- Great. I'm going to call to order this meeting in Monroe County Board of Commissioners. It is Thursday,
- February 26. And we will 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. We also stand in support of our county public school systems, both RBB and MCCSC.
- Thank you so much. I forgot to note for the record that Commissioner Madeira and myself are here and
- present in the Nattie Hill room, and we have Commissioner Jones joining us via Teams. All right, so
- I don't know if her mic's been... Yeah, it has. Perfect. Thank you. All right. And with that, we will
- move on to our department updates.
- We have Ms. Kelly from the Health Department joining us. Good morning. Good morning, commissioners.
- Just a few updates. According to the Indiana Department of Health, as of February 24th, emergency department
- visits for COVID-like illness remain stable, and wastewater concentrations are trending down. Flu activity
- across the state are at moderate levels.
- there were five flu associated deaths for the week of February 8th through the 14th. As a reminder,
- the Health Department does have combo flu AMB and COVID tests for free. Individuals can walk in Monday
- through Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM to receive free tests. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
- Commissioner Madeira. I have none. Thank you. Commissioner Jones.
- No, I don't. All right. Thank you so much, Ms. Kelly, and we'll see you shortly. Thank you. All right.
- Next, we have Ms. Myers from Rural Transit. Good morning. It's good to see you. Good morning.
- Can you hear me? Yes. Good to see you on this little snowy morning.
- I'm just here for the quarterly update for rural transit and wanted to tell you our 2025 total trip
- numbers for the full system is 41,466. Monroe County was 15,128, which is about 36.5% of the total of
- the four counties.
- pretty close to the same as last year's ridership. So we're kind of seeing that stabilized now. That
- does not include the urbanized area routes. That is an additional 6,202 routes trips that we had, which
- is higher actually than 2024, which was just under 6,100 for 2024. So we had a little bit higher.
- On Tuesday, we had an all staff, we actually closed the system down for a half day and had all staff
- required training for passenger assistance training, which is wheelchair securement, which went really
- well. Also reviewing footage of real accidents that happened when you don't strap wheelchairs
- down appropriately, which is a terrible thing to see. It always makes my palms sweat and it's pretty
- bad. But it was good. We had a good training.
- We did have our long-time mechanic retire in December and so we are without that position right now
- and we're actually trying to see if we will continue with that arrangement and doing the preventative
- maintenance through contracted services for a while and see what that cost comparison is. So I'll keep
- you updated on that as we go forward.
- The renewal grant will, of course, start coming around in March, and I think it's due mid-May, so you'll
- see me again, hopefully, in April, where I'll bring all of that to you for the full next year,
- which is 2027. I do intend to make sure that we get that in as early as we can, just because of timing
- of other things going on at the agency.
- give you a heads up. So I don't want to push that to me. I really want to do that in April if I can.
- And then the only other news I had was that last week we had a catalytic converter stolen off of one
- of our buses that was up in ND at Superior Van and Mobility, which is the required place we take them
- for lift maintenance and repair. So it was behind a fence.
- and they came in, somebody came in and cut off all of the vehicles that were there, their catalytic
- converters. So unfortunately, we're going to be dealing with that, which hasn't happened in years.
- So anyway, that's the big update from rural transit. Any questions there? Thank you so much. Thank you
- for being here. We appreciate it. Commissioner Jones, comments or questions? No, I don't. Thank you.
- I'm just sad to hear they converted the catalytic converter. There is a crime called conversion, right?
- Yes. I want to thank you again for whatever magic you did to have in dot pay for urban transit. And
- I hope they feel generous for
- 27, but we'll see. Yes. I think that will be an interesting development. 2027 is going to be
- this year, Bloomington Transit's gonna be going through another strategic plan. They did actually invite
- me to be a part of reviewing their proposals for that, and I agreed to do that, and I think we're in
- the process of coming together as a committee and looking at who they're going to contract with, and
- then that will begin the process for them on updating their strategic plan, which will certainly loop
- in, as I understand it, Monroe County, town of Ellitsville, rural transit as well, so. Well, in 2029,
- still well now 2029. The transit piece falls to the county to finance and administer so it's interesting
- that we haven't heard from transit about this so interesting. I think you'll probably start to hear
- from them maybe closer to March or April okay based on the RFP information I saw yeah and it's and it's
- not on you
- you're going to step in okay I was because my understanding is is that. Our Chris is going to be
- I think that I've been here for the entire time that you have been in that position and we've had our
- own battles and we've come out of it strong and more knowledgeable and I just, I hate to hear that you're
- going to be leaving. So I just want to say that.
