by Noah Woods - b.noah.woods@gmail.com

This past Saturday, March 13th, 2021, marked the anniversary of the murder of Breonna Taylor by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). A full three hundred and sixty-five days have gone by since Breonna’s life was tragically taken and not a single person has been held accountable for her murder. Detective Brett Hankinson is the only individual facing criminal charges for his role in the botched raid. However, these stem from his indiscriminate shooting that endangered the lives of a pregnant woman, her husband, and their child in a neighboring apartment. Along with Hankison, Detectives Joshua Jaynes and Myles Cosgrove have been terminated from the LMPD for their roles in the slaying of Breonna Taylor, but still, not a single criminal charge directly relating to her death have been filed.

As hundreds gathered in downtown Louisville at Injustice Square Park — also known as Jefferson Square Park — to mourn and protest the anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death, an important message was broadcast to the Democratic party both in the commonwealth and nationwide:

“The Democrats don’t own our vote”

proclaimed one speaker to the crowd of protestors, embodying an underlying theme of the day. Several speakers raised concerns about Democrats co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement to galvanize support for the 2020 election but neglecting to effectively address those grievances once in power. Louisville mayor Greg Fischer, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, and Vice President Kamala Harris — all Democrats — were lambasted for the lack of meaningful reforms implemented in response to nationwide protests over the past year. These frustrations directed at Democratic leadership highlight a growing discontent amongst assumed party loyalists that should not be taken lightly.

The sentiments towards the Democratic party on Saturday are not isolated to protestors in Louisville, nor are they limited to anger surrounding the Breonna Taylor case. Rather, the criticisms reverberating throughout the crowd were emblematic of a growing disillusionment with the Democratic party’s ineptitude to effectively address vexing problems that America must confront. Whether it’s tackling the injustices of police brutality and mass incarceration, reducing egregious economic disparities, expanding affordable healthcare to all, combating the worsening climate crisis, or numerous other pervasive policy-driven issues in which Democrats remain complicit, voters are desperate for leadership that actually delivers real progress. Much like when Obama was brought to power in 2008 under the guise of hope and change, Biden faces expectations for genuine reforms that cannot and will not be satisfied by superficial executive orders and high-minded lip service.

If the DNC wants to preserve the voting base that delivered them the Presidency in 2020, let alone bolster support for the 2022 midterm elections, then the attitudes conveyed by protestors on Saturday should be taken as a warning. Voters are sick and tired of electing Democrats that campaign on lofty policy proposals that they almost immediately back-peddle on once in office. Exacerbating this feeling is the fact that elected Democrats are unwilling to fight tooth-and-nail to actualize policy change like their Republican counterparts. If anything, one could argue that increases in the notoriety of Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders suggest a growing appeal to unapologetic and relentless progressive politics. After all, the data from the 2020 election revealed that progressive initiatives are widely popular amongst Americans.

Although we have not yet reached the end of the fabled “first 100 days,” Biden’s lack of gumption thus far to act boldly in pressing for much-needed reforms offers dim prospects for truly progressive leadership in the years to come. While many felt uneasy by the President’s promising of a $2,000 stimulus check, only to later clarify this meant an additional $1,400 on top of the $600 already given, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 should still bring much-needed relief to many desperate for it. That said, the Democrat’s failure to doggedly fight for a $15 minimum wage through budget reconciliation was a painful blow to the hopes of many yearning for lasting progressive reforms rather than temporary bandages for systemic failures. Instead of compromising policies simply for the sake of “bipartisanship,” Democrats should unite around widely popular progressive initiatives like the $15 minimum wage in an effort to restore faith in the party’s ability to follow through on promises of improving the material conditions of working-class voters.

By seizing opportunities to improve the day-to-day lives of average Americans, the Democratic Party can coalesce the support of disaffected voters across the political spectrum who are, above all else, sick of the status quo.

Championing progressive policies that deliver noticeable improvements to American’s quality of life will undoubtedly help to restore faith in the party and return working-class voters to the party base. Anything less than this will surely be the demise of any hopes for a “blue wave” in the fall elections of 2022, and all but solidifying the return of Donald Trump and a Republican majority in 2024.

Additional sources used to inform this piece:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/us/wanton-endangerment.html

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/06/953285549/two-louisville-police-officers-connected-to-breonna-taylor-shooting-have-been-fi

https://www.nytimes.com/section/opinion

https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/2/dfp-vox-minimum-wage.pdf

Tonight the Parks Board signed the lease of the Wright Center.

At the end of the meeting, Parks Department superintendent Larry Shickles was asked about a possible conflict of interest regarding his position as board president of the Friends of Corydon Capital Historic Site. He answered with the following:

"I've been singled out by a couple folks. I personally don't pay attention to Facebook, I think it's a pretty unprofessional way to communicate...you can take any situation and make it what you want it to look like."

Needless to say this doesn't give us any peace of mind or more clarity to the issue.

Also, we hope Mr. Shickles knows that in addition to Facebook, we publish all reports to our website and Instagram, we email them directly via our mailing list (subscribe below using the link!), and our main mode of communication is a podcast for which we have invited him to be a guest?

Spoiler alert: he hasn't answered.

We will continue to push for more transparency in government and we are so glad so many of you support us.

