MIAMI COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
25 NORTH BROADWAY
PERU, INDIANA 46970
PH. 765-472-3901 FAX 765-472-1412
January 7, 2008

Commissioner Deeds called the meeting to order.

RECORDER ISSUE
Rhonda Trexler told the Board that she would be using part time employees during her appointment as Recorder. She has been told that she needs to inform the Board and she has been told she needs to go to Council so she will be doing both.
The Board told her they have no problem with this situation and Commissioner Boyer said it would save the County some money.

MEXICO SEWER DISTRICT
The Board was given the application for the CCF Grant to sign. This is something that needs addressed every year. A motion to allow Commissioner Hawley to sign the document was made by Commissioner Deeds. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.
The Board was informed that there is an issue with the land acquisition. When they did the research on the deed they found there was another owner listed that is not on board with the project.

SMOKING ORDINANCE ISSUE
Mr. Wilson asked the Board if they are ready to move forward with the Ordinance. He said it was November of 2006 that he first approached them with this issue. He said there are 33 or 34 businesses throughout the County that support this. Commissioner Boyer agrees that it is time to move forward and it is time for public hearings. Commissioner Deeds agrees and Commissioner Hawley will contact Peru High School to ask to use their auditorium for the hearings. The date will be established when they find out when the school area is available. No further action was taken.

VSO AND PLAN COMMISSION QUESTION
Jay Kendall and Darrell Wooten told the Board that they read the paper and the mention of joining Secretaries jobs on the first floor of the Court House has them concerned. They would like some input and some consideration if this occurs. Commissioner Hawley said it was only one idea discussed in the work session. Many other options were discussed and before it would happen they would be in on the discussions. The Board did say that with funds being short from the State and the shortfall in taxes all options are being looked at but no action was taken.

JOHN POWELL/TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
Mr. Powell brought the yearly bill for anti-virus to the Board for processing and approval. A motion was made by Commissioner Boyer to pay the bill for $3,311.00. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0.

JAIL PROJECT DISCUSSION
The Board discussed the preliminary bidding schedule from RQAW and CCI. It was noted that the pre bidding would be held at the Fair Grounds. The preliminary dates are February 6, 2008 and February 20, 2008. This is contingent on the availability of the Fair Grounds facility on those dates. The Board also discussed the Holding Corporation and the documents that need to be in place prior to the bids are let.

EMA/ Mike Peconga
Mr. Peconga told the Board he needs permission to spend $400 to $500 to repair and redo the bathrooms at their facility. The current facilities are old and have had issues. A motion was made by Commissioner Deeds to allow EMA to fix their bathrooms. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.
Mr. Peconga told the Board that he would be going to a District Planning Exercise if they permit it. A motion to permit Mr. Peconga to attend the exercise was made by Commissioner Deeds and 2nd by Commissioner Boyer. The motion was passed 3-0.
The Board was also informed that Wayne Mannies would be replacing Chris Brooks on the District Planning Council.
Mr. Peconga was also told by the Board that John Powell has been instructed to put anti-virus protection on the remaining laptops held by EMA.
The Board was informed that there is an electrical problem in one of the cars EMA received from the Peru Police Department. No action taken.
Peru Utilities asked Mr. Peconga if EMA could store the Christmas tree on the Court House lawn at their facility. He said he discussed this with Sam Waltz and they are working on getting the tree stored.

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

SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Commissioner Deeds reported to the Board that the funding from the County is supplemental to the Federal funding and is spent first. The question of why we give them their funding as we do satisfied the Board. No further action taken.

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

RAILS TO TRAILS
The Board discussed the issue of the signage problem with Rails to Trails. The issue is the County’s authority over signage by the Trails people. Commissioner Boyer made a motion to have the County Attorney send a letter to the Rails to Trails stating the IC codes and the County Ordinances concerning the County’s authority over the right of ways. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Deeds and passed 3-0. It was noted that the Board has given Rails to Trails ample time to remove the signs they have placed in violation of our Ordinance and State law. Ken Einselen said he has followed up with several agencies concerning the location of signs on the trail. He explained to each agency that Rails to Trails is in violation and perhaps they would have influence on the situation. The Rails put un-breakaway signs up that are not acceptable to the County and violate safety codes.

JUDGE BANINA AND JUDGE SPAHR
The Judges requested some changes on the 3rd floor. They want to move the floats to a central room and use the one vacated as an additional conference room for attorneys. This would take some wiring of computer terminals and re locating phone lines. The Board has no problem with them doing this. The other issue is they would like to remove some of the shelves that have no books on them in the Law Library. The Board will look at what can be done in that area.

SHERIFF ROLAND
The Sheriff brought over a title to be signed by the Board. A motion to allow Commissioner Hawley to sign the title was made by Commissioner Deeds. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.
The Sheriff also brought over his weekly jail report.
The Board and the Sheriff asked Sam Waltz about the extension on the generator exhaust. Mr. Waltz has not heard if his man had evaluated the situation or not. He may need to get in behind the fence to measure it. Commissioner Boyer suggested they check with a John Deere dealer for a Semi exhaust system.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Mr. Waltz and the Board discussed the roadwork and the snow last week. He told the Board that the Business 31 field check was done.

HIGHWAY ENGINEER
Ken Einselen told the Board that he had received a letter concerning the pavement markers damaged due to the snow plow. It is noted that the Highway Supervisor does not like the raised reflective markers due to them damaging the plows.

The Board and Mr. Einselen discussed the storm drainage on 200 north. A motion to allow Mr. Einselen to find out the regulations was made by Commissioner Deeds and 2nd by Commissioner Boyer. The motion passed 3-0.

A motion was made by Commissioner Deeds to re appoint Ken Einselen to the Wabash River Corridor Commission. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

Mr. Einselen also told the Board he had received notice from INDOT of applications for Federal Funds for local Bridge Projects.

COURT HOUSE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
Jeff Price told the Board that the committee will be meeting later this week and asked when they would like a report. The Board told him to come back next Monday.

DOG TAGS
Commissioner Deeds told the Board he ordered the dog tags the first of December. The Board instructed him to send the invoice to the Auditor for reimbursement. It is noted that there needs to be an article in the paper to give citizens some direction as to how this new system will work. It is also noted that Thelma Metzger will be handling the dog tags and tax for the County.

APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS
Commissioner Deeds moved that all Commissioners remain on the Boards they are currently serving on. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Boyer and passed 3-0.

ESTATES AT EAGLES POINTE
The Board was told that the management from the Estates wanted to talk to the Board about some clean up. The Board will schedule this.

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

Adjourned

COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS


________________________________________, CHAIRMAN
GARY D. HAWLEY

________________________________________, VICE CHAIRMAN
GREGORY DEEDS

________________________________________, MEMBER
C. CRAIG BOYER

ATTEST: ________________________________, Auditor
Brenda Weaver