County Council meeting: January 26, 2015
In a short meeting, the Dubois County Council moved through several administrative tasks Monday afternoon.
They approved a change order for the flooring in the bathroom remodeling project at the Dubois County Community Corrections. The contractor on the job, Seufert Construction, recommended a different epoxy for the flooring than was specified in the bid packages. Seufert is recommending a three-layer system that will consist of a sand infused, no-slip epoxy that will be more durable and mold resistant. The change order will add an additional $3,000 to the original approved amount for the project.
They heard from Jerry Gramelspacher, the maintenance person for the community corrections building, that a compressor on one of the air conditioning units will need to be replaced. He also informed the council that the refrigerant, R-22, used in the air conditioner may be banned in the near future by the federal government. He explained the council may want to consider changing to a new air conditioning system with the new refrigerant. The compressor replacement was estimated to be about $3,300 and a complete air-conditioning replacement is expected to cost over $30,000. Gramelspacher told the council it may behoove them to consider the replacement now in case the cost of a new unit increases dramatically when the R-22 systems are banned. The council agreed with the County Commissioners in directing Gramelspacher to seek out bids for the repair and the replacement.
They approved advertising for a new Kyocera printer through Hoosier Business Machines for $2,100 for community corrections after it the purchase is approved by the County Commissioners. The department’s old printer stopped working recently. It was over six years old and the same brand as the replacement.
They approved creating a line item in community corrections’ budget for compensatory (comp) time payouts. According to acting director Jenny Fuhs, department personnel have a tremendous amount of overtime and compensatory time off they have accrued. There is a county policy that after a certain amount of comp time is accumulated, personnel must take time off or be paid for the time. The line-item will be placed in the project income budget and according to County Auditor Kathy Hopf, they will have to find money for the line-item to pay out any comp time that must be paid.
The council approved $7,000 in additional appropriations for the bridge inspection funds. According to County Engineer Brent Wendholt, the additional funding is necessary due to new federal regulations that require annual bridge inspections for ten bridges in particular in Dubois County. This is more often than originally budgeted for.
They heard from Janet Schnell, coordinator for the Dubois County Substance Abuse Council, that their budget has continued to shrink over the past few years. In 2015, $29,801.34 is available for four budget items for the council; prevention education, treatment and intervention, criminal justice services and discretionary. In 2015, each area will receive $7,450. The organization makes annual grants to local groups to assist in preventing and combating drug and alcohol abuse. To overcome this shrinking budget that is funded by collected court fees through drug arrests, the council is creating a new organization, Dubois County Communities that Care Coalition, that will seek federal grants totaling $125,000 to assist in the organization’s mission.
They approved the Dubois County Substance Abuse Council coordinator’s annual salary and benefit package for $7,450.35.
They approved $3,000 for utilities for the new hospital ambulance bay in Huntingburg for ten months. The Dubois County Ambulance Services is expected to be in the new space in February. Huntingburg has refurbished the old gas storage garage on Van Buren Street to be used for the ambulance service. The total cost of the new bay is expected to be around $145,000, below the estimated budget to renovate and upgrade the garage for the ambulances and medical personnel. The City of Huntingburg paid for the renovation and the county agreed to pay for maintenance and utilities.