KAtie Forte - Reporter

Harrison County Commissioners Meeting - 3/15/21 7:00pm Harrison County Government Center

Click here to watch this meeting in full.

New Bids:

Boone Township Fire Department and Elizabeth Township FD approached the commissioners about being put into the cycle to receive funds; as it was Palmyra's turn, but they have stepped back because "they are not ready". The representative from Boone FD said that Boone and Elizabeth would be sharing the funds, if the commissioners allowed them to be up again. Motion was approved.

New Business:

James Yeager approached the commissioners about the request for the county to vacate the exclusion on Suellen Ln. Chris Byrd discussed what he had learned from the lawyer regarding the plan to address this request.

A sales call was made by a representative from Rumschlag-Janssen and Spans Engineering regarding their qualifications to address any needs that would come up related to the county's roads and bridges.

County Officials:

Terry Smith - Harrison County Planning Commission
Smith with updates on recent recommendations from the Plan Commission.
Commissioners approved recommendations.

Terry also brought up a change that had no recommendation from the Planning Commission that had been tabled since the last meeting:

Don Smith explained and advocated for a zoning change of his 2 acre plot from AR to a I-One/light industrial that would allow him to manufacture car parts on his 2 acres of land. "Unless you are going to give me a permit to grow marijuana on that 2 acres, it's not farm ground." 33mins

Mr. Stepro encouraged Mr. Smith to pursue another avenue. Nelson Stepro also voiced concern about giving Mr. Smith an I-One due to the problem he has with "sexually oriented businesses". Don emphasized that he wanted to be in compliance... "If its’s zoned properly, then my grandkids won't have to worry about it." Mr. Smith decided to withdraw his application for now. Mr, Heitkemper offered up that "if it is AR zoned, you could do dirt work now."

Greg Reas - Director of Emergency Management
Reas gave an update on the small expansion that's taking place at a communication site at Hayswood that they manage. He briefly explained the changes that were occuring and let the commissioners know that they would have to sign off on any "contractual stuff." He also touted the $90,000 of income the small agency that he runs brings in for the county.

Kevin Russel - Highway Department
Additional funds were requested to cover an engine overhaul and to cover overtime related to the spring snows, Motion to approve was passed.

Personnel Issues:

The hiring of a candidate selected to work at Animal Control was approved.

FMLA extension for quarantining was approved.

Other Business:

Carrie Spencer approached the commissioners as a follow-up to the emails she had made to the commissioners and prior discussion at the last meeting regarding the possibility of moving the covid testing site in order to open Rhoads Pool.

Contrary to his comments at the last meeting, Charlie Crawford said that "lives were involved with covid testing" and so he no longer supported moving the covid site. Carrie asked if they had considered the back lot of the Government Center. Jim Heitkemper said that he thought that it was being moved and didn't realize "we had stalled" adding that the Government Center was "always a possibility". Heitkemper then questioned Larry Shickles, superintendent of Parks, regarding the readiness of Rhoads. Shickles assured commissioners that Rhoads pool was ready to go and the only obstacle was the hiring of lifeguards. Heitkemper ended the Rhoads pool discussion with, "I'm going to see what I can do."

County Auditor addressed appropriations requests.

Meeting adjourned.

After filing paperwork on March 11, 2021, the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site is now listed as active with the secretary of state's office.

The only board members listed with INBIZ are Parks Department superintendent Larry Schickles and former Parks Board member Heather Davis.
This presents an obvious conflict of interest when/if the Parks Department Board signs the lease with the FCCHS for the Wright Center.

After the lease is signed, the county will release $166,000 to the Parks Department, which is headed up by Larry Shickles. This money will pay for renovations on the building which is owned by the FCCHS, of which Larry Shickles is the registered agent.

Last night the Harrison County Parks Board turned multiple people away from its meeting with no other option to attend. These meetings are not recorded, minutes are not published, the location often changes and is at times unknown.

This particular meeting was not listed in this week's The Corydon Democrat or anywhere else online. It's not too much to ask that public meetings be listed on the Parks Department's website or Facebook page.

This lack of transparency is very troubling. There are other options such as meeting at the government center, recording the meetings, and publicly posting detailed agendas and minutes. These basic efforts towards transparency are practiced by the commissioners, the council, and the Corydon Town Hall.

See page four of this set of guidelines from the state regarding covid-19:
https://www.in.gov/pac/files/FAQs-for-Open-Door-Law-in-light-of-Covid-19.pdf

As we have seen in recent months, the Parks Board makes decisions that affect us all and it should not be this hard to find out what is happening.

Jon Stepro - Harrison County Maintenance Department - 4:45

• An update on recent work including a fuel tank at the Government Center

  • this project will most likely come in lower than the original $35,000 estimate

• Two additional requests for equipment repair for aging equipment that is failing including garage doors  ---  $50,000

• Building repairs needed to cover a myriad of things that have accumulated --- $50,000

• Stepro reiterated that it is very difficult to put a number on his original budget request.

Otto Schalk - Harrison County Prosecutor’s Office - 18:20

• Requesting additional funds to aid in a trial that has been delayed for covid. Requested these funds previously.

