I'm going to call this meeting to order of Monroe County Board of Commissioners. It is Thursday,
May 14th, and we are here in the NETU Hill Room and all three commissioners are here and present. We
do have a change to our agenda. I'm going to move that we add resolution 2026-19 as item O.
motion and a second all in favor of amending the agenda signify by saying aye aye motion carries uh
next we have our public statement read by commissioner jones we the munroe 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 our BB and MCC SC. Thank you so much. Next we have department updates looks
like we have miss Kelly joining us from the health department. Good morning. Good morning commissioners.
According to the Indiana Department of Health wastewater concentrations for covid remain stable and
no increases are noted as of May 12.
Flu activity is currently at minimal levels. The health department is still scheduling appointments
for vaccines. The number to call to schedule an appointment is 812-803-6364. Great. Thank you so much.
Any comments or questions from my colleagues? No, I don't. All right. Thank you so much for being here.
We appreciate you. Any other departments have an update for us today?
Seeing none, we'll move on to an unscheduled proclamation. Yes, I would like to read our proclamation,
Police Week Peace Officers Memorial Day in Monroe County.
Whereas Congressional Joint Resolution 730, signed into law on October 1st, 1962, authorizes a national
proclamation of May 14th as Peace Officer Memorial Day and the week of May 11th as Police Week, and
whereas Police Week commemorates the more than 800,000 peace officers who are called upon each day to
serve and protect American citizens, including the peace officers across Monroe County who demonstrate
daily the highest ideals of public service and personal sacrifice,
and whereas May 14th is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day, and as such, flags are flown at half-mast
in deference to federal, state, and local officers who sacrifice their lives or suffer disability in
the line of duty, and whereas Monroe County, Indiana, its residents and families have mourned the loss
of three deaths, Sergeant Bill Brand, Deputy Sarah Jones, and Reserve Deputy James Driver, and 111 off-duty
deaths nationally in 2025,
and whereas the selflessness, dedication, service, and sacrifice that those officers demonstrating to
the people of Monroe County will be forever remembered. The residents of Monroe County wish to express
their deep reverence and appreciation to those officers, their families, and their communities who grieve
their loss and to all peace officers who bravely and proudly serve Monroe County today. Now, therefore,
be it resolved, we, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, hereby proclaim the week of May 11th,
2026 as Police Week,
and Thursday, May 14th, 2026, as Peace Officers Memorial Day in Monroe County. Proclaim this 14th day
of May, 2026, from the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. Thank you. Some of the officers who serve
Monroe County residents every day and demonstrate courage and value every day.
It's not sometimes it's not the most obvious dangerous situation that they face. And we do appreciate
their sacrifice on behalf of our community to benefit peace. All right. With that, let's see if there's
any public comment for items not on our agenda. You can raise your hand on teams or come to the podium.
Seeing none, we'll move on to our next agenda item, please. Yes, I would like to move approval of the
minutes for May 7th, 2026. We have a motion and we have a second. Comments, corrections, or edits? All
those in favor of approving the minutes for May 7th, 2026, signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0.
Next item, please. I would like to move approval of the claims docket for accounts payable for May 14th,
2026, and for payroll for May 15th, 2026. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Ms. Gallardo,
would you tell us all about it, please? Good morning. The accounts payable claims docket for May 14th,
2026 totals $554,409.14. This includes all emergency claims and adjustments.
The payroll document for May 15, 2026 includes $1,714,928 in direct costs and the remaining $704,956.97
were for indirect costs for a grand total of $2,419,857.25. Thank you. Thank you so much. Comments or
questions for the auditor's office?
Any public comment on this item? You raised your hand on teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving the claim stock and accounts payable May 14th, 2026 and payroll May 15th,
2026 signify by saying aye. Aye.
Motion carries three zero. I will note for the record that we have received the highways annual report
and thank you for that, Ms. Ridge. And we will now move on to new business, please. Yes, I would like
to move approval for Duke Energy Foundation grant for water safety fund name emergency management Duke
grant fund number 4938 in the amount of $5,500.
We have a motion and we have a second. Mr. Baker is joining us online. Good morning from the Emergency
Management Department. Good morning, commissioners. Yes, this is a great grant opportunity from Duke
Energy Foundation. We get this about each year, around this time of year. This year, it'll go toward
uh, helping them know fire protection district, uh, increase their, uh, water safety and boating safety,
uh, program to help, uh, keep people safe on the water. Um, so with this glance, they will be, uh, designated
for, uh, PD, uh, life jacket owner stations where people can pick up a life jacket before they go on
a boat and or anything on the county. This is awesome.
Thank you so much. Comments or questions? Commissioner Maduro? This is going to be sort of a nerdy comment,
but I'm a huge swimmer and drowning is the number two cause of death, I believe, for children right
after gun violence.
And this is a massively important development. I know it sounds so simple, but just the opportunity
to put on a life jacket can save so many lives, not only for children, but for adults as well. And this
is a very preventable form of death. And I'm so grateful to the Duke Energy Foundation for stepping
up and doing this. And this is going to help our community immensely. So thank you so very much. Commissioner
Jones? I'll echo Commissioner Madeira's comments.