- I know. It's really hard. But we're going to see you in a couple months, yeah? You will. And please
- don't make me cry. I wanted to cry when I saw that email, honestly. I did announce that I'm retiring
- early from Area 10. I'm going to do some rebalancing in my life with home and family. But it was a really,
- really difficult decision, probably one of the most difficult decisions I've had. And I'm going to try
- and say that without. Yeah. Wow.
- Yeah, but we've got a long way. I've got, you know, I think we're going to be in a good place for a
- smooth transition, and I'm going to be unloading and infusing that person with a lot of deep information
- and hopefully ethics, too. So, yeah. Yeah. It's such important work. People don't realize. It really
- is. It's more than transit, obviously.
- And we don't toot our horn enough, but there will be some need for some local advocacy here in the coming
- months that I will loop you into as far as state administration and area redesign and things like that,
- that we're gonna need allies for sure. Please, please let us know what we can do. Cause it is so, it
- is as important as transit is. It is. And that there's so much more. Thank you. Thanks Angie.
- Thank you. I know my heart is like,
- I couldn't even respond when I first saw it. I know. See you in a couple of months. We're all new to
- it. All right. Ms. Purdy, did you want to talk about the towers building remodel? Yes. So it was brought
- up during the council's Tuesday night meeting that there was concerns expressed by the election supervisor
- and the clerk regarding the new space.
- And I think Council Member David Henry also had concerns. And it would have been appreciated if they
- could have spoken with us because we have everything under control and the problems that were referenced
- about telephones, security issues, those are taken care of. Do you have any questions?
- I just, yeah, I think it was a little confusing too because there were discussions about both spaces
- and they overlapped and they shouldn't have overlapped because they're not the same. Yes. They will
- be the same in the future, but right now they're. Yes. So for clarification on the first floor of the
- showers area, we have early voting and that will be open and ready to go for early voting.
- that. And the other side of that is actually voter registration, and that is where, um. The supervise
- the election supervisor and her staff will be housed. And that is not scheduled to be open per se, um,
- in time for. Early voting, so they're in a
- providing the additional phones in the new space as they will need and we're going to be talking with
- them to come up with a solution that they would like that is in that area because we have the ability
- to solve their problem that they believe.
- And we are on track. We are on track for early voting space being open and operational on time for that
- time frame. Absolutely. Mr. Kreider has been doing a great job. And he's finding himself torn in 12
- different directions. And I know that when it was first brought to us
- regarding like three phones, there was a concern and he was the one who was able to find the solution
- of like, hey, why don't we just forward the phones to cell phones, give those cell phones to your staff,
- that will resolve that point in time. So he's solving problems and he's going to,
- beautiful early voting site and voter registration is going to be beautiful when it's done too. Yeah,
- but that's later and that's on purpose. That was always planned. It was always planned. Yes, we're having
- to phase this. We can only do so much. We certainly want to prioritize early voting, open and operational
- before the rest is done. And, um, Mr. Crider, you've done a great job. Thank you. Appreciate you. Um,
- comments or questions, commissioner Madeira.
- I know. I think that if anyone from the public has any questions, they're welcome to call our office
- or attend office hours. And we're always happy to address those questions. Yeah, for sure. Commissioner
- Jones, comments or questions? Just thank you so much, Mr. Kreider and Angie and everyone else who have
- worked on this. And I think it's going to end up being a really nice situation. I agree.
- Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Any other departments have an update for us. All right with
- that we will move on to public comment. This is time for items not on our agenda. We ask each
- your name and county of residence as you begin speaking. If you're on teams, you may raise your hand
- and wait to be recognized. And we have Mr. M.G. from the chamber joining us. Good morning. Good morning,
- commissioners. This is Christopher M.G. from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. And I want
- to just echo the sentiments of this body on Ms. Meyer's work at Area 10. I've collaborated with her
- and the passion she brings and dedication. Knows no bounds, really. So I'll kind of
- change my order and kind of talk transit I was at the Monday public hearing on on route 13 at Bloomington
- transit for their board hearing feedback and we're at kind of an impasse on that it was celebrated the
- first sort of transit service outside the incorporated area
- And we're needing some action from the county, both on the MOU level, which is this body, and then also
- with the county council, March 10th, and how important that is. That has not been the perfect first
- year, but I think it's a starting point. I think Commissioner Thomas mentioned the SB1 and how that's
- going to change. And it's important we continue this service. One thing with transit, it needs to be
- consistent. We have a baseline now. I think we can make some improvements. And we heard from, in that
- public hearing, what that service means
- employees at Park 48 specifically, Cook Medical mentioned that. Second, I want to bring up kudos to
- County Assessor Judy Sharp. She sent letters to, I think it was 120 businesses around the near south
- side of Bloomington regarding just get some rollbacks on their assessments. She heard some appeals.