Nick Smith -- Harrison County Sheriff’s Department -- 20minutes

• 32 policemen for all of Harrison County, which is .8 officers for every 1000 people. The national average is 3 officers for every 1000

• Harrison County has one police department for 485 square miles compared to Floyd County, which has 2 departments for 145 square miles. 

• The sheriff’s department is asking for 4 additional police officers.

  • No additional vehicles being requested.

  • 4 new body camera systems which are leased through a service

    • $8320.00 increase per year for camera systems in addition to the cost of officers’ salary, etc. 

ADDITIONALS ADVERTISED:

• $252,000 for EMS / additional ambulance

  • Approved 7-0

KATIE FORTE - REPORTER

Harrison County Board of Health Meeting   - 3/3/21

The meeting began with the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes.  

The  Administration Report was given by Carrie Herthel.   The use of funds used so far to address pandemic needs were covered.  Herthel said that they continue to work on reimbursement from FEMA. 

Current all-test positivity rate of 6.8% was reported as well as the “yellow” status according to the state’s coding system.  She reported that there had been 19 cases of the U.K. variant in the state of Indiana, but none in Harrison County.  No other variants have been identified within the state as of to date.  She explained that testing was to remain at the same rate/hours/capacity per CDC. 

There are currently two testing sites in Harrison County.  There is a county-run site at Rhoads pool, and another site, managed by Optum in Crandall.  It was noted that since October the Rhoads testing site had tested 7600 individuals; whereas, the Optum site had tested 12k since the beginning of the pandemic.  It was noted that the Rhoads site tested far more people on an average day than the Optum site.  

Representatives from the summer swim team had several questions for the Board: Representatives acknowledged that while addressing covid in the community was and should be a priority, they wished that the service that the swim team offers, with an all volunteer parent board and minimally compensated coaches, could be supported as well for the service it provides, including for kids in the neighboring apartments.  Structured swim practice for 3 hours every morning Mondays-Saturdays during the summer break has been a meaningful entry point for many a local swimmer to the sport, as well as having the advantage to the community of offering supervised, constructive activity for so many of the youth in the Corydon area for several hours on most summer days.  

Board members were supportive of the swim team representatives and their concerns, but Herthel pointed out that the Health Department had signed a contract with the Parks Department to use the pool building until the first part of June.  It was clarified that Health Department grant money is currently paying the utilities at Rhoads.  

Dr. Grossman, Board Chair, pointed out that they had preferred the fairgrounds as a testing site, but that when the Fair Board was approached, they refused.  

Dr. Lance Richards, board member and Superintendent of North Harrison Community School Corporation, posed 2 important questions:

1.  If the plan is for the pool to be opened (in July as Scott Fluhr asserted to the Commissioners Monday night),  and the Health Department will be needing to move their site then, then why not go ahead and start working on that now?

2. “Why are we having a covid testing site at a pool, and not the Government Center?”

It was noted by a health department employee that that would have been their preference, in the first place.

A representative from the swim team asked about the possibility of using the pool when the health department would not be testing.  Dr. Grossman proposed swimmers entering and exiting the fence through the gate (not the pool house), and renting a port-a-potty for swimmer use.  Swim team representatives were open to that as a possible solution, but Herthel added that the involvement and possible building access to the mechanics areas for pool operation, might not be able to be worked out between the Parks Department and the Health Department.  

Carrie Herthel brought up that Mr. Schickles had informed her that the swim team had been offered the hours at the pool at South Harrison, but swim team representatives noted that many swimmers are local, from Floyd County, or from the North end of the county, making it not feasible with a 45 minute drive to Elizabeth.  Another board member suggested bussing swimmers to South Harrison.  Swim team representative pointed out the cost of bussing would be prohibitive.  Another board member added the additional covid risk with bussing the kids would also make that idea prohibitive.  The YMCA was also suggested as an alternative, but swim team representatives pointed out that the cost involved with renting lanes at the YMCA, worked against their ability to provide the summer swim team experience at a cost that kept it doable for local families.  Carrie Herthel suggested that perhaps the YMCA could seek FEMA funds to reimburse themselves for the Hammerheads use of their facilities. 

A swim team representative voiced concern that if the pool does not get filled and used again this summer (as it sat empty last summer), Parks Department might use that as justification for cancelling Rhoads pool altogether.  Dr. Richards asked if the repairs had been done to Rhoads, making operability even a possibility.  Swim team rep pointed out that the money approved by the Council to complete the repairs had been spent, and it would be a shame for the pool to not be used given the expense that’s already been made.  Board members voiced their support for keeping Rhoads pool open in the long run and their support for the swim team.  Swim team representatives acknowledged that the problem was that the Rhoads pool was the only site that had been made available to the Health Department for Covid testing.  

Dan Shroeder gave a brief report for  the Environmental Health Division, and Buffy Fleace closed out the meeting with a brief update on Vital Records and some extra workload due to the Harrison County Hospital’s system being down.

Graylin Porter - Reporter

Click here to watch this meeting in full (time stamps provided for presentations below)

Harrison County Commissioners Meeting - 03/01/21

Sheila Tempel -- Harrison County Community Corrections annual report

• Community Corrections is an intensive probation program : it is not jail and it’s not probation, it’s an in between.