Thank you. This is certainly a very valuable thing for the county. Yeah, absolutely. People plan to
go out on a boat or don't plan to go on a boat and decide to go on a boat at the last minute and there
aren't enough life jackets. It's a huge, huge deal. Mr. Baker, do you happen to know where these life
jackets will be made available? Or has that not been decided? I am not sure at this time. I think that's
still in the plans.
Thank you. All right. So hopefully the Fire Protection District will give us an update in the future.
Any public comment on this item? You raise your hand on Teams or come to the podium. Seeing none, all
those in favor of approving the Duke Energy Foundation grant for water safety signify by saying aye.
Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Next item, please. I would like to move approval for the Indiana Department
of Health approval of grant amendment for sexually, well, SCI prevention, fund name, SCD strengthening,
fund number 8112 in the amount of $48,318. Second.
We have a motion and we have a second. Ms. Kelly. Good morning again. This is an amendment just for
additional funding that supports our three disease intervention specialists. Our understanding is that
additional funding is going to continue to be awarded under this same contract as the funding is received
to the Indiana Department of Health.
All right. Thank you so much. Important funding, um, comments or questions, commissioner Jones. No,
just please that you're getting the money. None. Just very happy. I'll echo, um, commissioner Jones's
comments. And again, um, these, um, conditions are on the rise. So it comes at a pivotal time.
Thank you. Um, let's see if there's any public comment on this item. You raise your hand in teams or
come to the podium.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the IDOH grant amendment for STI prevention signify by
saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Next item, please.
I would like to move approval for financial solutions group consulting agreement. Fund name auditors
ineligible deductions, funds number 1216 in the amount of 10,000.
and not to exceed per year. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Mr. Cockrell, will you be
managing this one? Yes. Thank you. TIF neutralization essentially is every year we look at our TIF districts
and every year our tax rate and our assessed value changes. And so the neutralization is to make sure
that what is associated with the increment remains with the increment and what is associated with the
base remains with the base. So the base actually grows.
because inflation and those kind of things. This is the calculation that determines that. I would just
note that this is for all the TIF districts in the county, not just the county's TIF districts. So this
includes the city's TIF districts as well. And this is a required item that the state requires. And
so FSD had done this for a number of years.
And then the auditor's office has kind of tried to take it on. And I think they're kind of backing off
of it because of the amount of work it takes. Yeah. And the reason that we're paying for every, the
resolution of every TIF in the county is because the auditor's office manages the money, the tax dollars
for every part of the county, every political subdivision. It's a state requirement that the auditor
performs this function. Okay. Thank you. Answer questions. Commissioner Madeira.
Um, no, thank you. Mr. Jones. I don't see if there's any public comments on this item. You raise your
hand on teams or podium. Being none. Um, all of those in favor of approving the financial solutions
group, consulting agreement signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three zero.
Next item, please. I would like to move approval for resolution 2026-17, declaration of items for surplus.
Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Mr. Kreider is with us today. Good morning, commissioners.
Richard Kreider, Building and Fleet Department. This request is to approve resolution 2026-17, declaring
multiple vehicles, wheels, and tires from the highway garage as surplus property.
and authorize their disposal through public auction. These items are beyond their useful service life,
have been replaced with new equipment or are no longer usable for their intended purpose. The vehicles
are to include, I'm gonna read their highway inventory item number first and then the year making model.
22, that's a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado. 23, 2016 Ford Escape. 52, 2005 Kenworth. 54, 2003 Kenworth.
57, 2005, Kenworth. 91, 1993, Pro Sproom. 92, 1986, Ford Tractor. 112, 2011, Falcon Hotbox. 114, 2002,
Chevy Malibu. 114, whoa, I have 114 twice there. Okay, I need to fix that, but 2018, Chevrolet Silverado.
SW02, 2008, Ford Ranger. SW04,
2013 international street sweeper. Thank you so much. Uh, comments or questions, commissioner Jones.
Yeah. Most of those sound like they're off the old. They're well maintained though. That's good. Yeah,
but this is, this is what we do. We use them until the wheels essentially fall off. Uh, comments or
questions, commissioner Madera.
You know how I love these with the mug shots of the offending piece of the property. Yes. Wanted by
no one in Monroe County government. So, yeah, 1986 Ford tractor. I wonder if that would even go as vintage
at this point. Almost. Almost. Okay, let's see if there's any public comment.
Seeing none, all those in favor of approving resolution 2026-17 signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries
3-0. Next item, please. I would like to move approval for Think Roberts and Petrie Incorporated Professional
Design Services Solar Carport, fund name
ARPA fund number 8950 in the amount of $15,000. We have a motion. We have a second. Mr. Crider. Hey,
commissioners. We need an engineer stamp on this one. This request is to accept the proposal submitted
by structural engineers Fink Roberts and Petri Ink in the amount of $15,000 for structural engineering
services related to the proposed solar carport addition at the employee garage.
The scope of services includes building structural review, structural frame design, preparation of stamp
design drawings, and two-side inspections as required for the project. These services are necessary
to support project design permitting and construction review requirements. Thank you so much. Comments
or questions? Commissioner Medeiro? I have none. I think it's kind of cool, by the way, that it is a
solar carport. Yeah. Commissioner Jones? Yeah, I'm just glad to see this project moving along.
