Last night's Parks Board meeting was held at South Harrison Park in Laconia and was full of information including multiple proposals and projects regarding the Indian Creek Trail, a media request for filming at the Battle Park, a possible RDA opportunity with neighboring counties, and more.
Parks Board president Teresa Sutton also has sent us the minutes for both the April 28, 2021 and the May 12, 2021 Parks Board meetings.
Harrison County Council Meeting - May 24th, 2021
April Breeden, director at Harrison County Animal came in front of the council at the last meeting to request an increase in payroll to get another part-time animal control officer, as well as a $.20 raise for another officer
Now requesting an additional $1,890 to give another employee a $.50 raise
This employee has been there for over 2 years, “she is the face of our shelter...that place could not run without her”
She was hired under the assumption that she would eventually transition into a full-time position
This has not occurred, the raise is a hope to help keep this valuable employee on at Animal Control.
Animal Control is experiencing high turnover with their employees due to low-wages
Emphasized they get good workers, but they are having difficulty retaining these employees due to non-competitive pay
Kennel Techs make $8.71/Hour and it’s part-time employment
Breeden acknowledged that many view the job as not something that should be a career, but expressed how her employees really love their jobs and want to stay but are unable due to low wages.
They have had to close on Saturdays due to staffing problems.
Budgeted $71,560 for 4 Kennel Techs at 28 hours/week
Money being requested is to raise the current salaries of a couple of employees, plus hire a part-time animal control officer to replace the current officer about to go on maternity leave
The $.20 raise for one officer is due to extra responsibilities that are going to be taken on when another officer goes on maternity leave
Animal Control vs. Animal Shelter
Apparently, animal control is not eligible for state/federal grants because they are not a 501c3 organization, whereas Animal Shelters are due to their 501c3 status
Animal Control rep. stated that she recently learned of other government facilities gaining 501c3 status, often through creating a “Friends of _____”
She believes this might be a potential route to garnering more funding for Animal Control through grants, but this process is complex and work-intensive and she has yet to find anyone willing and able to take on the endeavor
“Euthanizing ferals left and right”
Raised $6,000 dollars to get a spay/neuter suite in the facility so that vets can come to them, which will save a “tremendous” amount of money - however, the facility is going to cost an estimated $10k
Raised this point simply as an example of how conscious she is about maximizing the cost-effectiveness of Animal Control
Animal Control officer and office manager make $13/Hour, 1 Kennel Tech that has been there for 2+ years makes $10/hour, 3 other kennel techs make $8.71.
At last night’s Parks Board meeting, it was decided that for the next few months, the board will hold meetings out in the various parks throughout the county.
Please see photo for the changes to their upcoming meeting schedule…many thanks to board president Teresa Sutton for providing it to us.
Superintendent Larry Schickles stated that the Nix company dumpster parked in front of the Wright Center will now be paid for by the Friends of Corydon Capitol Historic Site, the organization that owns the building. The FCCHS is made up of Shickles, former parks board member Heather Davis, and perhaps others.
When asked about a second Nix company dumpster parked at Buffalo Trace in Palmyra, Shickles suggested contacting the town of Palmyra for answers.
To hear Shickles explain the Nix company dumpster situation in detail, skip to 1:11 in this audio recording:
Also, the board reversed their policy to refuse questions on non-agenda items. At the end of this meeting, they opened it up to the public and took questions on non-agenda items.
Lisa Long, president of Harrison County Chamber of Commerce, provided updates and a review on various projects and proposals currently in progress regarding highspeed internet access/broadband for the county.
One specific goal mentioned was working towards getting Harrison County certified a "Broadband Ready" community: https://www.in.gov/indianabroadband/funding-and-program-resources/broadband-ready/
This is one of the most important issues in our community. We recommend skipping to 8:30 in this video to learn more: https://harrisoncountyin.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=716&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0
April Breeden requested an additional request for $11,696.74 to hire an additional part-time employee, which includes a .20 raise for another part-time officer.
Parks Department superintendent Larry Shickles requested $26,600 repairs on the duck pond/watershed area at Buffalo Trace. Many thanks to councilmember Holli Castetter for asking questions to clarify this request.
Kevin Russel at the Harrison County Highway Department requested $600,000 out of riverboat funds for bituminous as part of the INDOT/Community Crossings grant projects.