• Methamphetamine continues to comprise the majority of drug usage in Harrison County

• Questions about how to maintain funding did come up, but details are unknown. 

• Offices are small with no room for growth

• Candidates are evaluated by the prosecutor and the DA and recommended for the program: must live in HC or an adjoining county. 

• No funding requests made by HCCC today, just giving an annual report.

• This program receives no county funding currently. 

A consensus has been reached by commissioners and council to rebid the courthouse renovation project. Motion to move forward with plans, specs in order to re-bid project. Approved 3-0. Bid advertising date tentative goal: 03/17 - 03/24

Jon Stepro - Maintenance Department - 22minutes 

• Two additional requests for equipment repair for aging equipment that is failing including garage doors  ---  $50,000

• Building repairs needed to cover a myriad of things that have accumulated --- $50,000

Nick Smith -- Harrison County Sheriff’s Department -- 31:30minutes

• 32 policemen for all of Harrison County, which is .8 officers for every 1000 people. The national average is 3 officers for every 1000

• Harrison County has one police department for 485 square miles compared to Floyd County, which has 2 departments for 145 square miles. 

• The sheriff’s department is asking for 4 additional police officers.

  • No additional vehicles being requested.

  • 4 new body camera systems which are leased through a service

    • $8320.00 increase per year for camera systems in addition to the cost of officers’ salary, etc. 

• Motion to send this on to the council was approved 3-0

Eric Wise -- Harrison County Planning Commission - 41minutes

• Ordinance adopted by the Plan commission and reviewed by the state was approved by the commissioners 3-0

• Presented a request for a change of zone from agricultural/residential to light industrial located at Hwy 64 and Shady Estates drive 2.16 acre track. 

  • Owner of the property wants to put mini warehouses/storage units on this land which is currently vacant. 

  • This request was forwarded to the commissioners with no recommendation from the plan commission. The commissioners want more information and tabled this request due to some concerns regarding what would be permissible with the zone change. 

County Engineer -- Kevin Russel

• Highway department has received federal funding for two bridge rehabilitation projects: Bridge 25 on Corydon New Middletown Rd at  $1,380,000 and Old Hwy 337 $912,400.

Carrie Spencer

• Representing swim teams that are in need of Rhoads Pool to be open this summer, which is closed due to covid testing.

• Requesting that the covid testing site be moved in order to accommodate swimmers

• Commissioners are supportive of this request and plan to make every effort to find something for them. 

• Scott Fluhr spoke up to clarify that the Parks Board was supportive of the request, but not interested in evicting the Health Department. 

• The commissioners again expressed support for the request and the need for a new location for covid testing. 

Richard Gettelfinger - Reporter

Parks board superintendent Larry Shickles not in attendance due to covid exposure, David Hussung filled in for him.

Approved request from Leadership Harrison County for use of the trail for their annual run on the conditions the Leadership Group provide current insurance rider which also lists Parks as additional insured. Passed unanimously.

Land lease awaiting contract from lawyers office. Board had agreeded to award it to highest bidder. (If I understood correctly the Conservation Board has been dissolved by Commissioners and Council) so Parks Board went with highest bidder approach.

Announced Council had approved request for 166k for renovations to Wright Interpretive center pending reinstatement of 501c and signed contract with County. Battle of Corydon tabled until next week as adjoining neighbor wants fence erected and Parks will have to pay half. Rhodes Pool reopening is not predictable as it is being used for Covid testing site and no firm date has been given by Health Dept as when it will be no longer needed. It was believed it will remain open through but could be longer.

Questions regarding moving it back to Fairgrounds was not a consideration the Board would entertain, mainly because if it were moved back, there would be no fair. Greg Reas also said extensive advertising it as being at Rhoads Pool would cause problems if the site was moved to another location. Representatives of the local swim team inquired as to when several items needed repair were actually going to be made as Larry Shickles and the swim had met earlier and made these issues aware to Larry. David Hussung said to send list back to Larry Shickles for consideration. Contract to have in house life guard training that would meet Red Cross certification was approved.

Morvin's Landing survey proposal was tabled.

Much discussion on putting a bubble on Rhoads Pools during public comment session. Again, swim team members brought up how much stress was put on available facilities and YMCA has cut older swimmers access to the pool due to request from local teams needing the facilities. David Hussung had previously offered South Harrison Pool as an alternative to using Rhoads Pool but swim team Representatives pointed out the distance involved would make it a dire option at best. It was brought to the Boards attention that a prior meeting with Larry Shickles that would make the pool a year round facility and Larry even commented the Parks could offset the cost of the bubble by hosting parties etc, year round. It was not clear if the board had heard that before and the swim team Representatives wanted to make the board aware of this conversation and that consideration for installation of the bubble would not only enhance the pools but make it available for the local swim teams and relieve the pressure now absorbed by the current facilities providing the use of their pools for the teams.

Meeting adjourned at 7:43 pm

Noah Woods - Reporter
RIchard Gettelfinger - Reporter

Harrison County Council Meeting - Monday, February 22 2021

The council voted unanimously to approve the request of $166,000 by the Parks Department to renovate the Wright Center. There are many reasons why this appropriation does not make sense, which we have reiterated several times here.

There is not a public list of board members for the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site, the nonprofit which owns the building.