- She saw the conditions down there, the vacancy, the market softening, and she took action with it.
- very long conversation with her last week, very open, very honest. The work she does is really, for
- the past 30 odd years, knows no bounds. She's a frequent visitor to the Builders Association luncheons,
- very honest and impeccable staff that she has, really appreciated there. And the last thing I want to
- talk about was the county council's resolution that they did on the justice center. And one thing we
- wanted to hear from the council, I think it's clarity a little bit,
- nitpick on what's included there and what is not, but just axing North Park, getting a cap on what they're
- looking for. These are at least getting us moving in the right direction. I've been with the public
- comment, the public meetings on the co-, between the two bodies, and we need some progress. We have
- a firm deadline, so I'm hoping this is a signal that these two bodies can work together and we can get
- the justice center that Monroe County deserves. Thank you. Appreciate it.
- Thank you. Um and just, um, as a preview, we're going to be talking about this at our work session.
- So thank you. Also line 13. We're waiting on council before we sign anything because we need
- that appropriation so. And I believe it is on their agenda for March 10th. Uh, meeting so we look forward
- to seeing how that goes, and, um. We would. We would have to take that
- All right. Any other public comment? Done. Let's move on to our next item, please. I would like to move
- approval of the minutes from February 12th, 2026. I will second that. Any
- comments, corrections or edits? No. Mr. Jones is no, okay. No. All right. The copper, will you please
- call the roll on the approval of the minutes for February 12th, 2020. Commissioner Thomas. Yes. Commissioner
- Madeira. Yes.
- Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. I would like to move approval
- of the claims docket for accounts payable for February 26, 2026, and for payroll from February 20, 2026.
- I will second that. Skyardil, please tell us about it. Good morning. The accounts payable claims docket
- for February 26, 2026
- total is $11,941,243.97. This includes all emergency claims and adjustments. The payroll docket for
- February 20th, 2026 includes $1,690,318.91 in direct cost and the remaining $720,982.41
- Um, sorry, we're indirect costs and a grant and a grand total of 2,411,301 and 32 cents. All right.
- Thank you so much. Uh, comments or questions, commissioner Jones. No, I have none. Thank you. All right.
- Um, any public comment on this item? You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- I'm seeing none. Mr Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the claim stock at accounts payable February
- 26th, 2026 and payroll for February 20th, 2026. Mr. Thomas. Yes. Madera. Yes. Mr. Jones. Yes. Motion
- is approved three to zero. Thank you so much. I will note for the record, we have
- received reports from the clerk of the circuit court and that is for january 2026 from the treasurer
- january 2026 and weights and measures report for february 2026 although the month's not done so that's
- kind of odd um i think it might be january all right uh and with that we'll move on to new business
- please yes i would like to
- and the grant amount up to $55,000. All right. I will second that and we have Mr Baker joining us online.
- Good morning. To unmute. Let's see. They
- Thank you. Good morning, commissioners. Okay, so this grant is our annual grant that we get each year
- that pays the county $55,000 or up to $55,000 back of our salaries that we get each year. All right,
- thank you so much. Comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? Nope, I love the word grant.
- Yeah. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't.
- Yeah, it's really useful to have this reimbursement, definitely. So thank you. And thank you for your
- hard work. And I know we had a travel advisory this morning. So it's been a busy morning. I kept looking
- at radar last night. I kept saying, oh, it's going to rain a little. And then I woke up to this. But
- it's going to be gone by this afternoon, which makes it especially beautiful.
- It really does. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can raise your hand on teams
- or come to the podium. Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the 2025 Emergency
- Management Performance Salary Grant? Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- 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 the partnership
- agreement with the Center for Community Engaged Dissemination and Implementation Research, or CDER.
- Second. Ms. Kelly, good morning again. Good morning again.
- This is just a partnership agreement. There's no funding involved. Essentially, we have been in discussion
- with Indiana University about coming together, providing a Monroe County Health Department employee
- who will help to conduct programming for families focused around healthy eating habits and physical
- activity. So currently the plan is that this would be hosted this summer. It's eight weeks.
- the employee would be spending approximately up to 10 hours during that eight week period providing
- these programming and services. But this is aligned with our Health First Indiana initiatives and our
- department strategic plans. All right. Thank you so much. Comments or questions, Commissioner Jones?
