last week. Uh, but that doesn't mean that that can't be taken.
ourselves down to self walnut. But it really is a good program. And this is I encourage local businesses
to consider adding this to their services. All right. Any public comment on this item? You can raise
your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the Waste Reduction District Green Business Network Agreement
renewal, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Next item, please. Move approval of resolution
2025-53, surplus property for multiple departments. Second. We have a motion.
And we have a second, Mr. Crider. OK, this request is to approve surplus of items from multiple departments.
The Auditor's Office 21 office chairs that are damaged and or past service life. They will be discarded
as trash. Commissioner's Office 18 vehicles past service life. I'm recommended that these go for trade.
The Highway Department damaged aluminum street signs that will be sold for scrap to damage office chairs
that will be discarded as trash.
from the parks department, a broken kitchen stove from the commons building at Karst. This will also
be sold for scrap. Probation department, vehicle CC8, this is a typo. It's not a 2001 Ford Escape. It
is actually a 2011 Ford Escape. I just recognized that this morning. And from the prosecutor's office,
a broken metal shelf that will be sold for scrap. Excellent.
Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Madeira. I find myself longing for the pictures
of the offending items. But I think I'm good otherwise. I do have one question. When it says go for
trade, what does that mean? It means, OK, this would mostly be police vehicles. And the vendor we purchase
new vehicles from, they'll do a trade-in evaluation of the vehicles. And then we receive credit. Gotcha.
Very efficient. Thank you.
Thank you so much. And I do have, I thought I included it in the packet. I, there is a, an exhibit a
with photos. I can get that to you. We'll just have to look at those. I always like to see a pile of
bad office chairs. They're in there. No, I don't. Thank you. Thank you so much. Um,
that the ARPA number? It is. The 8150. But that's the edit. This relates to the edit, not ARPA. Oh,
that's right. But I don't think that's the... I think we just leave the fund number off. Just leave
it, yeah. Yep. Okay. Sorry. It's okay. So, you know, it's the last meeting of the year. This is where
we do this stuff. Improvisational meeting.
So did you have any questions or comments on the items for? No, I don't. Okay. Any public comment on
this item? Raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium. Stay remembered where we were even. All right.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving resolution 2025-53, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion
carries three zero.
Thank you. See you next year. Okay, not if we see you first. All right, next item, please. Move approval
of Toshiba copier fleet agreement, fund name, cumulative capital, fund number 1138 in the amount of
$208,547 for a five-year period.
We have a motion. And we have a second. And we have Mr. Crone joining us. Let me get that. Good morning,
everyone. Greg Crone, Technical Services Department. About three years ago, we did a complete inventory
and appraisal of our fleet copiers. And at that time, we broke it into two groups, aging and dying and
soon to be. So three years ago, we replaced approximately 32 of the aging and dying.
We're three years into that five-year agreement, and now it's time to do the other 34 that we have in
our fleet. With this offset and the Toshiba working with us, even the combined of the two is less than
we were playing our previous vendor, so it is a cost savings even though we're gonna be running two
separate leases. So we've done our best to try to delay this out so we can get closer to the end of
this lease, and this is about as close as we could get.
Machines that we still have under Rico are old enough now. Parts has become difficult to get and they're
going to start changing their costs or discontinuing them altogether. So we've pushed as long as we
can drag that out to try to save some money. Thank you so much. Comments, questions. Commissioner Jones?
No, I don't. Commissioner Madeira? No. Thank you. I don't have any questions either. It seems like you've
got a batch working
in various cycles you just are doing this in great chunks. We're trying to keep it within two for the
management situation and it becomes a kind of a mess to try to track all those contracts and keep everything
up to date. So we at least wanted to get 75 to 80 percent into the current lease agreement before we
took on more and like I said we're getting ready to approach year four that original five-year with
Toshiba. So we've done pretty well with that. Good deal. Thank you.
All right, any public comment on this item? You raise your hand in teams or come to the podium.
All right, seeing none, all those in favor of approving the Toshiba copier fleet agreement signify by
saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next item, please.
Move approval of the Strengthening Prevention Grant Amendment Number 2 for Disease Intervention Specialists
Fund Name STD Strengthening Prevention Fund Number 8112 in the amount of negative $58,835. Second. We
have a motion and we have a second. Oh, Ms. Kelly, tell us about it.
So we are here for approval for this is an amendment to our STD grant contract that provides grant funding
for our disease intervention services. So unfortunately we did not receive approval to move forward
in the hiring process for an additional grant funded position to provide these additional services.
Therefore this grant funding is being reduced.
This current grant ends February 28th, 2026. The Indiana Department of Health will still have to find
someone to provide the services for the additional four counties. So still yet to be seen what will
happen with this grant next year. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones. That's certainly unfortunate
that you won't be able to
take advantage of this, but. I hate to leave free money on the table for something as critical as STD
disease prevention, especially when the numbers are climbing, so. Yeah, this is hard for me to understand,
and it's not on the health department. I don't understand
I understand a hiring freeze, but if you have a grant funded position, then that person could be hired
until the grant is gone. And so we've missed out an opportunity here to hire somebody locally, potentially
in our community to do this important work. So very disappointing. That's the least of my words today.
All right, let's see if there's any public comment on this item.
raise your hand on teams or come to the podium. All right. Seeing none, all those in favor of approving
the strengthening prevention grant amendment number two for disease intervention specialist signify
by saying aye. Motion carries. Thank you.
