Action on map tabled (07/28/2008)

Jay County Commissioners continued discussion this morning on whether to join in on a statewide mapping and access program.

The discussion began last Monday with a letter explaining the program and some of the benefits, including easy access to mapping data of other Indiana counties.

Attorney Lon Racster spoke with state representatives working on the program to see if signing into the initiative would help the county update its outdated and often incorrect flood maps. The answer wasn't what he hoped for.

"That's not going to solve that," Racster said. But the state is looking into the issue, the representative told Racster, "(State officials) have meetings upcoming to try to resolve those problems."

One concern with joining the program was cost. Commissioner Gary Theurer was hesitant to offer support.

"They get us hooked now and then in the future it'll start costing us money," said Theurer, concerned that joining the program might bring about updates to county systems which could be a future expense.

County auditor Nancy Culy said, however, that Jay County is compatible with the system the state uses and that no foreseeable upgrades should be required.

Racster said he couldn't see any notable disadvantages to joining and that the positives were better access to statewide information.

"We'll have more information and can get it quicker for grants and stuff," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr., thinking on the positives.

No official decisions were made this morning but the commissioners will continue to review their options.

In other business this morning the commissioners:

•Met with county surveyor Brad Daniels in their capacity as Jay County Drainage Board. There was no new business regarding drainage this morning and the meeting was quickly adjourned.

•Spoke with Dave Frasher about Welcome Back to Portland events taking place on Aug. 17. Frasher spoke to the commissioners about some preparations for the parade through downtown, including street closures.

•Received information from Bettie Jacobs, coordinator of the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, about soil and water project entries at the Jay County Fair. Jacobs also informed commissioners that talks regarding wetlands at the former XPLEX site will begin soon.

•Received information from Bryant resident Jim Spade concerning bicycle racks. Spade said he was unable to obtain bike racks for the courthouse, but would continue to look.

•Briefly discussed 911 user fees. Culy has been working on gathering information and said rates could be raised to $2.25, up from the current $1.75. She will continue to look into the issue.

•Were informed by Jay County emergency management director Ralph Frazee that he is looking into grants to fund new radio equipment for local fire departments.

•Discussed a letter received from Community and Family Services asking if the county would like the agency to return $7,500 paid to CFS in order to seek a grant. After failing to secure the grant, the department asked if the county would like the money back or if they could keep it to fund other projects. The commissioners will speak with represenatives before making a decision.

•Heard a request from LifeStream Services Inc. about a 2009 budget for The New InterUrban transportation service. Jim Allbaugh and Judi Ritter asked the commissioners for an additional $24,000 to cover fuel costs for their bus services in next years budget. Miller informed them currently the services is slated to receive the same amount as last year pending final budget work.[[In-content Ad]]