- No, I don't. Commissioner Madera? Just that this is, I think, an excellent example, again, of a,
- you know, government
- And so I'd love to see more of these. I know Cedar and their work, and this is, of course, our health
- department, which is awesome. So wonderful. I think this is going to be great. And my question is actually
- about something else. And since you're here, you had sent me an email yesterday about that letter or
- that grant
- that we need to sign is documentation enough so. If if you could do that that would be great we're going
- to have a work session today so thank you appreciate it I don't have any questions about this I'm glad
- to see that.
- the program. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can raise your hand on teams
- or come to the podium. Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the partnership agreement
- with CDER? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madera? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved,
- three to zero. All right, thank you.
- All right, next item, please. Yes, I'd like to move approval for the Midwest Pre-Sort Service Agreement
- for printing and mailing Form 11s. Fund name reassessment, fund number 1224, and the amount not to exceed
- $47,000. I will second that. Mr. Cockrell, I believe you're handling this today. Yes, and this is a
- contractor that we use quite often when we have these mass mailings. The Form 11 is the notice to all
- property owners of the assessment of their property, land and homes, and has some historical background
- to it. So that's what the Form 11 is. It's sent out every year about this time, and it's required under
- state code to be sent out. So I believe this contract is for a amount not to exceed about 42,000 different
- mailings, which is how many properties we've got to send these notices to. Absolutely. And some of these
- are envelopes with multiple properties in them, et cetera. Yep.
- All right. Let's see. Do my colleagues have any comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No, I don't.
- Vera? No. All right. Any public comment on this item? I will, as we're waiting to see if anyone wishes
- to speak, I will echo Mr. M.G.'s kudos for our great assessor. All right.
- Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Midwest Presort Service Agreement for
- Printing and Mailing Form 11s? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. Yes, I would like to move
- approval for the Centerstone Memorandum of Understanding for the Rent Reentry Program, Fund Name Justice Partners,
- fund number 81 60 and a grant amount of $30,000. I will second that and we have Mr Williams joining
- us. Good morning. Tell us all about it. Good morning.
- This is a grant that we have been receiving from the state through the federal government for probably
- at least six, seven years now. But for the last three years, we've used this to overcome one of our
- biggest hurdles in getting individuals into treatment by having the actual centerstone clinicians in
- our office two days a week to perform those assessments.
- We have eight open slots every week, and it's proved to be very successful for us, and we're glad that
- we can continue it. The grand amount that they gave us has dropped dramatically this year, but we're
- still glad to have at least $30,000 to continue the program. All right. Thank you so much. Comments
- or questions? Commissioner Madera? I don't have any. This sounds like a wonderful program. Obviously,
- it's been implemented for about seven years, and I know that our community really relies on it.
- sure commissioner jones comments or questions yeah yeah some fortunate that the grant amount is falling
- hopefully it'll go the other direction next year thank you for your work on this absolutely thank you
- thank you so much um let's see if there's any public comment on this item you raise your hand on teams
- or come to the podium
- I see none. Mr Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Centerstone MOU for the reentry program?
- Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three
- to zero. Thank you so much. Thank you. Commissioner Williams? All right, next item, please. I would
- like to move approval for the Go Express Travel Service Agreement. Fund names, county, general,
- and parks, non-reverting, fund numbers,
- $1,179 in an amount not to exceed $7,000. I will second that. And we have our parks director, Ms. Whitmer,
- joining us. Good morning. Good morning. This is for Go Express Travel. And you will be seeing a rural
- transit service agreement in a month or two. So we'll use both of them.
- Basically, summer day camp. We start registration Sunday, March 1st. So we fill up fast. So I encourage
- everyone. And there's an early bird special, of course. It's a 10-week program. Everyone signs up weekly.
- We have four weeks and five weeks. It depends on the holiday that they do such fun stuff. They do a
- lot of nature activities. They go swimming. They use the splash pad.
- They're going to go to Blue Springs Caverns. They're going to go to the Indianapolis Zoo. So if I was
- a kid, I would love to come to camp here. So any questions about Go Express Travel? I have any Commissioner
- Jones comments or questions? No, just this is a wonderful program. No, none. So so grateful.
- for this programming. And I know a lot of families in the community are as well. And I'm with you. I
- think we need an adult version of a kid for several weeks over the summer. And this camp is maybe 37
- years old. Wow. Really? So we've been running. Yes. Amazing. Amazing. Very cool. That's an interesting
- piece of trivia. 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. Cockerill, will you please call the roll on the Go Express Travel Service Agreement?
- Mr. Thomas? Yes. Mr. Madeira? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much.