Move approval of the Koenig Equipment Inc. Service Agreement, fund names, county general, and parks
non-reverting, fund numbers 1000, 1178, 1179, and 4113 in an amount not to exceed $3,000. Second.
All right, we have a motion and we have a second.
Yes, this is for K-Nig equipment. They repair big things on our John Deere tractors. But we have an
in-house mechanic who does most of everything, except if it would be, you know. And John Deere tractors
last 40, 50 years. So we try to take very good care of them. Excellent. Comments or questions? Commissioner
Madeira? No, thank you. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't.
any public comment on the site and he raised hand on teams are come to the podium. I see none all those
in favor of approving the caning equipment in service agreement signify by saying aye. I motion carries
3, 0, thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Happy holidays. I'm going to make a motion that we
I'm going to move item H, which is ordinance 2025-49, as apparently there are some other amendments
that need to be made on this, and we can hear this in January sometime. I won't set a date. That's my
motion. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor of removing item H from the agenda,
signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. All right.
On to item I. Move approval of the ARPA plan amendment number 11. Second. We have a motion and we have
a second. Yes, this is somewhat of a housekeeping item and I would say it's somewhat related to K and
that that's a housekeeping item too. Neither of these have any change in appropriation or budget for
the ARPA plan. So the fund name, fund number and stuff aren't
aren't necessarily for either one of those items. But this is just kind of having our expenditures conform
with what we've actually done over the course of the year. I think the biggest change is we put a little
bit more money into our accounting group to do that.
This is essentially just to get the plan to match up with our current expenditures so that next year
when we go through the audit process, it's a clean audit trail for the people looking at our project.
All right, any comments, questions or edits?
We have not reallocated the money yet. We have to meet with council. Yeah, this does not change. I think
that what we're talking about is we are at the final stages of determining what a septic amount in the
contracts are. It looks like there's probably going to be over $200,000 more in that fund than we will
have contracts out for from that December 1st deadline, just kind of
that's not included in this motion that this motion still has a plan having the same amount in it. That
is a conversation for the council and the commissioners to have and will amend the plan after that again
once occurs. Right. But this is just a recognition that there's no physically possible way to get in
these septics by December 1st of 26.
Is it a very small window for installing? It's a high risk, right? The things we have under contract
now, we've talked with the vendors. They know they're a priority to make sure they're done first half
of next year, if possible. And if they can't, they're going to come back to us. So beyond that, it was
a huge gamble. If we have a really wet year again, we think we can get these in. Yeah.
It's still a bit of a gamble. And so this might still change, but at least it's a recognition that there
is some money at play. But there are very specific requirements for how that remaining money is used,
which if this is a restricted fund, so it goes back to restricted. It's only open projects, projects
that are not complete yet. It's a very small number. So we can't take on new items.
I know we're probably going to get a lot of suggestions from folks, but we can't create new projects
at this moment. Correct. I think we have to look with the projects we have and allocate the
money accordingly. Great. Any other comments or questions? Colleagues no? Okay. Any public comments
on this item? You raise your hand in teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the ARPA plan, amendment number 11, signify by saying aye.
Aye. Motion carries. Three, zero. And next item, please. Move approval of ordinance 2025-50, approving
the capital improvement plan for the economic development income tax or edit.
Fund name, edit, fund number 1112, in the amount of the edit cash balance, which is $22,501,043.70,
and estimated revenues, which is $24,692,000, oh, I'm sorry, $24,692,724. Second.
motion. We have a second. This one's going to take a little explanation and then I think we're going
to be making some amendments. Yes and and let me start with the explanation. Pursuant to state code
we have to have an edit plan in order to receive the economic development income tax and you know current
estimates are we're getting going to get a little over 12 million a year for the next two years and
then of course
28 occurs and this funding source goes away. But in order to keep receiving those funds into there and
not have them segregated from the rest of our funds until we get this plan in place, we need to have
a plan in place. The plan has to encompass at least 75% of the revenue we expect to receive over the
life of the plan. So if it's two years, it has to be at least two years. And so since we anticipate
the plan will end
or the funding source will end at the end of 27, that really the number you've got to hit is about 19
million in the plan because five years, we're still getting the same amount of revenue because after,
yeah. So that's the reason we have the plan on the agenda. We had a discussion with the county council,
with some county council members at our work session, I think two weeks ago, the county council reviewed
and at their meeting,
voted to recommend some amendments to the plan and so what you have in the packet is really two different
versions of the plan the first is the kind of the original one that was talked about at that meeting
and then given to the council for review and the second one is the amendments the amendments aren't
really clear from from how it's organized in the packet so i'm just going to go through them really
quickly right now the first one is that they they recommended that the plan expire
on December 31st, 2027 and again in order to do that we'd have to make sure it is in place by the end
by December 31st, 2025 because it has to be at least a two-year plan. The second is they wanted to have
the justice center project to be numbered project one justice center project and they wanted the general
or to be titled project one they wanted the general description to be
county justice center and or county jail project and they wanted the estimated cost to be changed from
225 million to 150 million. And then I went ahead and renumbered the rest of the projects based upon
that. So, just to be clear, I'm sorry, just to you have to exhibit is correct.
You're looking at the second exhibit. Yeah. And I'm explaining the difference between the first exhibit
a and the second exhibit. Okay. Okay. Thank you. I'm just making sure we're all on the same page.
All right. Please continue. Okay. And so those are the basic changes the county council had requested.