Jennie Capelle made a motion that the additional request to fund downtown courthourse renovations be tabled for another two weeks to explore other options. Holli Castetter seconded, insisting that all councilmembers need to be present before voting. Richard Gerdon also stated that he wants to wait until Donnie Hussung and Brad Wiseman are present to vote and the motion was approved 5-0.
As promised, we have more information for you regarding the Nix company dumpster outside of the Wright Center.
It was delivered to the Parks Department at cost due to unreasonable delivery times for other companies.
In order to avoid further speculation, our previous post has been deleted. We hope that in the future, these kind of arrangements are publicized beforehand to benefit both elected officials and the public.
We will continue to advocate for a more transparent Harrison County.
If you want to better understand our position on this, we highly recommend listening to our latest podcast episode:
Julie Moorman -- Harrison County Community Foundation 5:30
Update on adult scholarship program
Must be 25 and older at least 2yrs living in Harrison County w/ no degree
So far in 2021, 7 adults have received scholarships totaling $27,500
Derrick Grigsby --
$22,125,816.93 net available to spend in community fund
Investments and riverboat revenue trending upward
Lisa Long -- Harrison County Chamber of Commerce 10:00
Update on the joint effort between the chamber and the HCCF for consultant proposals regarding broadband access in Harrison County
Goal is to have consultant provide analysis that will ultimately allow Harrison County to be qualified as Indiana Broadband Ready
The resulting report will be a public document for all elected officials to utilize.
Jill Saegesser - Wheatley Group 19:00
Update and congratulations for a $250,000 small business covid relief grant from the Office of Community & Rural Affairs
In partnership with Harrison County Economic Development
Roland Lemus - Transportation Director at Blue River Services - 27:30
Multiple updates on grants and budgets regarding the transportation services provided by Blue River Services
Lemus presented a lot of information on this operation and we encourage you to watch video to get full scope of the report.
Larry Schickles - Harrison County Parks Department - 37:45
Additional request of $26,600 for Buffalo Trace
South watershed was originally built with a retaining pool which is currently full of sediment. Needs to be dug deeper and new aerators installed.
A land bridge also needs to be removed
Also gave an update on the Canadian geese situation, which is improving
Mel Quick Miller - Harrison County Highway Department - 46:00
3 open positions at the department: made recommendations for highway crewmen
Recommendations were hired by commissioners
For updates on specific projects and contracts, skip to 48:00 to hear county engineer Kevin Russel speak about INDOT/Community Crossings
Motion that the county will no longer install driveway culverts for individuals who buy their own culvert. It will now be up to homeowners to hire private contractors to hire Approved 3-0
Old Hwy 11/Community Crossings project: bid awarded to CNR Construction
After months of reporting on the Parks Department's lack of transparency, we have received some explanations from them.
Yesterday, Parks Board president Teresa Sutton reached out on the Blue Dot Facebook page to explain why their board meetings are not recorded, the minutes and agendas are not posted online, etc. Given how often we've written about this issue, we felt it necessary to pass the info along to you:
Please note that the Parks Department is a public agency, which is held to the same rules as any government office according to Indiana Open Door Law: https://www.in.gov/pac/files/pac_handbook.pdf
Obviously, we have many questions about these statements and find them inadequate. However, we are happy to report that Sutton has agreed to forward the meeting minutes to us directly every month, which we will of course share with you.
The Harrison County Council recently gave $166,000 of additional funding to the Harrison County Parks Department for renovations on the Wright Center in downtown Corydon. The county does not own this building.
There is now a dumpster from S&M Nix Excavating parked outside while the work is being done. Yes, Nix, as in county councilman Kyle Nix, who voted to give out the money.
This raises many questions about a possible conflict of interest. We hope to learn more about this...stay tuned for updates.
It's no secret that the Harrison County Parks Department restricts access to its board meetings and has been hesistant to answer our questions in recent months. Regarding the Wright Center issue and the ongoing situation at Rhoads Pool, Harrison County residents asked simple questions that were completely reasonable and possible to answer.
However, at their board meeting last night, the Harrison County Parks Board announced that they will no longer take questions on non-agenda items from the public at their meetings. If you want to inquire about any Parks Board business, you must call the office and get placed on the agenda, which will only be posted on the door to the government center prior to the meeting.
