Environmental issues considered (03/10/08)

There may be underground storage tanks on the site of a former auto dealership the county acquired for expansion of the Jay County Jail.

"We're going to have to clear that through IDEM (the Indiana Department of Environmental Management)," Jay County Commissioner Milo Miller Jr. said this morning.

If the jail expansion project moves forward, the former Maitlen Motors building on West Main Street would be razed by the county and environmental assessments will be necessary.

"What we want to avoid is taking a whole lot of soil out of there and bringing fill in," said Jeff Badders of Schenkel-Schultz Architecture, which has been hired for the Jay jail project.

"If the tanks have been taken out, you may be all right," county engineer Dan Watson said.

While Schenkel-Schultz is preparing schematics for the jail project, a financial analysis by Financial Solutions Group Inc. consultant Greg Guerrettaz is being developed to see what the county can afford.

One possible funding source is the housing of prisoners from adjoining counties, and commissioners asked their attorney, Bill Hinkle, to investigate what sort of contract could be developed.

"There are so many counties that are short of space," said commissioner Gary Theurer. "But it would be nice to have a commitment."

Badders said engineers from Schenkel-Schultz will be meeting with Sheriff Ray Newton on the project next week.

All three commissioners and most of the Jay County Council traveled to Clay County last week to tour its jail, which was designed by Schenkel-Schultz and built in 2006.

In other business, the commissioners:

•Acting as the county drainage board approved drainage plans for the auxiliary gymnasium/multi-purpose facility planned for construction at Jay County High School. County surveyor Brad Daniels said the area will drain to the south to the Salamonie River rather than to ditches and streams north of the school.

•Asked Hinkle to review the ordinance on distribution of county economic development income tax funds to cities and towns.

•Met briefly with emergency management director Ralph Frazee about Friday and Saturday's snowfall. "We didn't feel like it was a snow emergency," said Frazee. "It's winter, folks. It snows."[[In-content Ad]]