Um, I did some renumbering. I think, uh,
I think the other thing that we would wanna think about is if we wanted to move it to December 31st,
2027, we would also look at the transit portion of that because it says 200,000 per year, but in the
projected budget, we'd had a million, so clearly we would change that number to either 500,000 per year
or the total budget of 400,000.
In addition, I think after discussing, after talking with the airport director and then knowing that
we've received probably over the last three years, well over 750 million in projects that we're looking
at locating at the airport, that the term for the airport terminal project be changed to airport
economic development project would still encompass the terminal building if that's the direction we
chose, but it would also allow for that money to be used for maybe some infrastructural needs for maybe
some of those projects if we ever landed one. So I think that would be the recommendation from staff
to change that as well. Can you give me that language again? To change the airport terminal building
project to airport economic development projects. All right, yeah, it's much looser, bigger.
broader, okay. Economic development projects, plural, I would say plural. Can I ask a question just
for clarification on the 4.667, I believe that the council has put in, is that going to be, is that
specific to 26 or is it also for 27? It says 2026 operational costs. Yes. And it is listed in the budget
just once.
and the total for the two years is that same amount. It's not each year. Are you saying it needs to
be each year? I'm concerned it should be. If we get through budgets in summer of 26, gosh, it sounds
so far away, but it's going to be here before you know it. And it's determined that additional monies
are needed
another five million, for example, to for dealing with this is insurance, um, a county expense. Can
we change this plan again? This point could be amended. Okay. Um, so, so at any point, let's wait and
see, let's wait and see. Is that all right? Yeah. No, I'm glad you raised it. You're right. Wait and
see amend later. Okay. All right. So, um,
Now is the time to make some edits. So I am fine with setting the date at December 31st, 2027. In project
one, I would remove the Orr County Jail project and I would change that amount back to 225 million,
which doesn't remove anything the council has asked for. Item three,
So that's part one of my motion to amend. Item three, airport economic development projects, plural.
So just retitling it. Item five, transit 500,000 per year to come to that million that's in the budget.
That's my motion. Second. Thank you. Other, well, let's do this one first and then we'll hear other
motions to amend. Is that okay? Any thoughts or comments on what I've of the motion? Okay. Any public
comment on the motion to amend?
My name is Peter Iverson, a resident of Monroe County, and I am the President Pro Tem of the County
Council. Madam President, thank you for your amendments. We certainly appreciate keeping the dates as
we all know that the changes to edit are looming, so we appreciate that. We would prefer to keep the
and or in the description, but we understand the rationale.
the estimated total cost of that project we felt was inflated given the fact that we don't know where
we're going at this point. But of course, that can be edited. And I just wanted to thank Mr. Cockrell
for his work on the airport. We certainly think that's a worthy project here, and we're glad to see
that transit is expanding.
We would prefer that we keep the Justice Center and County Jail Project estimated cost at $150 million.
So we don't see the inflation in that. But otherwise, we are thankful for the amendment. OK. So before
we vote on our amendment, I have another question
The budget at the end does not include project one in that second exhibit one. So the projects are not
numbered correctly on our packet page 135. I understand and I can correct it for project
2 through 5, I can add Project 1. I just would say that it was organized that way because I think we're
all under the understanding that under the current legislation, Project 1 can't be financed, right?
I mean, we could put Project 1 in there, but particularly if we're expiring this before in 27, unless
there's a legislative change, Project 1 is something that I think
everybody is interested in doing, but until those legends. So we, we kind of put within that project
and it's why it wasn't numbered. We put in that project kind of the legislative changes that were going
to be necessary in order to make that viable. And then there is language in there that if those come
and become viable, then this becomes the top priority project. Right. And so we kind of, it was organized
with the acknowledgement that yes, this would be our prop top priority if
the legislation was changed to allow it to become that, but right now it's not. And so it was kind of
organized to recognize that, but to kind of still meet the statutory requirements for funding that that
are possible. Okay. So then, um, so of course, if we, um, put more in our plan than we have to expend,
that's, there's nothing wrong with that. Right. So legally, if,
If it says make a plan for $20 million and you put $40 million worth of planning in there, it's okay,
right? Legally. Yes. Okay. So what I would ask is to, I mean, I would consider this just a Scrivener's
error. I would say that that project one needs to be listed and then, you know, project one, the total
amount to 25, if this amendment passes,
and then you have to renumber the projects at the end. So they match what's above two, three, four,
five, six. So delineate, yes, this is our priority. This is our second priority. And just list it that
way. And that way it's both in there. They're both in there and everything's listed correctly. Does
that make sense to everybody? I just think Scrivener's thing. Okay, so anyway, we've had public comment
on the amendment.
on the modifications of the expiration date, the titling of Project 1 and Project 3, and the amount
for Project 1, $225 million, and Project 5, $500,000 a year. So we've had public comment. All those
in favor of approving the amendment, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Okay, so now it's
an amended.
and I want to see what other questions, comments, amendments you all have on this item. Have we covered?
Okay. Okay. So in terms of just the layout, you understand my point about put project one in there,
draw a line under it, say this is our priority, but legislative yada yada and then list projects two
through six.
So they match the the numbers above. And what I had actually what I had done and maybe I need to change
it is I put I just put project one at 225 million in that expenditures during the term of the plan and
I think that okay because I think the the legislative stuff is already in this plan. Yeah it seems to
me it is so okay I just didn't know if you weren't you were uncomfortable leaving it as here's our project
one two three okay perfect all right.
anything else on this item from my colleagues? Any public comment on this amended? Word Nance. Driver
some thank you, Madam President. First of all, I want to recognize that this is one of the examples
that we can hold up of the Council and the
We had that really healthy discussion at your work center. And then when we brought it to council, I
think we were able to work very closely with staff to make sure that the projects articulated.