We truly hope that the Parks Board starts posting the agenda online ahead of meetings, otherwise it will be very difficult to know when to voice concerns. Also, this eliminates any person from simply asking any questions regarding the Parks department
We will continue to attend and record Parks Board meetings. If you agree that this new policy sets a dangerous precedent and want to voice your concern, we encourage you to call the office at 812-738-8236 to do so.
Roll Call: All 7 council members and their attorney present
Public Defender Board (Padraic O’Brien and Nicholas Haverstock)
2 full-time attorneys, 2 part-time contract attorneys handling approximately 450 criminal cases currently
Recently discovered unused fund of approx. $90,000
Comes from criminal defendant fees, not taxpayer dollars.
Expected that the fund gains $15-20k a year
The fund has increased rate of growth under Judge Claypool
Requesting to create line items within this fund so it may be used as a supplemental fund
Statutes dictate the usage of the funds
Temporary attorneys, appellate attorney fees, expert witnesses, etc.
Don’t expect to exhaust the fund, just use it as a supplemental fund
County Courthouse Bid Results
Prior to the presentation, one of the council members highlighted the fact that the bid is being paid out of a cumulative courthouse fund that was set up in 1977 to go towards future courthouse repairs - wanted to make this clear for the public because he “doesn’t want the headlines to read Council spends another $2.5 million - or $2.3 million - whatever the number is and they worry about the riverboat. This has nothing to do with riverboat or tax money we’re gonna hit the taxpayer with new - it’s already built into what they are already paying and it’s accumulated.”
A portion of the tax revenue goes into the fund, adds about $350k a year
(Possibly a subtle nod to BlueDot and all the added scrutiny the counsel is facing because of our efforts :) )
Total Bid Number is $2,328,635
3 bid alternates with deducts
Door Hardware (locking mechanism replacement)
Prepping doors with capabilities to be easily transitioned to electronic locking system so that in the future additional damage (drilling holes in walls, door frames, etc) is not necessary
Access Control System Wiring
Pretty much the same idea as for the Door Hardware
Video Surveillance Equipment
There seemed to be a lack of communication between these guys and the camera installation proposal by Herb Scheider that the council already approved
Painting costs $96,200
Plumbing costs $50,685
Lighting costs $69,795
HVAC system costs $817,950 + $27,040 (commissioning costs)
Electrical costs $132,405
$300,000 contingency included in the bid package
One council member inquired about how they arrived at this figure
Stated they wanted a big enough number to know they won’t exceed it, fear that they might run into unforeseen problems and not have a delay
Described it as an educated guess based on prior projects
Highway Department
Additional request for $327,355
Sum total of appraisals for 13 right of way parcels for the final phase of the connector road
Eligible for 80% reimbursement, pay property owners upfront, then get reimbursed on the backend
Want to transfer the $300k that is in the rejuvenate line to Lanesville Connector road so that the additional request would only be $27,355
Consequently, there would be no rejuvenation this year, largely due to budget cuts and reduced revenue from the riverboat.
Infrastructure Disbursements to incorporated towns - $12,783.54
Motion carried 7-0
Revenue Sharing - $328,719.66
Motion carried 7-0
Some request regarding parks department coming out of parks and rec budget (audio too difficult to understand, said they discussed the last meeting)
Motion carried 7-0
Circuit Court Transfer Request
$18,202 from Court Admin Assistant to a part-time employee position
Carried 7-0
Soil and water Transfer Request
$500 from postage to Travel
Carried 7-0
Parks Department Transfer Request
$1,866 transfer from Riverboat Parks Perf??? To parks discovery administrator (old admin not new)
Carried 7-0
$6,000 from Workman’s Comp to liability insurance + $21,700 different line of workman’s comp to liability ($22,300 total, 2 different transfers)
Carried 7-0
Motion to adopt the personnel reclassification policy as written by consultants
Carried 7-0
Discussion on overtime policy for Pandemic Overtime bonuses:
Three options pertaining to overtime for county employees.
Hours have already been accrued, this is a one-off ordinance for a pandemic overtime stipend:
Hourly Option 1: Straight hourly pay for overtime hours
Hourly Option 2: 1.5x hourly pay for overtime hours
Stipend Option: Overtime thresholds that must be met for overtime stipend to kick in (e.g. 50-100 hours over regularly scheduled time - $1000 stipend; 100-200 hours over regularly scheduled time - $2000 stipend)
Concern raised by Holli Castetter that this option would fail to include people whose hours are just below threshold (49 hours or less using the example given above)
$12k would be the total cost if they went with the stipend option (5 people total)
Bunch of discussions over whether the stipend option is fair, how to implement and disburse COVID overtime pay fairly, who should be eligible for the overtime pay.
