MIAMI COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
25 NORTH BROADWAY
PERU, INDIANA 46970
DECEMBER 26, 2006

Chairman Hawley called the last Board of Commissioner meeting for 2006 to order.

TILLETT CEMETERY AND STEP FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH
Members of the Step Faith Community Church asked the Board for an easement across county property to get to their property. The church purchased the land from Mr. Phillips and he will allow them to cross his land but the church attendees must cross the cemetery property to access their property. Commissioner Deeds drew the lay out of the area to help explain to the Board where the property is and he stated that the easement would be the easiest way to access the property.
Commissioner Deeds asked that while easements are being granted he would like Mr. Phillips to grant the County an easement to the cemetery as well. The Board asked that the Church attorney contact David Grund to work out the details in drafting the documents. Commissioner Boyer moved to grant access easement across the County property to their property. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

The parishioners said they planned to pave their driveway and security will be added with cameras and lights at the cemetery site. The Board said that would be a good thing and appreciates their doing that and Commissioner Hawley said it would cut down on the vandalism.

LETTER FROM THE AIC CONCERNING VONAGE
The Board received a letter from AIC concerning Vonage Voluntarily paying 9-1-1. No action was taken.

LOCKS FOR THE COURT HOUSE OFFICES
The Board reviewed the bids from vendors for lock replacements for the Court House offices. A motion was made by Commissioner Deeds to hire Bob’s Lock & Key. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

CLAIMS
A motion to approve the claims was made by Commissioner Boyer. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.

MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Boyer to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.

LETTER FROM PMSI/CONCERNING JAIL STUDY
The Board received a letter from PMSI to go over aspects of the jail study and gave an invitation for the Board to visit their Elkhart project.

NORTH CENTRAL COOP
The Board received a letter from NCC for the Animal Control contract for fuel. A motion was made by Commissioner Boyer to sign the contract. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.

PUBLIC DEFENDER CONTRACTS
Commissioner Deeds moved to sign the contracts and then withdrew his motion because the Commissioners approve them but do not sign them.

SHERER PRINTING OFFICE SOLUTIONS/RISO MACHING
The Board asked John Evans to get a copy count and find out how much per copy we spend and how many copies per year. The maintenance agreement is due on this machine.

VSO
Jay Kendall informed the Board that the money for the Van is due next week and he will receive the Van in June. The names of those to be on the Van will be sent in when the Van is ordered.
Mr. Kendall said the Moving Wall would be in Peru for 4 days in 2007. His name has been given as the point of contact.
Mr. Kendall informed the Board that he has been voted to the Board of Directors for 4 County Counseling Center. He is one of a 10 member Board.

STRAND & ASSOCIATES/ BRIDGE #28
The Board received an engineering proposal for Bridge #28. The Board will review this when Ken Einselen is back from vacation on January 3, 2007.

Commissioner Boyer asked about a public access site at Bridge #28. He said since it is a Historical site perhaps the DNR would put some money toward developing the public access site.

RAIL ROAD BRIDGE ON 100 WEST
Commissioner Hawley said that the issue with this structure has never been resolved and he would like to move forward with it. Commissioner Deeds said he last heard from a Mr. Brown concerning Rails to Trails. Commissioner Deeds will reestablish that contact and Commissioner Hawley will contact the local chapter of Rails to Trails. Doug Keupper is the local contact.

TRUSTEE ISSUES
Commissioner Hawley said he was contacted by Hershal Manhart and Debbie Meiser from Helping Hands. They would like to meet with the Board of Commissioners and the Trustees to determine how to assist people in a consistent fashion.
There are different standards to be met and different procedures followed by different trustees and this makes it very confusing and hard to assist some people.

JAIL STUDY
The Board discussed how much to ask for the copies of the Jail Needs Assessment Study if someone wishes to purchase one. It was decided after a copy was ran and pages counted that $10 per copy is reasonable. A motion was made by Commissioner Deeds to charge $10 per copy of the Jail needs assessment study. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

RECESSED UNTIL 1:30 P.M

Reconvened

ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
The Board and Mr. Tigler discussed the Ordinance and fees to be collected. Mr. Tigler will work with the Auditor to establish a form for tracking purposes. The kind of animal collected, date, whether it had dog tags and how many days kept will be some of the format.