We're put placed in here and I hope that as we move forward, we can hold this edit plan up as an example
of how we can work not only efficiently together but effectively together. And so I would also point
out that as we talked about this in the council.
the expenditures during the term of the plan on the second page was incredibly helpful for council members
that weren't part of that work center conversation to be able to see, oh, okay, project one has this
outflow, project two has this outflow, there's the total, it's under that 75% that the legislature has
set. So again, just I wanted to come up and say kumbaya. All right, thank you.
Any other comment on this? Yes, sir. What did we miss? Well, I was listening to what you said, and I
think this also encapsulates it. At the end of it, we have where we said the percentage of the projects
included in the plan. We have an asterisk, I think, adding to the language of that asterisk that the
percentage excludes the Justice Center project to
due to the current statutory framework not allowing for the financing of that project, I think would
be helpful in clarifying how all those numbers get put into place. Okay. I'm going to make a motion
that we amend the plan thusly. That's my motion. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Any
public comments on the second motion to amend?
And go ahead and read that again, Mr. Cockrell. If you would. At the the asterisk at the end of the
document includes ads language after estimates to the percentage excludes to justice justice center
project due to the current statutory framework not allowing for the financing of that project.
public comment on that? All those in favor of amending ordinance 2020-50 signify by saying aye. Aye.
Motion carries 3-0. So now we have an amended, amended ordinance. Anything else? No, my only comment
is that I think it's really important to keep the $225 million in there to send a clear message to the
legislature. Yeah.
we are really serious about these. Even if that's not the amount that actually ends up getting spent,
it sends a clear message that we are intent upon building this facility. And that message is important
to send. Absolutely. And this will never cover the whole project anyway, but it is certainly the plan,
the hope, the dream that we will have some information coming
um, from the legislature in early 2026 that they've helped us get this going. Um, and then it's a matter
of finding a piece of land, but we'll cross that rickety bridge when we get to it. Um, thank you for
that. Uh, I'll do another round of public comment on the amended amended, um, ordinance 2025-50
all right all those in favor of approving the amended amended ordinance uh 2025 50 signify by saying
aye aye motion carries uh three zero i don't have an amount for that item k that's what we're missing
we need an amount one moment there's no amount okay there's no amount there we go thank you all right um
Next item, please. Move approval of an amendment to ARPA agreement with the Convention Center Management
Company, fund name ARPA, fund number 7950. 8950. Oh, sorry. My handwriting. 8950. Thank you. All right.
We have a motion? Second. All right. Who's presenting this? I can present this.
and she is here to maybe fill in any factual holes in mine in my presentation. We approved a contract
for the Convention Center Management Company to utilize what we had allocated for ARPA to improve the
areas of the Convention Center. And as Richard Crider was working with the Convention Center Management
company. We actually got contracts and we actually got, you know, indications of this is what we're
going to spend here and there, where there was some general language of audio visual and things like
that in the original contract. So what this does is it takes out that audio visual language from the
contract or from the from the agreement and the list of exhibits. Exhibit B is what we're actually spending
it on, and exhibit A is what the original
intent was just to kind of so people can look at and say, well, here's where the changes were made along
those lines. So we're really just trying to clean up that contract to make sure it conforms with what
actually occurred. Again, this is done mostly for audit reasons to make sure that when the the audit
group comes in to audit our books, they have a clean, clear trail of how things were spent and the lines
of authority for that spending.
Any comments or questions, Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Medeira? No, thank you. Ms.
Coppock, did you want to add anything? Good morning. Hi, good morning. Talisha Coppock, Convention Center
Management Company. And just wanted to say the bottom line stays the same. We tried for a year to get
the existing building and the new building to talk
other with audio visual and it was just not making sense at all and so now the existing building audio
visual be taken care of by the capital improvement board so that just made a lot more sense and then
in the meantime with all of that we had some significant you know like the water heater that needed
to be replaced so
Just thank you so much these projects were invaluable for stabilizing the building and you know as you
know it's a hundred year old building and it's rocking at full tilt most of the time. So so we appreciate
that and appreciate your patience and.
I'm also impressed with the level of activity and detail and just my hats are off to all of you for
how, what a challenging job all this, all the topics that you deal with. But thank you to the auditor's
office, legal department, commissioners, everybody. Season's greetings. Greetings. Thank you. Thank
you for the, for the.
nice words we appreciate it yeah it's it's there's a lot of plates spinning all the time yeah you do
the same thing just in a different world yep all right uh any public comment on this item raise your
hand on teams or come to the podium let's see none um all those in favor of approving uh the amendment
to the arpa agreement with convention center management company signify by saying aye
aye motion carries three zero next item please move approval of milestone change order number one for
moores creek road stormwater project fund name stormwater fund number 1197 in an amount of negative
sixty seven thousand six hundred eighty nine dollars and eighteen cents second
the motion in a second. Thank you for your patience and waiting and welcome. Good morning. I'm happy
to end on a money back to us. Yeah, nice. So our milestone Moores Creek Road project, they paved it
last November, November 2024. They spent 2025 doing minor finishing up touches. So we're closing out
the contract and getting everything finished out.