Yeah, this is part of the larger ARPA investment in our solar infrastructure. And with the existing
plug-in chargers so heavily utilized in our parking garage by our employees, this will add more outlets.
But importantly, it will do so with solar rather than using standard energy production.
Correct. We appreciate your work on this. And are we still on target to get this finished before? We're
on target. Okay. Great. Just, you know, just sweating out that deadline. So as we all are, I appreciate
that you're staying on top of it. I know you've got other projects going. So thank you for that. 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, all those in favor of approving the FRP Professional Design Services Agreement for the
solar carport signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. And our next item, please. I would like
to move approval for Steve's roofing and sheet change order number one, health building roof replacement,
fund name 2024 geobond, fund number 4819 in the amount of 201,800. Second.
We have a motion and we have a second. I think the amount is a little, um, deceiving here. So, uh, cause
it's really, we're not, that's not the change order amount. So we're putting, we're moving some money
around as well. We're doing and, um, and it requires a signature. Uh, this request is to approve change order.
001 associated with the health building roof replacement project reflecting use of the project's $15,000
cash allowance for necessary scope modifications discovered during construction. A total of $11,584.26
of the allowance was utilized for the installation of two new roof drains and associated repair work
as well as additional plywood and flashing required to complete the project.
The remaining unused allowance balance of $3,415.74 will be deducted from the original contract sum
of $201,800 resulting in a revised final contract sum of $198,384.26. Thank you so much. Comments or
questions? Commissioner Madeira? I have none. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Thank you for working
on this and on
Are they done? They're done. Yes. OK. That's what I thought. I just wanted to make sure. 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, all those in favor of approving change order number one with Steve's roofing and sheet
metal for the health building roof replacement signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries.
And then we have item G, which has some new fund number information in it. Yep. So I'd like to move
approval for building associates incorporated change order request number two and number 12 fund name
2016. Geo bond fund number 4808 in the amount of $8,673 and 27 cents. We have a motion and we have a
second. Mr. Crider.
Okay, this request is to approve change orders two and 12 and the combined amount of $8,673.27, associated
with the employee clinic project for the addition of electrical receptacles to support wall-mounted
television monitors throughout the suite, the replacement of 15 existing exam room receptacles with
hospital-grade receptacles as required by code, and relocating electrical boxes due to cabinetry design
change. This request is to formally ratify the completed change
order work necessary due to scheduling on operational time constraints associated with the opening of
the employee health clinic. Thank you so much. Comments or questions. Commissioner Jones. No, I don't.
Commissioner Madeira. I don't either. Thank you so much. 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, all those in favor of approving change order request number 2 and 12 for building Associates
Inc. signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Next slide, please. I'd like to move approval for
VET Environmental Engineering
LLC, Professional Environmental Services, Fund Name 2021 Geobond, Fund Number 4814, in the amount of
$11,186.85. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Mr. Crier. This request is to approve the
proposal submitted by VET Environmental in the amount of $11,186.85 to perform lead-safe renovation
and abatement activities associated with removal of the loading dock ceiling at the health building.
due to the existing conditions, the project requires specialized abatement procedures and handling in
accordance with applicable environmental and safety regulations. Work is scheduled to be completed over
a weekend to minimize operational impacts to the facility. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Commissioner Madero? Nope. Any public comment on this item?
this is to get the lead out. Seeing no public comment all those in favor of approving the vet environmental
engineering LLC professional environmental services agreement signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries
zero. We have yet another item for Mr. Crider.
I'd like to move approval for B&L sheet metal and roofing highway garage roof repairs and downspout
guards. Fund name, key load of cap, fund number 1138 in the amount of $8,500. Second. We have a motion
and we have a second. Mr. Crider. This request is to approve a roof maintenance and drainage improvement
project proposal for the highway garage in the amount of $8,500.
The project includes preparation and application of an industrial grade roof coating system to approximately
20 roof penetrations, that's your vents and that type of thing. These penetrations require periodic
coatings. In addition, the project includes fabrication and installation of custom downspout guards
to address reoccurring drainage issues caused by migratory birds briefly nesting in roof gutters and
obstructing the downspouts.
Custom fabricated guards were determined to be the most feasible solution for the size and scale of
the facility's roof drainage system. The total project cost includes safety protocol setup, surface
preparation, coating application, custom fabricated downspout guards, a man lift, and a two-year warranty.
Excellent. Comments or questions? Commissioner Medeiro?
out. This is really necessary. The puns are so prevalent here. I don't know where to start, so I'm not
even going to try. It's draining, isn't it? Yes. I don't know where to spout off. Yeah. Gotcha. Mr.
Schultz? Yeah, I'm curious. If there are currently bird nests there, what will happen? Well, they do
what they do every year. They nest briefly, and then they're gone. But it's always during the heaviest
rains. Yeah.
So yeah. All right. Let's see if there's any public comment or perhaps somebody wishes to offer their
own pun for the for the collection. I really thought you guys would open up on this one. Richard, you're
in the game.
All right, seeing no public comments. All those in favor of approving the BNL sheet metal and roofing
highway garage roof repairs and downspout guards signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries three.
