July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Clean-up costs totaled (8/16/05)
Highway dept. spend more than $88,000
By By Mike Snyder-
Nearly $90,000 was spent by the Jay County Highway Department in the aftermath of January’s ice storm and flooding, but the county has already received its 75 percent reimbursement from the federal government.
Ken Wellman, superintendent of the highway department, gave Jay County Commissioners a final breakdown of clean-up and recovery costs, which totaled $88,934.92.
The county is eligible for reimbursement of about $66,000 because Jay and surrounding counties were declared disaster areas in the aftermath of the ice storm, which hit on Jan. 5.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent advance payments to the county before the clean-up was completed — including a payment June 17 to the highway department of $77,755.12. The difference between the advance payment and the total amount eligible for reimbursement, which will include a small amount for administrative costs, will have to be returned to the federal government.
The final debris removal, which was done by a contractor, was completed July 27.
By far the biggest cost was to pay for a three-man highway department chipping crew. Those expenses were $32,154.43 between March 18 and May 23, and $16,902.47 between January 19 and March 17.
Also Monday, Wellman asked, and received, permission to check prices for a salt distributor box to be used in one of the county’s dump trucks.
Purchasing another box would give the county three, and would reduce trips back to the highway garage on county road 200 North during times of heavy salt usage.
The highway department puts a salt/sand mixture mostly at intersections and dangerous areas during snow or ice storms. Several heavily traveled roads, including county road 400 South from Ind. 67 to Dunkirk, county road 200 West from Jay County High School to county road 300 North, and county road 300 North from U.S. 27 to Pennville, also are normally treated with salt.
Commissioners Gary Theurer, Faron Parr and Milo Miller Jr. gave Wellman permission to obtain quotes for the salt box.
In other business Monday, Vicki Tague, executive director of the Portland Area Chamber of Commerce, asked the commissioners if they would object to closing a block of North Commerce Street on the west side of the courthouse on Friday morning.
Organizers of a United Rockcrawling and Off-Road Challenge (UROC) event set this weekend at XPLEX Extreme Competition Park would like to park their vehicles along that block so fans could look at the vehicles and meet the drivers.
The event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon.
Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier gave permission for the street closure, as long as Tague checked with the commissioners, and two businesses along the street — Aker-Taylor Plumbing and Burkett/Fitzwater attorneys-at-law.
The commissioners said they didn’t not object to the event, but said parking around or near the courthouse could be complicated because a jury trial is scheduled Thursday and Friday in Jay Circuit Court.
Tague had talked to an owner of Aker-Taylor and planned to talk later in the afternoon to Brad Burkett.[[In-content Ad]]
Ken Wellman, superintendent of the highway department, gave Jay County Commissioners a final breakdown of clean-up and recovery costs, which totaled $88,934.92.
The county is eligible for reimbursement of about $66,000 because Jay and surrounding counties were declared disaster areas in the aftermath of the ice storm, which hit on Jan. 5.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent advance payments to the county before the clean-up was completed — including a payment June 17 to the highway department of $77,755.12. The difference between the advance payment and the total amount eligible for reimbursement, which will include a small amount for administrative costs, will have to be returned to the federal government.
The final debris removal, which was done by a contractor, was completed July 27.
By far the biggest cost was to pay for a three-man highway department chipping crew. Those expenses were $32,154.43 between March 18 and May 23, and $16,902.47 between January 19 and March 17.
Also Monday, Wellman asked, and received, permission to check prices for a salt distributor box to be used in one of the county’s dump trucks.
Purchasing another box would give the county three, and would reduce trips back to the highway garage on county road 200 North during times of heavy salt usage.
The highway department puts a salt/sand mixture mostly at intersections and dangerous areas during snow or ice storms. Several heavily traveled roads, including county road 400 South from Ind. 67 to Dunkirk, county road 200 West from Jay County High School to county road 300 North, and county road 300 North from U.S. 27 to Pennville, also are normally treated with salt.
Commissioners Gary Theurer, Faron Parr and Milo Miller Jr. gave Wellman permission to obtain quotes for the salt box.
In other business Monday, Vicki Tague, executive director of the Portland Area Chamber of Commerce, asked the commissioners if they would object to closing a block of North Commerce Street on the west side of the courthouse on Friday morning.
Organizers of a United Rockcrawling and Off-Road Challenge (UROC) event set this weekend at XPLEX Extreme Competition Park would like to park their vehicles along that block so fans could look at the vehicles and meet the drivers.
The event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon.
Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier gave permission for the street closure, as long as Tague checked with the commissioners, and two businesses along the street — Aker-Taylor Plumbing and Burkett/Fitzwater attorneys-at-law.
The commissioners said they didn’t not object to the event, but said parking around or near the courthouse could be complicated because a jury trial is scheduled Thursday and Friday in Jay Circuit Court.
Tague had talked to an owner of Aker-Taylor and planned to talk later in the afternoon to Brad Burkett.[[In-content Ad]]
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