So the total of our under run was $74,628.58. There was one change to the treatment of the subgrade
that cost an additional $6,939.40. So our total under run was $67,689.18 below the contract. Great,
it is nice to
have some money come back to stormwater to be used for something else. Amazing. All right. Uh, comments
or questions, commissioner Jones. No, I'm just pleased that we'll have this extra money for stormwater.
We could use it. We could use it. Uh, commissioner Madera. I think this is a good way to get money back.
Um, good way to end the meeting. Thank you. Yeah. We always, um, just like to remind folks that the,
three members of the board of commissioners and the surveyor make up the stormwater board. So we're
very happy. We've seen the money going out and we're so glad this project's done. So thanks for all
the hard work on that. That's not been an easy project. Yes. So the Moores Creek side is done. Stip
road is the other portion of that and that's finishing up. They're done paving. Guardrails went in so
the road should be opening
Hopefully by the end of this week, there's just some finishing touches, then they'll spend portion of
2026 doing the final stabilization and final details. Good news for the folks who live out there, especially
because I think we're supposed to get an inch of rain today. Yes. I didn't know that. It's good to see.
Yeah, it is. Thank you for all your hard work and happy holidays to you from all of us. Any public comments
on this item? You raise your hand in teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the milestone change order number one for the Moores Creek
Road stormwater project signify by saying aye. Motion carries three zero. Give me one moment. Let's
take a quick 30 second pause if we might in the meeting. I'm gonna recess the meeting for a minute.
Thank you.
It's on the website. I would just add it as an item. Exactly, yeah. I pulled it off the website so I'm
sure it's there.
Thank you and we're back to our meeting. Thank you for your patience. We have an additional resolution
that is available on our website. It is not part of our packet. I'm going to go ahead and make a motion
to introduce and approve resolution 2025-58, a resolution regarding notice to homeless encampments.
second. All right, so we have a motion and we have a second. Mr. Cockrell. Yes, the resolution is based
upon the conversations that occurred at essentially the work session last Thursday. At that work session,
the discussion, the request was that the commissioners allow
uh, or require 30 days notice in the event that we are going to remove a homelessness encampments encampment.
Um, so this resolution recognizes that it also recognizes that we won't issue that 30 day notice until
March 2nd of this year or next year, 2026. Sorry. In the future a little bit there. Um, and that, that
this will, this is enforced unless
Uh, the commissioners get notice from, or unless you rescinded any notice meeting, or if the emergency
is determined and emergency is determined by law enforcement, the Monroe County health officer, or if
the removal is requested by the city of Bloomington. So I think we've, we've covered our bases with,
you know, I used the word if something became unstable at that, which
Granted is a pretty generic term, right? I agreed with them, but those are the people who can help,
who will let you guys know if it's unstable. And of course, if you can determine on your own, if it's
unstable, that is. And then it also has a section where you are going to request other Monroe County
and City of Bloomington elected leaders to meet and discuss
the steps to address the homelessness in the community. So those are kind of the two components of this
resolution. So I will say I appreciate that those authorities that may impact decision-making are delineated.
It's very clear, very transparent. I would
we've been stuck in paralysis by analysis for far too long. And so, um, I think we need some action
and, um, we'll be sending, um, an email invitation to our colleagues
Um, in a, the creation of a working group to determine, um, the next steps and, um, we'd really like
some action and some numbers and some specifics that would be incredibly helpful. Um, do you have any
comments or questions? Commissioner Maduro.
I just wanted to thank everyone for participating in the discussion last week. And it was, I think,
very, um, very eye opening and very beneficial. It was, and we do appreciate residents who have, um,
stepped up and we do expect and hope that they will continue to be part of that process. Um, of finding
a better way out of this. Um, so I, I agree with that. Um,
Any public comment on resolution 2025-58? Ms. Whitmer. I have not read the resolution, so forgive me
if I'm completely off base. For instance, at a park, if we have one tent, is that an encampment? And
the reason why is because in the old procedure, we would put the sign up
to tell them what we're doing. I can't remember, it's like five days total. But if that tent stays for
30 days, we might have two tents and then three tents. I'm not sure what the resolution says, so. Well,
I think the resolution says that a reasonable person would conclude that the property is associated
with a homeless encampment. In my mind, one tent does not an encampment make, right? But if it grows to
two or three or four, then I think we're, it becomes an encampment, right? So we still go back to the
old procedure, which I don't have in front of me. Yeah. Okay. And we want to provide at least 30 days
notice. So it's not. For wing 10? Because that's not what- For, I guess- I'm glad you're asking these
questions. Thank you for- I think to clarify,
The intent is for this to deal with homeless encampments. If you have any other reasons that someone
is storing personal property on a county property, those rules are still in place. What this is essentially
doing is that if you were dealing with a homeless encampment, that 72 hour notice that's required under
our current code is going to become a 30 day notice for homeless encampments only. Right. More than
one tent. Correct.
Good questions. Peter Iverson, Monroe County residents, county council. Just the resolution is a little
hard to find. So I just wanted to encourage folks that when you go to the board of commissioners website,
you have to go down to the, all the way down to the agendas and packet section to get to the resolution.
I will say this,
The meeting on December 11th was really helpful. And the county council stands in solidarity with you
in wanting a working group to talk about these issues. Clearly this resolution is a first step toward
that. And we see it as that. And I would just encourage you in the now therefore section that
when you direct people to give that notice, that 30 days notice, that it not only include Mineral County
staff, but also those street outreach folks, particularly through the contract that we have through
Health Net. So thank you for this, and I look forward to continuing this conversation. That wouldn't
be... There's nothing in our code that allows somebody who isn't a county personnel to issue that notice.