All 7 members of the council WERE present, as well as the council’s attorney.

Click here to watch thIS meeting in full.

Joe Squire, Harrison Co. Hospital EMS Department Manager

• Back in September 2020, requested 2 ambulance

• Following along with the Replacement Plan began in 2018 for replacing ambulances

  • 2 ambulances in year 1

  • 1 ambulance in year 2

  • 1 ambulance in year 3

  • Repeat 2-1-1 pattern

• 2 ambulances scheduled to be delivered in the middle of this year, but potential delays in production due to COVID might set this back

  • Likely a 10 month+ lead time in getting an ambulance after placing an order

• Stated goal to have all ambulances under 250,000 miles

• Requesting approval for funding to go ahead and order an ambulance given the long lead time with orders

• Est. $345,000 for the ambulance, pretty much the same price as the last purchased ambulance

  • Staff really appreciate features of the most recently acquired ambulances

  • hospital workers comp. insurance likes the additional safety features for workers

• Have not taken possession of 2 ambulances purchased last year, still in queue and set to be delivered in the middle of this year

• Payment for ambulances not due until in the hospital’s possession

• Retired ambulances are going to be auctioned in the early spring auction in Lanesville

Harrison County Highway Dept. 

• Additional request for a new vehicle

  • $29,730 for Ford Explorer

    • Everything is base price besides extra $160 for floor liners

  • Replacing 2007 Suburban that needs an est. $3-4,000 in repairs, has 198,000 miles and is beginning to rust out on the bottom

    • Can repair but felt this would be a bad replacement

    • Didn’t have an answer for how much he thought the sale/auction value would be

• The conversation was largely focused on whether an SUV or Pick Up truck was the better option

• 2020 Highway Department spent ~$4,734,000 from riverboat funds which was the lowest amount since 2001

Additional Appropriations Advertised

• $2,500 for income base study for the county

  • Paid out of County General Fund

  • Motion carried 7-0

• $6,629 for camera system at the courthouse

  • Motion carried 7-0 “to encumber funds near December”

  • Coming out of the courthouse fund

• $683.97 to Circuit Clerk, adjustments made in pay for retiring book keeper to train replacement

  • Motion carried 6 - 0 -1 (abstain)

•  $41,103 Bituminous request by the county highway for “work that has already been done”

  • Motion carried 7-0

• $166,000 for renovations for Wright Center (approx. 51-minute mark of meeting video)

  •  Out of Riverboat funds

  • A lease between the county and the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site will be entered into and finalized before any funds will be dispersed

    • Entity executing the lease must also be in good standing with the state

  • Slated to be home for Parks Dept. HQ

    • The county was “on the hook” for approx. $18k per year in rent expenses for Park Dept. HQ

    • Est. to save the county $317K in rent expenses over the course of the 25-year lease

  • Motion carried 7 - 0

• Infrastructure sharing from riverboat

  • Corydon = $4730.79

  • Crandal = $230.61

  • Elizabeth = $245.75

  • Laconia = $75.75

  • Lanesville = $854.25

  • Mauckport = $122.88

  • Mill town = $565.57

  • New Amsterdam = $41.24

  • New Middletown = $140.55

  • Palmyra = $1,408.89

    • Motion carried 7-0

• Revenue Sharing Funds to incorp. towns and neighboring counties

  • Crawford = $96,186.07

  • Washington =$24,046.52

  • Floyd = $12,023.26

  • Town of Georgetown = $12,023.26

  • City of New Albany = $36,069.78

  • Town of Corydon = $13,450.42

  • Town of Crandal = $2,172.60

  • Town of Elizabeth = $2,214.68

  • Town of Laconia = $1,272.06

  • Town of Lanesville = $3,753.66

  • Town of Mauckport = $1,918.91

  • Town of Mill Town = $3,015.43

  • Town of New Amsterdam = $1,187.90

  • Town of New Middletown = $1,960.99

  • Town of Palmyra = $5,123.11

    • Motion Carried 7-0

• $17,727 reimbursement for the Convention Visitor’s Bureau for purchases of RV units that Parks Department rents out 

  • Motion carried 7-0

•  $3,000 Transfer request from public defenders office from part-time employees salary to equipment 

  • Motion carried 7-0

• $500 transfer request by emergency management from equipment to contractual services for WTH Mathing???

  • Confusion on what WTH Mathing stands for, but since its under $1k threshold motion was made and carried 7-0 

    • This is the second transfer request that Capelle expressed her wishes for future further clarification for the reasoning behind the transfer request

• Backup generator needing a new above ground tank to prevent water from accumulating inside

  • Concerned that without quick action being taken then serious damage could occur to the generator that is estimated at $300K in price

  • Preliminary pricing:

    • 2000 Gallon Tank - runs approx. 7.3 days

      • Approx. $22-23K

    • 1100 gallon tank - runs approx. 4 days

      • Approx. $19,300

The council has voted unanimously to approve the request of $166,000 by the Parks Department to renovate the Wright Center.

There are many reasons why this appropriation does not make sense, which we have reiterated several times here.

There is nothing to do now but remember this going forward and hold the council accountable next time they insist funding is not available.

