July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
County to join effort
Jay County Commissioners
Jay County Commissioners have signed on to a statewide mapping program that will bring $14,000 in state grant money to the county.
The commissioners met with Roger Koelpin, a Geographic Information System/Critical Infrastructure Planner with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and heard his presentation on hooking into the mapping program and the benefits it can provide for the county as well as the overall benefit the state will have from getting Jay County in the system.
By hooking into the state network and providing aerial maps and other data such as parcel information, the state will have more resources to plan for, or react to, emergencies or other disasters.
The county will also have access to mapping information from other participating counties.
"We're getting pretty good subscription (from counties)," Koelpin said, stating that more than 50 of Indiana's 92 counties have already agreed to participate in the program.
The initial information about the program circulated in July, though Koelpin said the push to get the project rolling has picked up in the last three months.
Jay County will continue to host its mapped information through the Geographic Information System program the same as always but will also be connected to the rest of the state and will transmit updated information to the state network automatically. This will provide the homeland security department with more current data.
The program can help to provide map information to emergency responders or could help the homeland security department make initial damage estimates in events such as last summer's flooding that occurred across parts of the state.
Participation comes with a $14,000 grant. Necessary equipment upgrades will be about $5,000. The remaining $9,000 can be used however the county wishes, as long as that use is beneficial to the state map program.
"Obviously if I'm looking at cross-county incidents, it'll help," said Jay County emergency management agency director Ralph Frazee, pointing out the increased access could help him monitor situations outside the county's borders.
The commissioners weighed the benefits and told Koelpin that the county is on board.
"Sounds like it would be a good deal for us," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. "We will be a participant."
In other business Monday, the commissioners:
•Briefly discussed the possibility of raising the price of buggy plates from the current price of $50. The commissioners said Adam's County charges $60 and noted that Amish buggies cause continual damage to the roadway shoulders. The commissioners did not take any official action on the subject this morning.
•Were informed by Watson that truck traffic related to construction on Ind. 1 near Redkey is causing major damage to county roads in the area. Watson said the heavy trucks have torn up several county roads and caused damage to culverts and bridges in the area. He spoke with the Indiana Department of Transportation to try to get the state to repair those roads.
Watson said county road 700 South may be closed off in the future to avoid further damage to a bridge there, since the bridge is slated to be replaced in early June.
•Signed a resolution showing the county's intent to become a part of a regional economic district. The district, which was discussed and approved two weeks ago, will allow the county some additional opportunities for grant money and other development benefits.
•Were informed by Jay County retirement home director Rob Smith that a resident who recently received more than $20,000 in inheritance has spent the money in order to remain on the Assistance to Residents in County Homes (ARCH) program.
Smith mentioned the situation earlier in the month and said the resident will attempt to spend the money to remain on assistance in the county home.
The resident purchased a van for $16,000 which he will lease to the county for retirement center use after ownership for one year and will take the remainder of the money and donate it to the county home.
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The commissioners met with Roger Koelpin, a Geographic Information System/Critical Infrastructure Planner with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and heard his presentation on hooking into the mapping program and the benefits it can provide for the county as well as the overall benefit the state will have from getting Jay County in the system.
By hooking into the state network and providing aerial maps and other data such as parcel information, the state will have more resources to plan for, or react to, emergencies or other disasters.
The county will also have access to mapping information from other participating counties.
"We're getting pretty good subscription (from counties)," Koelpin said, stating that more than 50 of Indiana's 92 counties have already agreed to participate in the program.
The initial information about the program circulated in July, though Koelpin said the push to get the project rolling has picked up in the last three months.
Jay County will continue to host its mapped information through the Geographic Information System program the same as always but will also be connected to the rest of the state and will transmit updated information to the state network automatically. This will provide the homeland security department with more current data.
The program can help to provide map information to emergency responders or could help the homeland security department make initial damage estimates in events such as last summer's flooding that occurred across parts of the state.
Participation comes with a $14,000 grant. Necessary equipment upgrades will be about $5,000. The remaining $9,000 can be used however the county wishes, as long as that use is beneficial to the state map program.
"Obviously if I'm looking at cross-county incidents, it'll help," said Jay County emergency management agency director Ralph Frazee, pointing out the increased access could help him monitor situations outside the county's borders.
The commissioners weighed the benefits and told Koelpin that the county is on board.
"Sounds like it would be a good deal for us," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. "We will be a participant."
In other business Monday, the commissioners:
•Briefly discussed the possibility of raising the price of buggy plates from the current price of $50. The commissioners said Adam's County charges $60 and noted that Amish buggies cause continual damage to the roadway shoulders. The commissioners did not take any official action on the subject this morning.
•Were informed by Watson that truck traffic related to construction on Ind. 1 near Redkey is causing major damage to county roads in the area. Watson said the heavy trucks have torn up several county roads and caused damage to culverts and bridges in the area. He spoke with the Indiana Department of Transportation to try to get the state to repair those roads.
Watson said county road 700 South may be closed off in the future to avoid further damage to a bridge there, since the bridge is slated to be replaced in early June.
•Signed a resolution showing the county's intent to become a part of a regional economic district. The district, which was discussed and approved two weeks ago, will allow the county some additional opportunities for grant money and other development benefits.
•Were informed by Jay County retirement home director Rob Smith that a resident who recently received more than $20,000 in inheritance has spent the money in order to remain on the Assistance to Residents in County Homes (ARCH) program.
Smith mentioned the situation earlier in the month and said the resident will attempt to spend the money to remain on assistance in the county home.
The resident purchased a van for $16,000 which he will lease to the county for retirement center use after ownership for one year and will take the remainder of the money and donate it to the county home.
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