Right. It has to be counties.
staff who issues the notice for removal. That's a helpful clarification. It would not come from Health
Net. Health Net is called in to help before that time as early as possible. We notify them. And they're
there to take care of their patients. Right. They're not, they're not, they don't give notice. No. It
has to be the county that does it. Yes. Because it's county property. Right.
And then with the 30 day notice be public or would this be a notice solely to those experiencing
homelessness. Typically it's posted at the site with some conversations and you know it's not just like
quietly posted at dark and people run away. There are conversations that occur at that time.
Um, and again, that's a minimum, so it could be 60 days. It could be more. Yes. I can add that, um,
I reached out to Mary Morgan, um, and she's willing to act as the focal point for notices. So, um, if
there is such a notice, it would go, we could send it to her and she would ensure that it gets to health
net to beacon, um, wheeler, um, community kitchen. She would ensure that that way it's noticed.
And I guess from my perspective, I think this is a resolution. It's not amendment to our code or anything.
Sure. Precisely to give that, you know, that last two line thing has a lot of value here. It's precisely
to give that group the ability to make recommendations and to discuss how do we how how do we want that
done and what what areas do we want done? I mean, all those are great things, but I think that is something
we we left
intentionally vague in this. There were commitments made at the last week meeting, and we want to make
sure that those are involved. The other commitment was, hey, we're going to get together and work. Look
at this. And I think all those questions you just asked are great things for that group to kind of provide
feedback. Sure, sure. And the rationale for me bringing up the notice was that the last this last incident
that happened, the notice hit Reddit first. That's where some of us saw it first. And I just want to
make sure that
that doesn't happen again, because of course that started a rumor mill and that started all sorts of
hearsay. So I just wanna make sure that, you know, we're not, you know, we're just being above board
and we're being clear with what we're doing. We can look at that issue, but from our perspective, if
you have somebody who is,
If you're trespassing on county property, then the notice doesn't have to be voted on because that wrong
has already occurred, right? It's already an inconsistency with the legal standing of people on that
property. So we wouldn't vote on it publicly because that would mean we'd have to vote on everything we do.
But it's certainly something we can look at and will look at in terms of how the information gets out
to the community. But the information is targeted for and at that very specific location where there's
an encampment. And we don't want to make the situation harder for them.
Yeah. I think it's a very fine line, very fine line for the purposes of public comment. I think I'll
just leave it as I'm looking forward to continuing the conversation. We definitely have a lot more to
talk about for sure. Thank you. And any expenses that we've ever incurred as a result of clearing is,
is only in the cleanup. It is in bio one in D is who we use. We do have a contract right now that we haven't
implemented, activated. But that's the only expense we incur. And that's a cleanup, including biohazards
and syringes. And that's I think that's going to be a really helpful conversation to have as we move
forward. Yep. Thank you. All right. Looks like we have
of DH online. I see a second-hand race, but I can't see it on my screen. So we'll, oh, it's Mr. Henry,
County Council. Can you go ahead? Yeah, good afternoon. Yeah, good afternoon, commissioners. Thank you.
I'm going to make comments. David Henry, Winter County resident. Though I'll be putting on my hat as
a practitioner of emergency management and adjunct at IU's O'Neill School. I think the challenge I'm
having as I've seen this work through this,
resolution and the encampment over the past few weeks is that the fatal flaw is in the 2019 ordinance.
The resolution may address the ordinance, but the ordinance itself is the flawed piece here because
there's a almost dispassionate discussion about this being a property problem and a trespass problem
and not a humanity problem. If we were to imagine 70 people displaced from a tornado,
in our community that we'd have to find shelter for and connect to social services. We'd conduct this
work in a very different way. We would be leveraging our emergency management agency. We'd be writing
plans and preparing in advance with the partners we're tasking like Health Net and Beacon and Heading
Home and the Sheriff's Department that have roles in how to move a clearing or encampment. And that's
not what's going on in the ordinance. That's not what's going on in the resolution. The language still
speaks to a sort of
Uh, criminal trespass and then property management problem, which really, um, as I look around the room
and the people tasked with that, um, do not have the qualifications to manage an emergency like, um,
like we would a tornado, right? And so it's not really, I think, fair to our staff to utilize them in
that way when we have an emergency management agency and partners that are preparing for.
Things like encampments and so I look forward to bringing that into our conversation when we all meet
that the ordinance itself is the problem at this point. And it's really just putting mandates on the
gunshot wound that we've created with displacing people with nowhere to go. And then we really need
to recenter our thinking on this and it kind of gets back to a point, which I've made in the county
council meetings that we've yet to see in any.
conversations, the plan, the point of contact for this activity, and then who the media goes to. And
even in the context of this discussion, I just heard kind of revelations about health nets contacted,
having homes contacted. And yet that's not a plan. There's no checklist for that. And so I think those
are very important things we have to do to manage this better. And it's clear that, to me anyway, that
we can make a 30 day notice, 40 to five day notice, 15 day notice,
It's still just adding pieces to an ordinance that itself is not treating the challenge we're having
with encampments as the emergency they are. It's not a natural disaster. It's an economic one. And we
should start treating it that way to treat the humans in there with a little more dignity. Thank you
for your time. Thank you. Commissioner Madure, did you want to respond?