CLAIMS:
Posey Twp. Fire funds for payment for pending contract.
Workers Comp for Health Department, Sheriff’s Department, and others.
Low bid for the Courthouse project... Mr. Heitkemper noted that “not all (of the) Council Members” attended the meeting on Friday. Commissioners recommended the low bid to fix the courthouse.
A representative for Webster Twp. Fire District was at the meeting to request the Commissioners’ approval for funds needed to upgrade their department’s equipment. Commissioners approved.
Harrison County Engineer - Kevin Russel
Lanesville Connect Rd 2A... It was acknowledged that they were going to have to go ahead and ask Council for $948,840, given that they still haven’t heard back about funding they hope to get from INDOT. Mr. Russel suggested the Council be told that $300,000 from the riverboat line could possibly be put towards the town’s “right of way” project.
Turnover at the Highway Department was also acknowledged by all to be a concern. Russel and commissioners agreed that something needs to be done to improve the department’s ability to retain employees.
County Auditor, Chad Shireman, explained the American Rescue Plan dollars coming from the state will have to be placed in a special fund... any unused funds will have to be paid back at the end of 2024.
Last night the county council further debated additional requests from the Harrison County Highway Department regarding the Community Crossings grant from INDOT to complete various projects, one being Old Highway 111.
This issue is ongoing due to the council’s concerns over public safety and lack of adequate funding to service all roads in need vs. ones recently acquired from the state. Councilmembers Richard Gerdon and Jennie Capelle expressed support for the project given the amount of grant money available from INDOT at $883,000. Gerdon mentioned that if the council denies this request, it tarnishes the county’s reputation to receive future grant monies. Donnie Hussung definitely does not approve of the project, but feels like it is necessary in order to protect our relationship with INDOT/Community Crossings.
Councilman Kyle Nix again lamented the lack of funding due to the riverboat casino shutdown, comparing it to a family losing one of two incomes:
We feel it is necessary to again point out that this shortfall of income was not a factor when funding the renovation of the Wright Center a couple months back. Councilman Brad Wiseman again voiced his disapproval of the entire process, demonstrating the continued disconnect between the commissioners and the council. Highway Department manager Kevin Russel stated that “we’ve never had a project with this level of controversy.”
After another lengthy discussion, the project was ultimately funded by the council with a vote of 6-1 with Holli Castetter being the lone no vote.
Harrison County Council Meeting - 3/22/21 - 7:00pm Harrison County Government Center
These are direct quotes from councilman Kyle Nix at Monday night's county council meeting regarding a request from the Harrison County Highway Department to fund the Community Crossings Matching Grant via INDOT. We are still curious as to why this was never said to the Harrison County Parks Department when they asked for $166,000 to renovate the Wright Center.
Councilman Brad Wiseman, again expressed disapproval of allocating additional funds to maintain the newly acquired 32 miles of road in the south of the county.
Kevin Russel of the Harrison County Highway Department asked for $400,000 in additional funds as part of the Community Crossings matching program with INDOT. He stated that "whether it's been our road for six days, for six months, or for six years, it's our road."
Wiseman expressed further frustration at commissioner Jim Heitkemper for going forward with Community Crossings Matching Grant without consulting the council stating "that's a grant that you all went forward with, without talking to anybody specifically tying it to this road...knowing how everybody on this board felt about it and yet you went and did it anyway." Wiseman then directly addressed Heitkemper and Russel with the following:
You've heard us talk about the dysfunctional relationship between the Harrison County Council and the Commissioners. This is the best example of that we've seen yet.
We highly recommend you skip to 45minutes into the video to watch this exchange and learn more about our leadership.
Call to Order & Roll Call:
All 7 members present, as well as their attorney
Communications from Public and County Officials:
Boone Township Fire District & Posey/Taylor Township Fire District
One rep from Boone, one from Elizabeth
Requesting $460,000 and $250,000, respectively
Said even if they ordered it would take at least an estimated 14-16 months to receive trucks.