We still do not have a full list of board members for the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site, the nonprofit which owns the building. We reached out to Larry Schickles, the commissioners, and the council on Friday with our questions regarding the lease and the FCCHS, but no answers were given.

Joe Squier, manager of the Harrison County Hospital EMS, approached the commissioners Monday with a request to purchase an additional ambulance (around $234,000).

While the commissioners agreed this was a request that needed to be fulfilled, there was concern about where the money would come from given other projects in process, and they "hoped the council is ready to get behind this." (we cannot attribute this quote to a specific individual due to lack of video feed. Due to technical difficulties, only the meeting's audio was posted).

If the commissioners are this concerned about $234k for an ambulance, the council has no busy spending $166,000 to renovate a building we do not own, in which a few people will work.

https://harrisoncountyin.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=689&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

Corydon Town Council board member Tyson Uhl, representing Ward 4, has resigned and moved out of state. This means there is now a vacancy on the town board and someone will be appointed. The Harrison County Republican Central Committee will caucus on Monday, February 15th to elect a new rep. More details here: https://www.harrisongop.com/2021/01/caucus-information-for-corydon-town.html

The next public meeting is Tuesday, February 23rd at 7:30pm.
Meetings are held at the Corydon Town Hall : 219 N Capitol Ave, Corydon, IN 47112

https://townofcorydon.com/boards/town-council#team

Last night Scott Fluhr, Parks Board vice-president/GOP Party Chair, and Larry Shickles, superintendent of Harrison County Parks , gave a thorough presentation at the county council meeting. We have attached photos of the presentation slides which outline details for the Wright Center proposal.

Click here to see the presentation and discussion, skip to 28minutes and 55minutes respectively into the meeting video.

They asked for an additional $166,000 to renovate and furnish the building, which presently is owned by a nonprofit, the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site (FCCHS), of which Shickles is the president and registered agent, a fact that was again not acknowledged during the meeting. FCCHS was administratively dissolved for not filing paperwork in 2019.

Led by council president Donnie Hussung, the members addressed concerns regarding the status of FCCHS, ownership of the building, and its current lease. Jennie Capelle stated she is not comfortable voting before the FCCHS is back in good standing and the current lease has been reviewed.

Schickles insisted that “the Friends group is all people associated with the Parks so this is a matter of it’s a public building that is going to get purposed again. There is no one who gets paid anything.”

Schickles and council agree that a new lease is needed and that eventually the property will be deeded to the county.

Three questions need to be answered:

1) Is this property a wise investment?

2) How will this appropriation improve the daily lives of Harrison County residents?

3) According to Shickles and Fluhr, revenue generation is a high priority for the Parks Department. Is this necessary and should we expect the county to provide services typically left to the private sector?

Last year we watched multiple additional requests get denied by the council. Additionals that would have provided high speed internet to households, increased healthcare resources during a pandemic, and provided much needed support to an already understaffed animal control department. It’s our understanding that the county’s financial situation, stressed by the loss of casino income due to the pandemic, has not changed.

Why would $166,000 for a building we don’t own be considered such a high priority?

We will not stop asking these questions in an effort to hold our elected officials accountable. The council will most likely vote on this request in two weeks on Monday, February 22nd.

If you also think these questions are important, we encourage you to contact the council and make your voice heard. Head here to get the contact information for the HC Council.

In September, the county council voted 4-2 to approve and fund a new full-time aquatics manager position ($42,500 + benefits) at the Harrison County Parks Department.

Skip to 37 minutes into this video for the original discussion and vote: https://harrisoncountyin.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx...

We have received confirmation from the Parks Department that this position has been changed to a Director of Operations and Cory Howard, former park manager at South Harrison has been hired.

We have requested a job description from the Parks Department. The office manager was not able to provide us with that information, but assured us it can be obtained.

We have asked the council if they were notified of this change and received a response from councilman Kyle Nix who insisted that "the Harrison County Parks is not controlled by Harrison County elected officials. They have their own executive governing body that is their board. It does happen to have some overlap with Harrison County Council being the governing fiscal body for the parks."

Yesterday the commissioners heard year-in-review reports from both the Harrison County Community Foundation and Harrison County Lifelong Learning, Inc.

Highlights included a summary of the many collaborative efforts by the HCCF to support nonprofits assisting people with basic needs during this covid year. Example being their free childcare for essential workers during the height of the shutdown in spring 2020. This service was made possible with the support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrison-Crawford Counties, the YMCA of Harrison County, and Blue River Services, Inc.

Harrison County Lifelong Learning, Inc.

highlighted that a CDL course will begin at the end of February.

Derrick Grigsby, CFO of the HCCF presented the quarterly financial review. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the community fund received $993,096.75 in casino revenue. This is a great reduction compared to recent years in which the fourth quarter alone would provide over $2 million.

$132,933,754.76 in the community fund right now.

$24,884,727.58 is available to spend.

Yesterday the commissioners sent an additional request from the Harrison County Parks department on to the council.

The Parks Department is requesting $166,000 for renovations, repairs, and new furniture for the Wright Center in downtown Corydon.

The commissioners expressed interest in knowing more about the ownership of the property and included a clause in their motion that "the property will eventually become county property."

Commissioner Jim Heitkemper admitted that the request was "...a little irregular," but insisted it would be a good investment.