- Next item, please. Yes, I'd like to move approval for Wiley's Floor Covering Incorporated for Karst
- Commons Building
- fund names County General and Parks and Honor Verding fund numbers 1178 and 1179 in an amount not to
- exceed $6,410.83. I will second that.
- Ms. Whitmer, tell us all about it, please. Well, this is exciting, too, believe it or not. Our floor
- is probably 10 years old, and it has large holes in it now and popping up. The kids at day camp use
- it. We have tons of people. It's climate controlled with a full kitchen you can rent. So we need to
- keep the stuff looking nice and safe. And this was the lowest quote we got. Great. Thank you so much.
- Let's see if my colleagues have comments or questions. Commissioner Maduro? No, I do not. This sounds
- wonderful. Yes. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. We're floored. 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.
- will you please call the roll on the Wiley floor covering ink comments building agreement. Mr. Thomas.
- Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Commissioner Jones. Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. And next
- item please. Yes, I'd like to move approval for blood. So right. Cooper James engineering services for
- the nature preserve.
- Fund name, food and beverage, fund number 4932 and an amount not to exceed $28,000. I will second that.
- Ms. Whitmer. Yes, it is required to have engineering crew assess everything. They have to also hire
- a company to look for contaminants in the structures and do what's correct and what's right to do when
- buildings come down. So this is engineering for building demolition.
- Thank you so much and necessity. Comments or questions commissioner Jones. No, I don't. Commissioner
- Madeira. Hopefully this turns out not to be an explosive proposition. So no, no questions. And yeah,
- we appreciate the we're expecting anticipating a letter from the
- Historic Preservation Board of Review and got some information from their meeting about what will be
- in that letter regarding the structures on this property. So this is the natural next step and it's
- really a safety issue for that property and keeping it secure. All right, let's see if there's any public
- comment on this item. You can raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, Mr. Copper, will you please call the roll on the Blitzer Rigger Cooper James Engineering
- Service Agreement for Nature Preserve? Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, next item, please.
- like to move approval for ordinance 2026-06, amending in the Monroe County Code Chapter 270,
- adding 270-83, enumerating the Monroe County Animal Management Fund. I will second that. Mr. Cockrell.
- Yes, I believe this fund has existed for quite a while, and this is just a documentation to make sure
- we know why it's there. Okay. It's good that we have that on record. That's because it has been a while.
- It has been a while. Let's see if my colleagues have any comments or questions. Commissioner Maduro?
- None. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. All right. I don't either. Let's see if there's any public comments.
- You can raise your hand in teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, Mr. Cocker, will you please call the roll on Ordinance 2026-06? Commissioner Thomas? Yes.
- Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so
- much. Next item, please. I'd like to move approval for Ordinance 2026-08, the Amendment to Substance
- Use Disorder Awareness Commission, or SUDAAC.
- I will second that. Are you managing this today? I don't see. Certainly. And I know that there was a
- school delay this morning, which impacts staff members. Absolutely. This is essentially reducing the
- number of members on Sudak from 11 to nine. It's done primarily because of inability to get a quorum
- at the meetings.
- I think that there was also a change in the makeup, excuse me, of the appointments in that they added,
- I believe, one justice system member. Right, which makes sense, which makes sense. And this committee
- that does important work, but the public is always invited to attend as well. I mean, this certainly
- isn't saying that people can't come.
- we would appreciate public attendance and input at the meetings. Um, comments or questions? Commissioner
- Madeira, since this is your committee. Uh, no, I think these changes are very necessary increases, uh,
- input from stakeholders that need to provide that input. And again, makes it easy, easier to have meetings
- because it's harder to do committee business commission business if you can't meet due to lack of a quorum.
- All right. Commissioner Jones, comments or questions? No, I don't. All right. If there's any questions
- on this item, you can raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, Mr. Cocker, will
- you please call the roll on ordinance 2026-08? Mr. Thomas.
- yes commissioner madera yes commissioner jones yes motion is moved to three to zero thank you so much
- um um move on to the next item please yes i'd like to award dc construction services incorporated the
- curry pike reconstruction project
- fund name, Westside Economic Development Fund number 4920 in the amount of $679,420.75. I will second
- that. Ms. Ridge. Good morning. So sealed bids were opened at your February 5th regular commissioners
- meeting. We had five sealed bids that were received. The contract and project was discussed at the
- that meeting was on the 18th, not the 28th. Thank you. Oh, yeah. That's tomorrow, right? Thanks. My
- time machine is not working today.
- I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I
- don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
- I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I
- don't know. I don't know.