I think that the resolution is just a very tentative first step, and we have many, many conversations
to engage in, and those conversations will inform what takes place. So those factors certainly are among
those to be considered, but I think it's even broader than that. Yeah, and really, this is in response
to what folks wanted, what people in the community asked for. So I don't see this as
a wrong move at all, it is certainly temporary and we recognize that. You can tell that by the way that
it's written. And I don't appreciate the implication that there's no checklist or process because there
is a process and we've just now heard of another change in the process, but there is a process and we
have followed that and it is a bigger, broader problem, but it is not one the county can solve alone.
and it is not one emergency management can solve. It is one that is solved across the community that
includes the city. So we will be issuing an invitation soon to begin that process. We do recognize it's
a bigger problem. We said the same thing last week. So I'm not sure that there's a clear understanding
of what this
Um, is for, um, it provides exactly what, uh, the community, um, requested and we've done that. Um,
we also have Ashley with a hand raised if, uh, TST, if you could promote Ashley and then we'll come
back to the room for Mr. Davis. Uh, thank you commissioner. My name is Ashley Chaunting. I'm a resident
of the Thompson property that started this conversation.
I would like to push back. This is not what the community asked for. It is honestly, it has so many
caveats as to make it almost meaningless as protection against winter evictions. And it is very concerning
to me the lack of transparency and the lack of community involvement that are involved in the proposed
next steps. So we also look forward to continuing this conversation with you guys via the means available to us.
Thank you so much Ashley. Lee is also online. I know Lee has been waiting, but hadn't had their hand
raised. Well, we'll go ahead and hear from Mr. Davis in this room and then we'll. Hello, I think I got
it. Okay, go ahead. Yes, Ashley. Hi, my name is Lee.
The green paper, I just wanted to say, I object to the last minute addition to the agenda. I think that
if we're gonna, if this is important enough to do, it's enough to give adequate notice to everyone in
the community to know that this is gonna be on the agenda and be able to be here and think about this
as we go forward. Thank you. Thank you. And to both Ashley and Leah, I'd like to say that
What this does is it provides the assurances that were requested by the community. It doesn't solve
a long term problem. But what it does say is that there will be a minimum of 30 days notice that there
won't be a notice issued before March 2nd, 2026. So it has, it reflects what we had heard
our concern was that if we did nothing, we would be into January and folks would still not have that
certainty that they had been seeking last week. So again, it is the beginning, it is not the end. And
we do hope that the community participates as we move forward
looking at those next steps because that's an integral part of creating any solution. It's not just
going to be created amongst a few people. It will take the entire community and their input to make
this right. So thank you both. Mr. Davis, please. Even though I've introduced you. Introduce yourself,
please. And you'll have three minutes.
look to see the countdown it is on that screen okay so I talk TSD would you provide a larger clock on
one of the monitors please there you go thank you yes would you turn that okay that's that's great there
you go I can look at that one over there there's one right there easily
We got you covered. I'll try not to get whiplash. Can't do right for doing wrong. All right. Thank you
very much. My name is Joe Davis, Joseph B. Davis, and I would like to make some comments, ask some questions
regarding the resolution. I do think it is an improvement from the previous limiting two or three day
notice that
existed before. 30 days is certainly much better. The first question I would like to ask, I'm sorry
I have not read the resolution. I just read on Dave Askin's Thursday email that he sends out to the
public that the commissioners were having a meeting today and
I'm grateful to Dave Askins always for his community information. So the first question I have is there
a definition for what constitutes a homeless encampment?
So we won't answer questions, but we will take your questions under advisement. So please continue,
we're interested in this. Okay, I'm sorry, I got the impression from when our council person was making
comments, there was a dialogue back and forth, and I thought that was what was appropriate
in this circumstance. Okay, the second question is, which properties owned by the county
are going to follow these guidelines. For example, if someone were to camp out here, a single person,
that's an encampment. If they're more, then it's a larger number. But if a single person camps out here
on the courthouse grounds, are they going to have 30 days notice? Are they going to be able to move
their stuff out
be treated civilly. The next thing that I would like to ask is, is there a means for filing injunctions
when people are removed from the status quo? I know from media reports that some of the folks who were
cleared out
of that property recently had been there for maybe three years. The status quo was that they have been
there. And in our courts of law, injunctions have the ability to maintain the status quo until this
issue gets before the court. So this brings, oh, I'm out of time.
I'm so sorry, three minutes is too little. You are invited to send additional questions you have to
us via email or you can call us or contact us in some way with your questions because they're
very interesting questions. We appreciate that. Okay, there's just one more thing I would like to mention.
This is a technical issue. My friend Lee Grundhafer who just spoke from online,
monitor spelled her name L E E. We don't control that. That's produced by the person who is signing
in. OK, well. And then the caption. The caption is the caption. Yep. We don't have somebody actually
typing. It's AI generated. So is there a way to train the AI so that they spell her name correctly?
I don't know. I don't know. Sorry. Thank you very much. Sorry. They get me wrong all the time. So it's OK.
Exactly. That's why we need to train the AI that is serving our people. Thank you. All right. Okay.
So with that, I do want to see if there is any other comments or questions from my colleagues.
No, I just wanted to address something that I just heard. Just to make clear, there was no one removed
from the encampment. And so there was a suggestion that some people who were removed had been there
for three years. No one was removed from the Thompson property. So just to clarify that the the actual
encampment that was was handled, I believe, on Monday, Browns Woods that Monday on December 8th was
actually a city property. That's city. That was a city encampment. So that was not the county.