As of right now, the property owner is listed as the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site, Inc, but that nonprofit was administratively dissolved in 2019 (see attached photo and documentation).

Skip to 1 hour into this video to watch the discussion:

https://harrisoncountyin.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=688&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

In other news, we are building resource pages on the site: https://bluedothc.com/resources

Let us know what information you need!

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Please get in touch if you would like to report for us here at Blue Dot.
bluedothc.com
Call us with your thoughts, questions, or ideas: 502-653-9157bluedotharrisoncounty@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Blue Dot Harrison Countyand Instagram: @bluedotharrisoncounty

Many thanks to Noah Woods for covering last night's county council meeting. His full report is below.

Important to note: in this meeting the council made an official request that the commissioners look into upgrading and/or replacing the AV equipment in the meeting room to make council meetings and presentations more easily visible for the public. Jennie Capelle raised the issue, she was supported by Donnie Hussung.

1/25/2021 - 7:00pm - Harrison County Government Center

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF THIS MEETING

Boone township fire district 

Additional request for the general fund for $233,937.00 to buy a new “tanker” truck

General Fund approx. $246K

Cum fund Approx. $75K

CD: Approx. $100K

Jeanie Cappelle inquired about some financial details, inquired about why requests was rounded up to $235K

Harrison County Highway Dept

Call for Community Crossings

Usually twice a year, January and July, true grant program

Call for Old High 111 from State Road 211 down to Rosewood Road

Want to use the money to supplement the resurfacing efforts

Roads in Districts 1, 2, and 3

Tried to target a value of $1.5 Million

75/25 split (maximum value of $1M received at this rate)

Sweet spot at 1.333M to maximize value, Budgeted $1.5M in case estimates turned out lower to ensure ability to use full $1M amounth

Seeking verbal endorsement from council on resurfacing plan

Application due this Friday

If they get the full amount they are seeking ($1.5M) in additional to the current budgeted $1.5M then this would be one of the largest annual budgets for paving in recent years

Submitting a total of $1.516,038.38 (total for 3 districts), if awarded full amount from grant ($1M) then propose paying the difference from the Riverboat Bituminous Fund - Council all in favor of the proposal 

Other Riverboat Infrastructure funds:

Corydon $6501.49

Crandal: $316.92

Elizabeth:$337.74

Laconia: $104.10

Lanesville: $1174

Mauckport: $168.87

Milltown: $777.26

New Amsterdam $56.68

New Middletown:$193.16

Palmyra: $1936.22

Total Infrastructure: $11,566.44

Revenue Sharing - Riverboat:

Crawford: $132,187.74

Washington: $33,046.94

Floyd: $16,523.47

Town of Georgetown: $16,523.47

City of New Albany: $49,570.40

Town of Corydon: $18,484.80

Crandal: $2,985.79

Elizabeth: $3,430.62

Laconia: $1,748.18

Lanesville: $5,158.63

Mauckport $2637.14

Milltown: $4,144.09

New Amsterdam: $1632.52

New Middletown: $2694.98

Palmyra: $7,040.65

Total Revenue Sharing: $297,422.42

$1575 funding for a panic system in the health and ed building - motion passed 7 - 0

$11,825 replace and upgrade panic system at courthouse - motion passed 7 - 0

$75,000 covid related expenses for health department - motion passed 7 - 0

- $40K Personal

- $15K for Supplies

- $20K for Other Services

Transfer request from Planning and Zoning to move $1,200 from training budget to vehicle maintenance, $500 budgeted for vehicle maintenance $7,400 for training - motion passed 7 -0

• There was a bit of inquiring regarding the amount for repair due to the vagueness of description for the repairs necessitating the request.

Prosecutor’s Office - Otto Schalk

State has mandated body cams and the sheriff's department already has their body cams, expecting ISP and DNR to have body cams within the next couple months.

Last year and this year there was $25k budgeted for a community outreach coordinator, proposing to eliminate that position and roll the money into an “administrative investigative title”

Motion carried 7 - 0

Motion on amendment to 2021 salary ordinance - motion passed 7 - 0

Jeanie Cappelle inquired about going through invoices prior to passing motion to approve them, this drew some pushback from a couple of the council members.

She then made a motion to table until next meeting to have time to go through, Ross Schulz seconded, but the rest of the council voted against - motion denied 5 - 2

5 minutes given to review invoices prior to vote

Jeanie Capelle again made the case for longer time to review the invoices, explaining how in the past errors had been discovered 

Motion was passed - 6 for - 1 against (Capelle)

Some controversy surrounding the appointment to the Regional Sewer District board:

Seeking reappointment for Dan Lee and Gary Davis

Push for 1 year appointments instead of 4 years by council members

Charlie Crawford expressed his belief that it important to have a council member on the board because of incoming housing developments will need sewer lines and older sewage systems are going to need repaired/replaced

Council decided to look further into making appointment 1 year rather than 4

Motion made to table appointments passed 7 - 0

Motion to raise Recorder’s salary from ~$25k to ~$27K

• 1 of 4 elected official positions that is paid under the “external low” stated in an external salary analysis. (Clerk, Assessor, and Treaurer being the others).