Plan to take the $500k allotted in 2021 budget from the current 3 year plan (2021 last year of this plan) and roll it into their 2022 budget because Palmyra was “not ready and needed to collectively regroup.” Therefore, rather than spend anything in 2021, they will plan to spend $1M in 2022 due to the time it takes to assume possession of new fire trucks.
Council members made inquires about if there was a plan for a situation where the new plan starting in 2022 is less than what was budgeted in the previous 3 year plan since no discussions have occured around what the new plan will look like (10 min)
Palmyra’s plan to build a firehouse/community center now estimated to cost $1.8M
Cappelle stated she was “not on board” for using funds allotted to firefighters to fund the building of community centers, rather she would rather see money spent on “firefighting types of things”
Wants to “iron out” the parameters for what funds are spent on.
Circuit Court Judge
Judge Evans from Harrison Circuit Court
Harrison Circuit Court operates 2 court rooms, records all proceedings as required, both have the same equipment that were installed in 2011
Equipment is beginning to fail and is outdated (analog rather than digital system)
Shouldn’t be continuing cost associated with upkeep/maintenance.
Hoping to get another 10 years or more out of the new system, but uncertain due to the rate at which technology becomes outdated.
$12,200 per courtroom ($24,400 total) + $500 installation fee + misc. cost for pulling old wiring.
$25k total request
Highway Department - Kevin Russel
$400k additional request for match in Community Crossings Matching Grant via INDOT
There was a heated exchange between Brad Wiseman and Kevin Russel regarding allocating money towards a road recently acquired by county from the state compared to roads that have been long owned by county (starts at 45:57 mark in video)
Russel explained that this project was applied for because of the highway department’s use of Indiana Department of Traffic prioritization schedule.
Project is estimated to bring an estimated excess of $40M into the county in an infrastructure project from INDOT
One point of contention coming from the council seems to be that much more than 5% of budget is being allocated to this newly acquired 33miles of road that accounts for approx. 4% of the total county road mileage
Another point of contention is budgetary concerns for further increases in allocations to highway department because, as councilman Kyle Nix states “at some point were got to start having these very real conversations about what were committed to funding and how we are going to get there because were out of money, and were into the endowment, and so what are we going to do as a community...about money.” (1:03:00)
Highway department rep. rebutted by pointing to the approx. $132M in the community endowment fund, which he stated is described as a “rainy day fund” and if 2020 wasn’t a rainy day then he isn’t sure what would be.
Donnie Hussung clarified that only 5% of the market value of that fund is available for use.
Highway Department wants to pursue these projects because they want to maximize money through federal and state fund matching programs - i.e. not spending the $400k now loses out on $1M in funds matching
Also explained that while this project might be unpopular with some people, it will be very popular with other people. Feels that this project would greatly benefit the communities good - gives very specific examples of how (1:09:00)
$50,000 additional request from the overtime budget, had a lot of overtime due to snow storms
Ran 12 hour shifts for over a week for snow storms, many trees down on roads that needed to be removed
Budgeted $50,000 for entire year of overtime, but this has been exhausted already - account is currently “in the red” and needs $550 transfer to simply bring out of the red
Additional $50k request is to replenish fund for the rest of year
$60k additional request for motor vehicle highway truck and tractor repairs
Down to less than $70 in the truck and tractor repair account due to repairs made to several trucks and tractors
Additional Appropriations Advertised:
Prosecutor requesting an anticipated $15k for expenses relating to murder trial
Passed 7-0
$35k to Replenish contract services courthouse account
This was based on an agreement to reimburse expenses for generator repair paid out of this account
Passed 7 -0
Another $50K related expense for generator repair
Passed 7 - 0
$50k for building repairs at government center
Passed 7 - 0
$323,993 request byHarrison County Sherrif for additional officers
Cappelle brought up that it should be noted that if decisions need to be made due to budget concerns this is an area that should be considered (this is a call back to council’s comments over concerns regarding additional funding for highway department projects)
Apparently county needs more officers because it is growing
Passed 7 - 0
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:
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.
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.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/us/wanton-endangerment.html
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:
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.
Harrison County Commissioners Meeting - 3/15/21 7:00pm Harrison County Government Center
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.
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.
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.
The hiring of a candidate selected to work at Animal Control was approved.
FMLA extension for quarantining was approved.
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
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.
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:
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?
“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.