Thank you, sir. All right, thank you. I would like to move approval for resolution 2026-18, city of
Bloomington bridges number 316 and 317. Second.
Motion and we have a second. I don't know which one of you wishes to speak about this, but it appears
in stochastic toys to pounce I'm wrong I think the county is in a little bit of a sticky situation and
a couple years ago state passed legislation that that indicates what what bridges are the city or the
counties and they are bridges that are
located within the county have a span of 20 feet or more not part of the state highway system and that
we that we either inspected the bridge prior to January 1, 2024 or the county executive has brought
that into our county inventory. There are two bridges within the city of limits of Bloomington that
are over 20 feet not part of the highway system that
We had not inspected before January 1, 2024, and we have not accepted into our inventory after the day.
And so one of those is one that we went ahead because our Cume Bridge allows us to use Cume Bridge dollars
to inspect any bridge in the county, whether it's our responsibility or not, to go ahead and inspect
two bridges, bridges 316 and 317. The inspection came back.
that indicated that one of the bridges, I think it was bridge 317, and please correct me if I'm wrong,
but this is off old 37 kind of going up into the city's, by the city's golf course, so by Cascades Park
and all that. And so we don't have the authority or the responsibility under state code to do anything
with it. So we wanna make sure the city knows
at least for the one that we have a lot of issues. They are the underlying property owner. They own
everything around this bridge. Our understanding is that they had done the inspections up until 2024
due to their small bridge or small structure inspection process. And for some reason, it went from a
small structure to a bridge. Someone determined that around that period of time.
But we don't have it in our inventory So we really don't have any authority to get on the road to do
anything with it But we want to make sure the city knows about this inspection with with the hope that
Something is worked out for You have any questions Nope, mr. Jones. No, I don't um, I
Okay, so a lot of our focus here is on Bridge 317, which has a weight limit change that has been recommended
after inspection. We're not doing any more inspections with cumulative bridge funds on this bridge or
the other, correct? We are required to do our bridge inspections that's in our inventory. In 2024,
brought to our attention that it had become a bridge over the 20 foot span. At that time, it needed
posted nine ton weight limit. We went ahead as a county and necessary to go ahead and post that bridge
because of the inspection. The city did not want to post the bridge at that time.
We reached out again, because it was two years later for the cycle of the bridge inspections. We asked
the city of Bloomington to maybe do an MOU with the county. We would still go ahead and inspect it.
It's very normal with counties to have a cum bridge to go ahead and do the inspection, but then bill
the owner for the city of Bloomington for that inspection. And we just didn't want to take the risk
of ever losing federal dollars.
with our bridge program. So we went ahead and incurred the cost. The city of Bloomington denied that
offer. So we got the inspection back. It showed that the bridge does need to be reposted at a lower
weight limit. Probably the next option would be closing that road. So we sent the bridge inspections
to the city of Bloomington.
Bridge technically needs to be posted with the new weight limit within a 30 day time period is the end
of May. Yeah. So this is in essence, almost like a legal notice, but we don't want the city to construe
the fact that we
did the bridge inspections as we're taking the bridge. It's not our bridge. It's not in our inventory.
It's listed in ITAMS, which is the National Database for Federal Highway, where we have to put all of
our bridges. And it is noted in there that Monroe County does not own either one of these bridges. Because
it's not really mentioned in here except by number, where is bridge? 316. 316 Renwick. It is over on Renwick.
I do believe that it needs repairs on that bridge also. I believe the estimate for that was around a
half a million dollars. We forwarded that information two years ago or last year to the city of Bloomington
at their request of what those repairs are. We just again just forwarded on just because we did the
inspections just because we felt that's what we needed to do at the time because there was such an ownership
question and we didn't want to not
And again, we didn't want to jeopardize any federal in the future for our existing bridges in our. Makes
total sense. It's bureaucratic, but it makes total sense. Now we will not have to inspect it because
we have this resolution. If we pass this resolution, we're not going to have to inspect these bridges
at all. And it's not going to impact our.
I guess the intent of this resolution doesn't deal with who's going to do inspections in the future.
I think we have a funding mechanism that we can use it. I mean, it would be nice if we, with the city
of Bloomington figured out who is actually gonna do that in the future and things like this is much
more of a, we know there's a problem with this bridge. We don't have really the authority to go in and
do anything. We wanna make sure the city knows about it because it's a problem with a bridge and the
other one.
So this is much more of a we want to make sure the city's aware they have our report and that they are
And that they understand our position On it is I mean because when lisa was talking about inspections
and things like that We didn't inspect this bridge prior to january 1 2024. I think the when the Correct
me where i'm wrong here because i'm not i'm a little out on a limb here When it was reposted for it
was based upon a city's inspection
not the county's inspection. That is correct. Somebody has to figure out who's responsible for this
bridge. Somebody has to figure out, because it's getting, while it's not there yet, it's not hard to
imagine in the next three or four years or longer, I'm not an engineer, I'm not a bridge person, that
at some point this is going to have to be closed or fixed. Yeah, correct. And it'll move to now that
it's reached the point that it's at.
it'll be required to be inspected every year. But Jeff is correct. We had never done an inspection on
either one of these bridges prior to 2024. Back to bridge, you don't know it exists. And it was always
listed according to my knowledge. Wow. Okay. Okay. I think along with that,
My understanding is these are the only two bridges that we are aware of that exist at our meet the 20
which isn't to say city doesn't have more in their inventory don't know about right. I'm sorry, I didn't
catch why we didn't know that this existed before.
knowledge it was in their small structure inventory so we have a small structure inventory too so we
have our bridges that are over a 20-foot span then we have a small structure of anything that's under
20 foot and those are just inspected with our local inventory has nothing to do with the federal aid
project or a bridge replacement and we so they were never listed in our bridge inspections ever because
it went over a 20-foot span and we were never notified that it ever was until
February or so of 2024 when they were doing their small structure inventory and inspector and said,
hey, these are bridges. But that's the first that we ever knew. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you.