- to State Road 48 are just short of that where it changes jurisdictions for the city. So we will be milling
- it. We will be doing curb work, drainage work, sidewalk repairs, and then paving the road. And it'll
- all be done in 2026 for this section. All right. Thank you so much. All right. Let's see if there's
- any public comment on these items. You raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Um, see none. Um, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the role on awarding DC Construction Services,
- Inc. The Curry Pike reconstruction project. Mr. Thomas. Yes. Commissioner Madeira. Yes. Commissioner
- Jones. Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. Yes, I would like
- to move approval to award EMB paving and milestone contractors the asphalt material supplies bid.
- fund name Motor Vehicle Highway fund number 1176 in varying amounts. I will second that. Ms Ridge. So
- typically we award to the two suppliers for the asphalt basically do if there's supply issues, plans
- break down the vicinity of where we're hauling to a paving project. So and then are also for our cold
- for patching. So we award it to both so we can be more economical of where we're hauling the materials
- from. Yeah, makes sense. All right. Comments or questions? Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner
- Medeo? No. I don't either. It makes a great deal of sense. And just as the snow season ends, the orange
- cone season begins.
- but we'll be grateful for it. All right, let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can
- raise your hand in teams or come to the podium. Let's see, none. Mr. Cockrell, will you please call
- the roll on awarding ENB paving and milestone contractors the asphalt material supplies bid? Mr. Thomas.
- Yes. Mr. Madeira. Yes. Commissioner Jones.
- Yes. It is approved three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. Oh, sorry. I would like to
- move approval for Butler Fairmont and Sufert incorporated for part-time engineering support. Fund name,
- local road and street, fund number 1169 in an amount not to exceed $135,000. I will second that. Ms. Ridge.
- So we are requesting to enter this agreement with Butler Fairman Seifert for the part-time engineering
- support after the retirement of our highway, full-time highway engineer. We will have the engineer on
- site for one full day a week, attend hybrid or in-person meetings as needed. The agreement is for one
- year. We've worked with this firm for a long time, but we also know Brent Winholtz,
- and he was a Du Bois County Highway Engineer for 11 years before entering into this new role. So he's
- quite familiar with federal aid projects, plan reviews, drainage calculations, things like that that
- we will need in-house until we can fire higher.
- a full-time engineer. I know it's in high demand for engineers around the state is my understanding.
- I know it took the city of Bloomington a couple years to just now build one of their transportation
- engineers. Brent is here, so I'm going to kind of put him on the spot so he can introduce himself. I'm
- sure he'll be
- you know, working with parks and planning departments. So we'll take him around, introduce him, take
- him out to our project locations and get him familiar. And Butler Fairman also has a couple of our projects,
- some of our projects and have worked in Monroe County for many years. So we're thrilled to have him.
- So excited, excited. I think this will be fun. Yeah, I've known Lisa the whole time I was at Dubois
- County. I have a really good relationship with her. So I look forward to helping out. I have lots of
- experience in local government.
- The curveball's been thrown my way. That's one thing I told Lisa, with local government, everything
- changes, so. And most of that's due to the state, so, as you know. All right. It's good to meet you.
- You too. We look forward to working with you. Of course, we're on the stormwater board, and we're here
- every week. And planning and everything else, we definitely will appreciate your assistance. Thank you.
- Any comments or questions from my colleagues? Commissioner Madera? No, thank you. Commissioner Jones?
- No, I don't. Thank you. All right. Let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You can raise
- your hand on teams or come to the podium.
- Seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please call the roll on the Butler, Fairman, and Seifert, Inc. part-time
- engineering support agreement? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you so much. Next item, please. Yes, I would like to move
- approval for Butler, Fairman, and Seifert, Incorporated for Baby Creek Bridge 629 replacement.
- for the baby Creek Road replacement bridge. Fund name Baby Creek Bridge number 6 29 fund number 8167
- in the amount of $239,300. I will second that Miss Ridge. So we go through the process end up process
- for RFPs on scoring consultants for different phases of our federal aid projects. This is for the phase
- of construction and construction inspection services for the baby Creek Road
- Our inspector for this project that Butler Fairman has assigned is Rob Burkhart. No ties with Brent.
- There will not be any conflicts. The whole RFP process went before we did the negotiations for a part-time
- engineer. So we realized that we'll keep those two areas separate.
- we've had many projects with Butler Fairman on construction inspection services. They were the high
- score and dot verified all of our paperwork, our calculations to verify this. So that's why we would
- like to have the contract approved. Thank you so much. An important project and I appreciate the explanation.
- I'm not sure. I'm not sure. All right. Any public comment on the side of me raise your hand on teams
- or come to the podium. Seeing none. Mister Cockrell we please call the roll on the button butler Fairman
- and see for ink.
- Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. All right, next item, please. Yes, I'd like
- to move approval for the in-dot agreement for the Eagleson Bridge number 922 replacement. Fund name,
- Eagleson Bridge number 922, fund number 8176, in an amount of $5,326,229.62. That was going to be a
- very unintentionally cheap bridge. Yeah.
- I will second that, but I always love that they throw in the 62 cents, you know? Yes. Just like,
- my gosh. All right, Ms. Ridge, tell us about this, please. So I've mentioned this in the past couple
- of weeks. We had the bid letting for this bridge replacement in January, and NDOT reached out with some
- extra funding that they had.
- to go towards the project of construction, which decreased our local match from about $997,000
- down to $160,000. So this is actually updating the contract with NDOT to cover those extra allocated
- funds. Such good work. My goodness. Boy, it's huge. Comments or questions, Commissioner Madeira? No,
- this sounds like it's a less troubled bridge over Monroe County waters.
- Commissioner Jones, comments or questions? No, I don't. All right. Yeah, I'm so grateful. This is where
- your experience and your incredible connection with NDOT has paid off for Monroe County residents. It was sad.
- A nice phone call. That was very unexpected. So, you know, we did not know that extra funding was out
- there. We didn't ask. It was just basically Monroe County had stepped up and the commissioners had supported
- the contracts for taking over that bridge replacement. So that's why basically NDOT came back to us.
- They knew we didn't have to take over the project for them. We did willingly. So they put the extra
- funding towards the project force. Huge, huge.
- I'm not sure why the clock is ringing early. It's true. I was late. Wait. It's thrown off by this new
- team. Yeah, maybe. All right. Thank you again for this. Let's see if there's any public comments on
- this item. You raise your hand in teams or come to the podium.
- All right, seeing none, Mr. Cockrell, will you please, will you please call the roll on the in-doubt
- agreement for Eagleton Bridge 922 replacement? Commissioner Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes.
- Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. All right, thank you so much. Next item,
- please. Yes, I'd like to move to approve ordinance 2026-02, the Reese Rezone.
- I will second that. Have Mr. Myers joining us from planning. Good morning. Tell us all about it, please.
- Oh, you are still muted. There we go. Just got promoted. Okay, let me share my screen here.
- So this is REZ-25-8, also known as Ordinance 2026-02, the Reese Rezone from limited business to agricultural
- residential. This is at 7353 West Eller Road in Van Buren Top Ship Section 22. The rezone was to go
- from limited business to agricultural residential for a six acre parcel. And the purpose is to match
- this parcel with the adjoining property to the west, which is also owned by the petitioner.
- all to be zoned agricultural residential. There was a prior commercial business on the subject property,
- which is the six acre parcel, and that is why they had the limited business zoning district. That business
- has since stopped operations and has dissolved as well. As I stated, the adjacent parcel to the west
- contains 14 acres and is also owned by the petitioner.
- Deed records indicate that the two parcels are indeed one lot of record totaling 20 acres and their
- separation into individual parcels is due to a township section line that bisects the two. So moving
- from the limited business zone to the agricultural residential zone will allow the commercial structures
- that are currently on that six acre parcel to be converted to agricultural use.
- and has also stated a potential interest in establishing a new dwelling on the property in whole, which
- would involve the demolition of the existing residence on the 14 acre parcel. On the screen, we have
- the definitions for the limited business zone and the agricultural residential 2.5 zone. We can come
- back to those if we need to. Here on the screen is the location map. So the red polygon here is the
- six acre parcel and then to the
- West is the 14-acre parcel. So we see that here now. It's displayed on the screen. You can see the different
- zoning jurisdictions currently. And they're going from that limited business to agricultural residential.
- We now have on the screen, the site conditions map showing all slopes that are less than 25% in no coloring.
- Slopes that are greater than 25% are colored in red. So you can see that the property is no concern
- for those steep slopes. And you can see the former commercial structures are concentrated in the northeast
- corner. You can also see the existing single family residence that kind of
- straddles the lot line between the two parcels here in the western section of the property. Here are
- the pictures from the prior or former commercial structures on the property. I'm just going to click
- through these. This is West Eller Road that you see here. And then on this screen on the left photograph,
- you can see the existing single family residence on that 14 acre parcel. And then another photograph
- of just the general slope of the land.
- more photographs here of those former commercial structures. I also included some information from the
- county development ordinance. This area is designated as rural transition. Come back to any of this
- if we'd like, but it is all in the packet.