Herb Schneider

Camera system at the courthouse

Proposal to replace the cameras, recorder, and monitor - system replacement but would not require replacing cabling already in place (just might have to extend that)

1st generation system, 10-20 years old, not high res cameras,

Would want to connect the system to the internet

System would likely be able to hold video for at least 2 weeks

Cameras in the clerk's office would be only 2 with audio capabilities

Tabled for further discussion next week

--
Please get in touch if you would like to report for us here at Blue Dot.
bluedothc.com
Call us with your thoughts, questions, or ideas: 502-653-9157bluedotharrisoncounty@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook: Blue Dot Harrison Countyand Instagram: @bluedotharrisoncounty

Charlie Crawford was confirmed as the Chairman of the Board of Finance

Daryl Voelker spoke to the commissioners about the OCHRA grant process

-Harrison County did not enter an application for the first two rounds of grants

- an interest survey was conducted to determine interest in grants. Previous cap at 10K was deemed "not enough" for several businesses who expressed interest in the grants

-The third round of grants coming up does not have a cap on the amount you are allowed to ask for...

River Hills

- Cory from River Hills asked if the Commissioners had appointed anyone to serve on the board

- Harrison County would be able to apply for a grant from the USDA for broadband

- based on the last census, HC income levels were too high to qualify for grant

- Cory requested the Commissioners approval to conduct an income survey of 40 households to show current income levels low enough in the county to qualify for grant. Commissioners approved

OTHER BUSINESS:

Miranda Edge got the approval of the commissioners to apply for the Raingarden grant.

Boone Township Fire was granted approval to spend their own funds on a new fire truck.

Herb Schneider discussed improvements needed to the camera system at Court House... Commissioners requested their attorney review it.

Please get in touch if you would like to report for us here at Blue Dot!

Call us with your thoughts, questions, or ideas: 502-653-9157

bluedotharrisoncounty@gmail.com

@bluedotharrisoncounty

Last night's county council meeting consisted mostly of board appointments and officer reorganization for the new year/term. Many thanks to Adam Schneider for attending this meeting and taking detailed notes of all appointments.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS:

Kyle Nix made an opening motion to vote Donnie Hussung Chair of the council, unanimously elected 7-0 vote

Holli Castetter nominated Kyle Nix as Vice-Chair of the council, unanimously elected 7-0

Mike Summers was chosen Council attorney unanimously.

PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

Otto Schalk and Emily Stumler spoke about a community outreach officer position that was already approved in the budget, but not utilized yet due to Covid-19.

They were asking for a modification of the job description and to change it from hourly to salary. Emily Stumbler explained that their workers had to view multiple police body cameras before turning the footage over to the defense, and it was making more work in the process. This change in the position would help their staff address this challenge and still work on community outreach. Lastly, Otto alerted the Council to a mistake in a salary for a worker in his office approved in the budget and asked it to be corrected. Motion to amend by Kyle, carried 7-0

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Greg Reas addressed the council on behalf of the Commissioners about electrical alarms and panic buttons damaged during the flooding in the Clerks building. He stated that Herb Schneider had been advising. He quoted two amounts, $11,825 and we believe the final request was for $13,400 for the work.

CLERK'S OFFICE

Sherry Brown, Clerk requested additional money for Clerk office salaries from the election. $2,957 for additional clerk staff and part time funding for a bookkeeper $1,2444.20.

Her requests all passed 5-1, Holli Castetter voting against the first and not present for the second vote. Richard Gerdon abstained due to his wife working in the Clerk's office.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS:

Parks Board:

We recently discovered that the Harrison County Parks Board has not been in compliance with state law. Until last night, 100% of their board was Republican. This board is required by law to have at least 2 members of the opposing political party. In Indiana, party affiliation is determined by primary voting. After we alerted the county auditor and the superintendent of Parks, the council has appointed Carolyn Lowe, a lifelong Democrat to the board. Judge Evans is responsible for choosing the other Democratic appointee. We will keep you posted on who that is.

Kyle Nix stated that Adam Schneider had expressed interest but he voted for Ms. Lowe because she expressed interest first.

4H:

Kyle wants reappointed, says his position is a non voting member and he wants a vote on their board due to Council funding them. Asking them to change the position from non voting member to voting member. Chad to draft a letter about this to 4H.

County Extension:

Kyle Nix reappointed

Alcohol Beverage Board:

Jeff Byerly reappointed

Alternative education center:

From Gary Byrne to Ross Schultz

Zoning appeals:

Don Smith reappointed

Chamber of Commerce:

Richard Gordon appointed

Economic Development:

From Gary Byrn to Holly C

Emergency Management:

David Let reappointed

Family and Children:

Jennie Capelle appointed

Lifelong Learning:

Jenny is the Commissioner representative and Brad Wiseman is Council appointment

Solid Waste:

Ross Schulz

Planning Commission:

Brad Wiseman

PT Boa Board:

Patricia Badger Byrd

Regional Sewer:

Postponed appointment due to questions as to the length of the appointment

River Hills Board:

Donnie Hussung

Please get in touch if you would like to report for us here at Blue Dot!

bluedothc.com

Call us with your thoughts, questions, or ideas: 502-653-9157

bluedotharrisoncounty@gmail.com

@bluedotharrisoncounty