I was just gonna say there may be a backstory with
Johnson County and things they did that kind of brought this issue up to the light so that people will
see it because there's a long-served vacuum bridge and all that. I appreciate all the thorough information.
I just think it's important for you to understand why we're doing this. It's why the inspection was
done and why we're doing this. And these bridge inspections are not particularly expensive.
individually per per bridge right but it is the fact that we have to do all the bridges and so yeah
all right so much let's see if there's any uh public comments on this item or questions because somebody
questions all right seeing none all those in favor of approving resolution 2026-18 signify by saying aye
Motion carries 3-0. Next item. I would like to move approval for Bledsoe, Rigert, Cooper, and James
change order number two, Redbud Drainage Improvement Project, fund name Stormwater, fund number 1197
in the amount of $19,488.69. We have a motion and we have a second. Are you going to do this for Ms.
Pena? Yeah. Okay.
Thank you. So we're requesting the approval of the change order number two. It's an increase on the
project. The increase includes additional stabilization to the road subgrade, slight expansion to the
original design alignment that required additional backfill grading and stabilization, a tree replacement
and additional seed and straw. It does also include a deduction of $2,210 for utilizing seed and straw
in lieu of the sod.
we were wanting to process the change order so we can get the project closed out. It is completed and
issued the final payment to the contract. Thank you so much. Comments or questions, Commissioner Jones?
Commissioner Madeira? No, thank you. This makes a ton of sense. So thank you. And thanks to Ms.
Penna as well, the Director of Stormwater. Any public comment on this item? Oh, she's got her hand raised.
Ms. Penna?
Hi, thank you Lisa for presenting for me. I did just want to make a note that the blood so rigor Cooper
James is doing project management and inspection for us So they are putting together the change order,
but the change order itself is for the milestone Contract as the milestone performed the work, right?
Yeah, that makes sense. Thank you Thank you any other comments Here's your hand on teams come to the podium
Seeing none all those in favor of approving the bullets of rigor Cooper and James change order number
two for the red bud drainage improvement project signified by saying aye aye motion carries three zero
next item please yes I'd like to move approval for
awarding ENB paving, LLC various paving projects, fund name, motor vehicle highway, local road and street,
fund number 1176-1169 in the amount of $519,400. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Ms.
Ridge. So sealed bids were opened on May 7th for the paving projects of Night Ridge Road, which is the
east portion of
east of State Road 446, Duke Road and Gross Road. EMB paving was the lowest most responsive and responsible
bidder, and we'd like to award those paving projects to them. Thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Madeira? I have none. Thank you. Commissioner Jones? No, I don't. Well, I do. So we had
the bids open and it is kind of goes into the next item too. So we had bids open and it exceeded what
we thought the engineer estimate was. Well, we knew the engineering estimate was these totals that came
in and exceeded it. So what was, how did you manage that? When we do our estimates of inflation costs,
fuel costs, so we,
do them a little bit higher. The prices for the tonnage were higher than what we anticipated. But again,
in our paving program, we kind of allow for that and those issues to come up. So we have figured out
where we can move some funds around within our budgets and continue to include these roads for a paving
need. And you did not cut any projects. There you go.
not to I know we got some calls yesterday for a new request for another road but that's it's on south
shore drive it's on our radar I think that's what we'll put in for the community crossings for this
fall so we're always looking ahead we've already got our list started for 2027 but as of right now we
think we can still do what we have anticipated we're still waiting for final numbers I know with the
gas tax there was
some suspension of the gas tax for the month of, I think, April, May. So we will wait and see what that
will cost us. I know our monthly distribution, we expect that to go down a little bit. We usually go
in for an additional for paving in our MVH every year. We haven't had to do that yet. So if we see our
distribution has gone down some, the last calculation that we saw for local,
communities such as the counties and the cities, we saw that maybe it would be a $3 million hit across
the state for the gas tax or reduction. And that's across the state. It was more hit at the community
crossing program is hit pretty hard with that. And then in dot take the largest hit of that
So we stay in constant communication with LTAP, which is a great resource for us that helps us counties
know if we're going to see a deduction, what to expect so we can anticipate that. And the tax has been
reinstated.
I think it has I know for that one month we run in the rear and then also I think the will tax and everything
that goes through B and B kind of runs a few months behind too so we might not see that deduction for
a couple months so we're just moving forward as is we haven't cut anything from our paving program and
if we have to go in for an additional from our cash that's what we anticipate.
or something has to get postponed potentially. And these contracts allow you to do that if it comes
down to it. Okay, perfect. Thank you so much. Your thorough answers. These are questions that plague
many people. So let's see if there's any public comment on item L. All right.