- Now on the screen we have the letter from the petitioner stating their request as well as a letter from
- the office of the Secretary of State from the state of Indiana certifying that the commercial business
- on the property has since dissolved. And now on the screen I have the information from the county development
- ordinance for the limited business zone and the agricultural residential zone giving you a side by side
- comparison of the differences between uses
- that being primary uses, conditional uses, and accessory uses.
- And finally, on the last screen here, we have the recommendation. So staff initially recommended to
- the Plan Commission forwarding a positive recommendation to the Board of Commissioners for this rezone,
- citing its compatibility with the comprehensive plan and subject to highway and stormwater program reports.
- And then on December 18th, 2025, the Plan Commission voted 8-0-2 for this petition to the Board
- of Commissioners with that positive recommendation and no conditions of approval. I don't have to get
- any questions.
- I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think
- that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's
- a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good
- question. I think that's a good question.
- Yeah, it's really nice. All right. Okay, so let's go ahead and see if the petitioner petitioners
- representative is present and wishes to offer information. I don't see anyone. Okay. All right.
- We'll move on, then, to public comment. Does anybody wish to speak in favor of this petition? You may
- raise your hand on teams or come to the podium here in the NatU Hill Room. Does anyone wish to speak
- in opposition to this petition?
- they come to the podium or raise your hand on teams. It is as non-controversial as it was when it was
- presented to the Planning Commission. Okay, all right, so any other comments or questions, Commissioner
- Jones? No, I don't, thank you. Commissioner Madeira, comments, questions?
- I don't either. I appreciate Mr Meyers' presentation and the work the staff has done to bring this to
- fruition. Mr Cockrell, will you please call the roll on ordinance 2026-02? Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner
- Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Motion is approved, three to zero. Thank you, Mr. Meyers.
- Thank you. Thank you for waiting. All right. Um. We have, um one appointment today. So the Ellisville
- Town Council has put forward. Mr William Ellis. Um. For the waste reduction district, Monroe County
- Board of Directors, and we have to make the official appointment. So I moved to
- And the term ends December 31st, 2027. I will second that. All right. All those, I'm sorry, Mr. Copperley,
- please call the roll on the appointment. Mr. Thomas? Yes. Commissioner Madeira? Yes. Commissioner Jones?
- Yes. Motion is approved three to zero. All right. Thank you so much. We look forward to working with
- Mr Ellis on. The board. Um okay. And I know he's already, um. Head outreach from Tom the glass and the
- director of the waste reduction district. Um nothing huge and earth shattering this week in terms of
- announcements, but a good time to remind everyone to sign up for the
- on our website, I think there's still a megaphone there, in.gov slash county slash Monroe. You see it
- every day and you stop looking at it. There are still some openings for boards and commissions, including
- library board and the health board, animal management and traffic.
- commission. Um go to. The county websites and apply. Today if you're interested in serving on any of
- those boards or commissions, we continue to have virtual office hours each week on teams. Each month
- on team six times each month on teams. Um
- I'm going to go through those days and times and just drop in to speak about anything. Um. And, um.
- Did you have something? I just want to say that the megaphone has been changed to a little house with
- an exclamation mark. Uh probably you know, it's so funny because you just go every day to that website
- and you just see the house with the exclamation point that
- I will note as well that thank you. I will note as well that we continue to support co-sponsor of the
- blood drive at Ivy Tech. The next blood drive dates are Tuesday, March 3rd and Wednesday, March 4th,
- March 3rd, 10 a.m. to 3, March 4th, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. This is at Ivy Tech.
- From C130A and B, you should go to redcross.org to make an appointment or you can probably just drop
- in because we always need donors. Anything else for the good of the order? I know we have a work session
- galore with more items than what's posted because we are gonna talk about the council's resolution.
- We're gonna talk about
- that health letter that we need to get signed. So let's get that organized. And I have an amendment
- to a YSP contract that I need to add on. Okay. Okay. And then Lisa has something too. Very small, very
- minimal. I wasn't shooting you daggers. I was just thinking, make the list. All right. Lisa Rich.
- and YSB contract. Okay, so it looks like we have three, four, five, six, seven items on our agenda.
- And I might add one because we had a letter to the election board. That was it. Thank you. I wasn't
- the only one. I'm not even going to count them again. But thank you for that reminding me about that
- because you just did a few minutes ago and it's already left my head. I've not had enough caffeine today.
- All right, so we will come back at, can we come back at 11 20? Is that good for you, TSG? Okay, good.
- See the thumbs up. All right, we will come back at 11 20. Our next meeting is Thursday, March 5th, right
- here in the Net, you're home at 10 a.m. I won't be here, but my colleagues will.
- And with that, we are adjourned. Thank you.