I know it can be hard to keep the two distinct on some areas. Yeah, for sure. All right. All right.
So we're ready for vote on this item. Okay. All those in favor of approving resolution 2025-58 signify
by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. And despite the fact that we heard somebody say, well,
this isn't what we wanted at all.
This is what we heard. This is what we heard most folks wanted. And we know this isn't the end. This
is the beginning. So we appreciate everybody's participation and assistance with this. All right. So
do you have some appointments? I'm going to go ahead and make a motion for the Historic Preservation
Board of Review
These are four-year terms through January 1st, 2029. These are reappointments. Don Hall, Michael Rushton,
and Colby Wicker. For the licensing board, this is a two-year appointment ending in January 1st of 2028.
Bill Rigert. The Monroe Fire Protection District. These are four-year appointments that run through
December 31st, 2029. Vicki Sorensen, John Bernstein, Mike Baker,
Kevin Robling for the Opioid Settlement Board of Review. This is a two-year appointment ending December
31st, 2027. I have that wrong in my notes. And that would be Kathy Hewitt for the Redevelopment Commission.
These are one-year appointments ending December 31st, 2026. Richard Martin and Mike Jones.
motion. Second. We have a second. Thanks to everyone who have who have been serving and serving so ably
and capably and doing so much for Monroe County. These are all reappointments so thank you for re-upping.
We appreciate it. All those in favor of approving these appointments signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion
carries three zero. I will note that
We have some pretty important openings on boards and commissions, and this comes with a bit of news
as well, but we have three members of our Board of Health are stepping down, and that includes Lee McKinley,
but Aurora Don DeOrio,
has, she's currently the chair of that board, has really made a big difference for Monroe County and
public health. And Dr. George Hegeman, who has been on that board for more than two decades. It's amazing.
He's a professor emeritus in biology from IU.
And he's very active elsewhere in the community. We are going to miss him. And we really do hope that
he stays in touch and keeps providing public comment and input because he's so thoughtful. And we're
going to miss all three of them. But my gosh, more than two decades on a board of commission.
that is impressive. So many thanks. So we do have openings for the Board of Health. We also have openings
in animal management. There are a number of those. So we're going to try to figure out a way to post
something on the homepage, Angie, that the real way. Angie, if you would, we're gonna try to figure out
Um, some way to post a notice so that folks know exactly what's available, what's open and what we need
help with. So we would appreciate it and you can apply online. You don't have to come in. Um, and we
really do appreciate those, those folks who serve, um, is, um, another announcement, um, uh, we are
planning as of now to meet on Monday.
uh, December 22nd at five PM. And this is a, uh, related to the Monroe Fire Protection District. Um,
and it concerns, uh, Bean Blossom. And I know that we have had conversations with Polk Township, Salt
Township, and we've, we've had, um, some, uh, conversations about
we're going to be holding those. Questions off until 2026, but early in the year, so stay tuned,
but we are. I'm going to meet Monday 5
that we had a pretty good turnout at both, um, to have these initial discussions and to talk through,
um, the tax issues and other things for residents. So, um. It's it's been a very, uh, interesting process.
Um, and, um, so so folks who, um,
questions. Um, please come to that meeting. You can join via teams or you can come here to the net you
Hill room and you are welcome to submit comments via email and it, um, we can, um, we will note them
during our meeting what we've received commentary wise and they become part of our record.
of decisions. So what you have to tell us is important. We have heard from a number of folks at Steinsville
over the course of these meetings. But we are under a time crunch because this is for, this would take
effect January 1st, 2027. And that's why we need to act sooner. Just a reminder as well,
that we do have office hours six times a month. You're invited to look at the calendar on our homepage
and join us on Teams for a conversation. We do recommend folks
that. Um sign up for the resident alert system, especially. It seems like there's no bad time of year
to do it. But with winter weather. You never know. So we do need, um, we do need that. Um. And, um.
I will note that we are closed. Oh, I don't have my
I'm gonna go look at the calendar. Yeah, I believe so too. I just wanna get that clear. Yeah, 24th,
25th, 26th, January 1st and 2nd, correct? 31st. Right, 31st, 1st and 2nd. Okay, so there you go. That
was clear as mud, sorry. But we do.
We do want to wish everyone in the community happy holidays, whether it be Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,
a peaceful winter solstice, Happy Kwanzaa. There's a lot to celebrate this time of year. And I really
appreciate my colleagues. I just want to thank you both for an amazing year. And I do want to just put
out a message
and this is for our colleagues in county government. It's for everyone in the community. Let's just
try to be more kind in 2026. That's just what I'm gonna ask for. Anything you wanna add? Anything you
wanna add? No, I just appreciate my colleagues. I appreciate everybody in county government and city as well.
We work so hard to serve the public in these buildings and I appreciate when the public responds and
recognizes that It is always very nice and everybody who works for the county enjoys hearing that too.
Yeah for sure We have great employees in this county boy. They got us through that storm last weekend
But they did it they figured out how to do it We have amazing employees every day
they come to work to serve residents. And that is mind blowing. And it's a thankless job, but it is
a good idea to thank them. All right. Our next meeting is January 8th of 2026. Sounds like a long way
off. Blink will be here. And I do want to thank everyone, all of our colleagues in our office and legal and
everywhere. TSD, thank you. We appreciate you. Yay, thumbs up. Cats, we always appreciate you. And unless
there's anything else, happy holidays, happy 2026. We are adjourned. Thanks, everyone.