Seeing none, all those in favor of awarding ENB paving LLC, various paving projects signify by saying
aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Please. I'd like to move to approve awarding milestone contractors LP
subdivision paving projects.
fund named Motor Vehicle Highway and Local Road and Street, fund number 1176 and 1169 in the amount
of $241,363. I second. We have a motion and we have a second. So sealed bids again, we're open on May
7th for these three subdivisions, which is Amber Ridge, Plateau Place and Bristol Manor, which those
roads in there
consist of, which I want to read, because sometimes subdivisions join together and you might live in
a different part of a subdivision. It's really not the same subdivision. But this would include Sienna
Court, Livia Drive, Samantha Drive, Plateau Place, Cordova Place, Nottingham Court, and Amber Drive.
Those we would like to award to the lowest bidder on that was Milestone.
move forward with getting those subdivisions paved. Great, thank you so much. Comments or questions?
Commissioner Jones? No, we don't. Commissioner Medeira? No, thank you. My question relates to the previous
item and this item again, but together. So as needed, stormwater goes in and does drainage work as well
to kind of prolong the lifespan of these roadways, correct?
We get with our crews of what we can do in-house. We replace any pipes that need replaced. We look at
sidewalks. We look at curb. The stormwater crews will do what they need to do beforehand. Our highway
crews will mow and cut brush and do the ditching. What they need to do, our Cume Bridge crew will go
and replace
the pipes that go under the roadway that are needed. We do all of this before releasing the roads to
the contractor and just try and stay at least, you know, months. But that's, that's made a huge difference
over the last several years and really just want to thank you and Ms. Pena Stormwater for foresight
to integrate that the stormwater projects and drainage projects
before even the road works begin. So it's made a big difference, I think. Has and I can't think the
highway crews, stormwater crew, bridge crews at the garage, they all work and the management there.
They work great to bring this all together. It takes a lot of coordination. It takes a lot
of time commitment, but they work well together. And it's just worked out really well for us to be able
to fix the drainage issues and do it right.
Um, I did, I do. Yeah, go ahead. No, I was going to say we do have a construction reconstruct. Mike,
it's a big project. We're only doing one segment of that. We have done this. We're doing this through
the help of our RDC and TIF district. So we will be doing.
Basically, State Road 48 to Bloomington City limits, which is around Beasley Drive. DC Construction
will start that. They were awarded that project. They will begin curb work, concrete work next week,
and then the whole road will be milled and then repaved. So that'll all be over probably the next 30
days starting next week. There's a lot of traffic on that road, so I just want to get that out there.
Expect delays, no road closures, we don't anticipate, but delays.
Yeah. So it's from the intersection of Curry and 48, which is third street going south. Okay. Yeah.
City of Bloomington limits. Yeah. Okay. Boy. Yeah. That alignment issue. So many near miss accidents
with that. So I hope that that gets addressed in the next bet. I know this is a big project.
It's a big project. Thank you for that. So everybody, yeah. I mean, just as we kind of feel the newfound
freedom of having less traffic with IU out for summer break, well, mostly, please be careful and watch
for crews. I mean, I know the patching crew was in my neighborhood yesterday. They did a great job.
There's going to be construction everywhere, not just county, but city and state. So, you know, just
keep an eye open, slow down. Let's make sure we protect the lives of those workers. Good time to remind
everybody about that. All right. So let's see if there's any public comments on this item.
Seeing none, all those in favor of awarding milestone contractors, the subdivision paving project signify
by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Thank you so much. All right. Item N is our next item, please.
Yes, I'd like to move approval for ordinance 2025-15 amendments to the development ordinance. We have
a motion. Second. And a second.
Here Ben is here and she is serving as the acting director of the planning department while Ms.
Bellin is off. Good morning. Can you hear me all right? We sure can. Great. I'm going to go ahead and
share my screen for this one. And I'm not going to bother you with the little scrivener. You're muted.
You muted. I did. I didn't share screen. I can't see the screen yet, but it'll show up. There. I think
I got it this time. There it is. Thank you. Good. Okay. So what I'm presenting is amendments to the
county development ordinance to fix some Scribner errors.
to have our code align with state code provisions and then to modify some sidewalk requirements and
address some energy production technologies. So I'm gonna just sort of skip through here a little bit.
And the first page, is it gonna let me do it? I'm really hoping it doesn't make me
The plan commission heard this on April 21st, 2026 under the petition ZOA-26-1. They forwarded a positive
recommendation with a vote of six to zero. In our CDO, we always have a list of revisions that just
documents every text amendment that we've ever done. This is the amount that we're doing here today.
And I'm going to skip over the Scrivener errors. They're kind of insignificant, but we'll stick to the
meat and potatoes of this one. So I first want to start off with 40.
