Dubois County Begins Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Grant Repairs

Jenny Matheis of the Indiana 15 Regional Planning Commission was present for the opening of bids for multiple residential repair projects that are being planned as part of the Owner- Occupied Rehabilitation Grant. Many of these involve roof replacement, which may have to be completed in spring depending on weather. To date, over 25% of the approved work has not yet received any bids. Contractors have stated that the volume of work presented is on a large scale, so work will begin as bids are approved. 

The board held an extensive discussion about the county’s Amazon Prime membership, which was unanimously approved for renewal for the coming year. While the Commissioners acknowledged that Amazon provides convenience and competitive pricing, Commissioner Hostetter expressed concern that local businesses could provide some of these items. Commissioner Blessinger questioned whether there was something that the board “can or should do to encourage the department heads to do something different” or if there the board should approach local businesses directly. Hostetter said that he did not think that credit limits for Amazon should have been raised, and that the Commissioners should be directing department heads should be buying local whenever possible. He explained, “At some point, we’re not going to have local businesses to buy from” if purchases continue to be directed to big-box retailers like Amazon. Hostetter said that he would prefer to pay more for some items to keep the purchases within the county. 

The Commissioners discussed the merits of scanning older County records, including documentation dating back to the early 1900s. The board agreed that many of the records were no longer of use and did not provide enough value to justify the amount of time that it would require to manually scan them into a digital file. This could allow the Recorder’s Office to sell their large document scanner. County Highway Superintendent Steve Berg suggested that some of the history provided would mean a lot to some people, and Commissioner Hostetter suggested that a budget should be set and as many records as possible should be scanned. The project will be considered, and a decision will be made at a later date. 

The board learned that, unfortunately, the Dubois County Sherriff’s Office did not receive anticipated grant funds for staffing. Chief Deputy Jesus Monarrez requested funding for several currently unstaffed positions including four deputies, one sergeant, one detective. He also requested approval for two additional positions. The board requested that the Sherriff provide further explanation regarding department needs before new staffing is approved. 

In other business, the agreement for the extension of contractual services between Purdue University and the government of Dubois County was approved. COBRA health insurance rates for separated employees were approved, and the Life Springs insurance agreement was presented for the board to take under advisement. A representative from the county’s IT services provider, Matrix, gave a presentation to the Commissioners on their proposed pricing for integration of band services. The county’s existing contract with Matrix expires on November 3 and the Commissioners approved the proposed 3-year service agreement renewal.