Commissioner Hawley said the facility looks good and is a nice facility. Commissioner Hawley also told Mr. Tigler that the Board has arranged with Roy Bryant the use of his incinerator by the County until we can find one to meet our needs. The Board had received a notice from IDEM that our current incinerator is not sufficient and the Board discontinued it’s use.

PAYROLL FOR PART TIME-PERU TOWNSHIP
Mrs. Smith asked about the hourly pay for 2006 hours payable in 2007. The money will need to be encumered.

HIGHWAY ISSUES
Sam Waltz discussed encumbrances with the Board and upcoming projects for 2007. The Board was told that Mr. Waltz intends on using Major Moves funding for paving projects at each end of the County, one on 1500 North and one on 1000 South. These are 2 year projects.

DENNISTAN BRIDGE
The Board and Mr. Waltz discussed the replacing of the flooring of that bridge.

BUSINESS 31 PROJECT
The Board and Mr. Waltz discussed the funding for the business project. Mr. Waltz said if he had a timeline he would try to use some of Cumulative Bridge Fund and CEDIT funds.

DENVER GARAGE ROOF
Mr. Waltz said in 2008 he would like to put a roof on the Denver Garage like the one on the Peru Garage.

VIRGINIA BENNETT RETIREMENT
Mr. Waltz said he has 3 or 4 people interested in filling that position. Mrs. Bennett is planning to retire the end of May.

APPOINTMENT OF SAM WALTZ TO HIGHWAY SUPERVISOR
A motion was made by Commissioner Deeds to appoint Sam Waltz the Highway Supervisor for 2007. The motion is 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

PUBLIC DEFENDER BOARD
Commissioner Deeds moved to wait to appoint this Board until a firm date for the agreements are known.

PLAN COMMISSIONER
Commissioner Deeds moved to Appoint Darrell Wooten to the Plan Commission. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

Commissioner Deeds moved to re appoint Don Haggenbush and Bruce Murphy to the Plan Commission. After some discussion Commissioner Deeds withdrew his motion.

HIGHWAY ENGINEER
Commissioner Boyer moved to appoint Ken Einselen as the County Highway Engineer for 2007. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.

APPOINTMENTS BY THE BOARD
A motion was made by Commissioner Boyer to appoint David Grund as the County Attorney for 2007, Jay Kendall as the Veteran Service Officer for 2007, and Mike Peconga as the Emergency Management Director for 2007. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Hawley and passed 3-0.

PTABOA BOARD
The Commissioners will appoint this Board at the next meeting.

MUSEUM APPOINTMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Boyer to appoint Mildred Kopis to the position of Museum Curator for 2007. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Hawley and passed 2-0. Commissioner Deeds was not present for the vote.

HEALTH FOUNDATION BOARD
A motion to re appoint Commissioner Deeds to the Health Foundation Board was made by Commissioner Boyer and 2nd by Commissioner Hawley. The motion passed 3-0.

HEALTH BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Commissioner Boyer moved to appoint Dr. Rafik Farag to replace Dr. Lloyd Hill, Dr. John Crawshaw to complete the term of Helene Banina, Daryl Skillen to replace Lavonne Eddy. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.
Commissioner Deeds moved to send a letter to Mrs. Eddy thanking her for her time and services. The Board also directed the Auditor to send a letter to Dr. Savage informing him of the County’s appointments to the Health Board.

A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Deeds. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

Adjourned

THE MIAMI COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

__________________________________________________, CHAIRMAN
GARY D. HAWLEY

__________________________________________________, VICE CHAIRMAN
GREGORY DEEDS

__________________________________________________, MEMBER
C. CRAIG BOYER

ATTEST: ___________________________________________, Auditor
Brenda Weaver