So we have in our ordinance these two pagers, we will be updating throughout the ordinance our two pagers
to any use changes that you're going to see. And then we also have a few Scrivener type errors such
as this was a one, we needed it to be 10. And then throughout we're going to be referencing footnote
number three and adding this
to each one of our two pagers. I am not going to flip through all of those two pagers though, but just
letting you know this is kind of a wide sweeping, a lot of little changes throughout. So this is our
permitted land use table. And one thing that we're doing to align with state code is allowing schools
to be permitted in every single zone, which will include the industrial zones and mineral extraction
now. And then we have
was pretty large things that are going on here. I want to point out that in 2024, when we passed the
CDO, we made data centers not permitted in Monroe County. Then the state has now allowed for nuclear
energy to start coming in. We are going to go ahead and make small modular nuclear reactors, which are
often the source that powers data centers, not a permitted use in Monroe County.
And then we are looking at battery energy storage systems. And these will all have definitions. And
those are going to be permitted in the IP zone, the institutional public zone and mineral extraction
zone and airport zone. And they are conditional. So they have to go to the board of zoning appeals.
The next thing to focus on is with the battery energy storage systems, they are conditional.
And so we have several items that we want to kind of make sure that these facilities are safe. They
fit within our community and they aren't going to bother neighbors too much. We definitely want to make
sure that we know how the transportation plan works, what their drainage plan is going to be, some screening,
have a statement of compliance regarding noise. We don't want these to be
too noisy like those bells I can hear in the background. And then setbacks and a decommissioning plan
we found would be important if we were going to be allowing these in the community. And then our staff,
we sat and debated this table for a while. We're making some clarifications to add decks to the list
of developments.
that's able to encroach into a setback and we clarified horizontal projections for detached garages,
carports, storage sheds that are no higher than 15 feet. Jumping down. So with this text amendment portion,
we removed the requirement for sidewalks within subdivisions located on a moderate priority road improvement segment
of the alternative transportation map to be removed. We were finding that most of these were requiring
waivers or in the case of commercial development variances. And so the map is a little outdated. What
we wanna do is eventually update our alternative transportation maps where sidewalks and bike lanes
would be going and then maybe bring this back
into the ordinance to bring the moderate priority back in, but right now they just don't align with
our planning. And so we're just going to remove it to keep people from having to go through a planning
process that's timely and a little expensive. And then we are clarifying under expenses how the plan
commission expenses section
how we pay board members for which meetings per month that they are eligible for. And then I'm gonna
skip down to our definitions section. We have, hold on, look for home occupation. There it is, oh, it's
just a little one. This is a conflict we actually,
require a permit for a home occupation. And then yet it was stating permitted by right. And I think
that was just leftover language from the old ordinance. So we're cleaning that up so that we can make
sure that people on their properties and their residences comply with certain standards and meet the
home occupation requirement. And then we have a couple more definitions to cover. At the beginning,
you saw in our two pagers that we had added some
language to our front yard setbacks. And so here we're just kind of clarifying lot line slash front
yard and giving this more clarity to planners. And we've also included an image, especially for when
there's an easement that runs through a property and how we would determine the front yard setbacks
for how much a structure would need to be from that. And then I'm going to scroll down to our next one.
We currently have a use called major utility. And, you know, it's just for like gas generation plants,
electrical substations. What we wanna make sure is that this definition excludes the small modular nuclear
energy reactors and battery energy storage systems, because we're going to treat them differently than
what we would treat a major utility. And they are gonna have their own set of standards. I'm so fine.
And so, with that, we have the small modular nuclear reactors. We're clarifying what this is.
These are, you know, these are reactors that have the power capacity to do 300, I want to say megawatts
of energy per unit, whatever. But anyways, this is to clearly state that these are not permitted in
Monroe County. And then finally, we have, I'll touch on the,
battery energy storage system. So this is the definition here, not included in the major utilities,
but it will have its own definition and we've run over those standards that are applicable to that one.
So yeah, does anyone have any questions? See if my colleagues have any questions, Commissioner Medeo.
We do not. No, this is pretty straightforward.
Yeah, and we were under the state had asked us to ensure that we did a moratorium on hearing cases relating
to small nuclear reactors and that we did complete this part of our requirement before our
one-year moratorium lapses. And I believe that all of the state law requirements, obviously small nuclear
reactors are pretty frightening things, especially when you take into account not just waste and accidents,
but also decommissioning and what happens if the company goes up and who pays for it and how is it done.
There's a lot to it. And so those are banned.
or not permitted. And then the data center part that Ms. Bierman raised is really important because
just this week, I've read two more articles about how a small city lost about half of their water pressure
because they added a data center in their vicinity. And another one, which is tracking the amount of PFA
PFOAs, or forever chemicals, as they're often called, and how these data centers are leaching the stuff
into the environment, which no one really thought about before. They're also supposedly one of the new
sources of nuisance lawsuits based on mass toxic tort claims. Ah, there you go. OK.
Um, so there's, there's a lot there and I do, I do appreciate the work that was done on the, um, battery
storage systems, because this is something that power companies are moving toward and sometimes they're
in close sometimes they're not and. But we do want to make sure that the impact on the community is
not negative in terms of noise or run off for drainage or anything else. So.
And I would like to add a thank you to our SPIA fellow who researched that and presented reports to
the ordinance review committee. They did a really great job of helping us formulate standards to review.
Yeah, absolutely. And that's been great work. Just we've learned a lot. So it's been really helpful
for the whole planning commission. All right. So let's see if there are
If there's anyone who wishes to speak in favor of this petition, raise your hand on teams or come to
the podium. Is there anyone who wishes to speak in opposition or make general public comment? None,
and I do want to take a moment to thank
the planning staff for all of their hard work and getting through all of this stuff. Some of it minutiae,
some of it big, but all of it important. So thank you so much. All right. Any further comments? Okay.
I'll go ahead and bring the questions to the floor. All those in favor of ordinance 2026-15 signify
by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Thank you so much.
All right, we do have the new item, oh, please. Yes, I would like to move approval for resolution 2026
dash 19. We have a motion and we have a second. This is a resolution in Manure County Board of Commissioners
authorizing the Manure County Sheriff to appoint up to three deputies under the emergency appointment
statute. Please tell us all about it.
I will start with the goal and what we're intending to do with this and then we can back out into questions
or things like that. And it's a little ironic to me because I've worked here for so long that we're
actually to the point now where we have more confidence in our ability to attract jail staff than we
are sheriff's deputies. So that's just a shift in.
and how we are, but what this is, the goal of this is to allow us to train three of our correctional
staff members to go to the police academy so that they can fill in for the merit deputies when there
is an emergency. So it took a while to get around it. If you read the statute, it isn't exactly clear
on this goal.
But that's the goal. I think the important thing that I want to point out with this is that including
the statute, it allows you to set a compensation for those deputies. This says they have to remain within
the budget. That's what approved by the county council. So this does not have a budgetary impact. It
is purely a way to get to allow the sheriff to send up to three of their correctional officers to the
police academy, the law enforcement academy to get those training.
And that's important for a lot of variety of reasons, most particularly is that they're seeing a lot
more overtime and kind of expenses coming out of the sheriff, the mayor, deputy side of the organization.
So that's the intent of this. The statue is admittedly much more designed for what I considered like
the Wild West and the Old West posse.
you know, special deputy and those kind of things, which is not the intent of what we're using this
for. We are using this for the ability to get our correctional staff trained better. Even if
these correctional staff never utilize it as an emerit deputy, there is a value to the jail to have
members of the jail trained through the Law Enforcement Academy. Help the conversations between EPD
IUPD merit deputies and the jail staff to help understand what's going on and what some of the concerns
are. And so that's a benefit, even if this emergency situation where they need to be actually used as
merit deputies does not exist. So there is benefit no matter what. Yeah. Uh, comments or questions,
commissioner Jones. Yeah.
Yeah, the old posse statute. Which actually goes back to Alfred the Great. It's really kind of got a
storied history. But it's alive and well. Yeah. 100%. Yeah, yeah. So we're not declaring an emergency.
There isn't an emergency. But there is an emergency, as far as the sheriff is concerned, because he
does not have
He wants to make sure he has sufficient deputies on the road if someone is out sick or anything else.
And he is at that point where he needs to make sure he can call people in. So there's no emergency.
The downtown bank hasn't been robbed by stagecoach robbers and whatever. I don't know. Anyway, go in
at the train station, find out. I would say there's no emergency event.
Yes, there's no event. We're not declaring an emergency, but this is an emergency appointment statute
that we are considering. Okay, thank you. Thank you for clarifying that. Yes. All right. Any public
comments on the world of law? Nerdy legal point. Yeah, there you go. I see none.
All those in favor of approving resolution 2020-19 signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries 3-0. I
just say I am so grateful for our county attorneys and their depth of experience and how well they explain
things. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, 100%. I'm grateful for all of our county employees to speak of it, but yes.
No, that's very true. And the sheriff was eager to get this done quickly. So I appreciate that as well,
because the Academy season start waiting lists and whatnot. So it's a timing issue as well. So I'm happy
to do this to support the sheriff. All right.
We do want to remind folks that there are virtual office hours via teams available and there are 6 hours
per month. Just go to our calendar on our homepage. I am dot gov slash county slash Monroe and.
We are still looking for some members for some boards and commissions, especially the library board
and animal management. So if you are interested, please out boards and commissions and you can fill
out an application online. So I believe there are June blood drive dates, but I do not have them.
Sorry and um, but go to redcross.org and they'll have the info. Um, so we usually have two days each
month that we work with ivy tech to provide um Jeff is having an identity crisis All right, um, so um,
and the other thing we do want to do is remind folks that the
Monroe County alert notification system is great thing for you to sign up for some people charge for
this, by the way, we don't it's it's included for all county residents, no matter where they live. And
you will receive updates on weather related traffic related other emergencies in the community, so that
you can stay safe. And that.
is available from our homepage, iand.gov slash county slash Monroe. And I do want to remind folks that
again, this is police week. We had our proclamation. We will be at the peace officer's memorial ceremony
tomorrow. It is 11 a.m. at the Showers Plaza as it was last year. There's only a slight chance of rain.
Anything else for the good of the order? Anything? Okay. All right. We do not have a work session, correct?
All right. No working today. All right. With that,
We are going to adjourn this meeting. Our next meeting is the 21st of May, 10 a.m., right here in the
NatU Hill Room. And with that, we are adjourned. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Katz, and thank you, TSD,
for all your hard work.