July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Landfill fees to fund JEMS lease (5/10/05)
Infrastructure fund ordinance amended by commissioners
By By Mike Snyder-
A modification of guidelines on how money from a non-tax county fund is spent will permit the county to continue leasing the Portland base of Jay Emergency Medical Service.
That modification will also permit — after the fact — the use of the fund to purchase two courthouse annex properties.
Jay County Commissioners, who have used a county infrastructure fund in a variety of ways over the past few years, agreed Monday to use the fund to pay the $6,000 annual lease for the JEMS base on the campus of Jay County Hospital.
The original 10-year lease-purchase agreement recently expired, but the commissioners were told Monday by JEMS director Teresa Foster-Geesaman that the hospital had agreed to extend the agreement and continue with no interest charges.
The base was constructed in 1994 at a cost of approximately $134,000. The payoff amount would be approximately $74,000.
To help take pressure off the JEMS budget, the commissioners agreed to pay the lease payment from the county infrastructure fund
Revenue for the infrastructure fund is generated by a host fee paid by Jay County Landfill operator Waste Management of Indiana. That fee is equal to 10 percent of the gross per-ton fee on trash dumped into the landfill.
The landfill also pays a $35,000 annual operating fee to the county. Both payments are part of a host agreement between the county and Waste Management during a successful expansion attempt several years ago.
While amending the ordinance regulating how the infrastructure fund is spent on Monday, Commissioners Milo Miller Jr., Gary Theurer and Faron Parr discovered the guidelines did not include the purchase of property — something the county has done twice in the past four years with the fund.
Last year, the county purchased a building at 215 W. Main St. to provide space for possible future jail expansion, while a former office building at 504 W. Arch St. purchased several years ago is home to the county health department and the local office of the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service.
The commissioners have also proposed buying a currently vacant building on West Walnut Street across from the courthouse that would be torn down and used as overflow parking for the courthouse.
Parr, who took office in January, jokingly noted that he didn’t have anything to do with the previous purchases.
The changes approved Monday in the ordinance regulating the infrastructure fund included allowing the purchase of property. The new ordinance was written by commissioners’ attorney Brad Burkett.
Also Monday, the commissioners agreed to allow the purchase of a 2005 Kamatsu bulldozer for the Jay County Surveyor’s crew at a cost of $129,000.
The purchase, which has been discussed for several months, will be made from low-bidder Brandeis Equipment Co. of Fort Wayne.
A $50,000 down payment from the county’s backhoe/bulldozer repair and replacement fund will be made, with the balance being financed through a local bank.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Began taking steps toward making a loan to a Jefferson Township couple for replacement of their home’s septic system.
A hearing will be held June 6 for the proposed loan to Dale and Mary C. Schutz, 5987 West 800 South, Portland.
If the benefits of the proposed project are found to equal the cost, the commissioners would then proceed to request bids for the proposed system.
The county-backed program has been in existence for several years and several property owners have expressed interest, but no loans have been made.
Repayment of the loans, which carry a 10 percent interest rate, is done on property tax bills over a 10-year period.
•Discussed possible replacement of a patching machine for county roads with county highway superintendent Ken Wellman. Wellman said that the Dura-Patcher is in need of repair. “If we can get $15,000 out of (the old one), we’ll probably buy a new,” Miller said.
•Received an invitation from Jim Waechter, director of the Museum of the Soldier, to a ceremony Saturday dedicating a new marker for a local man who was the last soldier killed in the Civil War.
Saturday’s 2 p.m. event will be held at a small cemetery on the grounds of the Jay County Retirement Center to honor John J. Williams, who was killed May 13, 1865 at Palmito Ranch, Texas.
The event will include a color guard of Civil War re-enactors from Hartford City, and a variety of other officials and dignitaries.
Waechter said he’s hoping for a crowd of 300 or more people at Saturday’s event.[[In-content Ad]]
That modification will also permit — after the fact — the use of the fund to purchase two courthouse annex properties.
Jay County Commissioners, who have used a county infrastructure fund in a variety of ways over the past few years, agreed Monday to use the fund to pay the $6,000 annual lease for the JEMS base on the campus of Jay County Hospital.
The original 10-year lease-purchase agreement recently expired, but the commissioners were told Monday by JEMS director Teresa Foster-Geesaman that the hospital had agreed to extend the agreement and continue with no interest charges.
The base was constructed in 1994 at a cost of approximately $134,000. The payoff amount would be approximately $74,000.
To help take pressure off the JEMS budget, the commissioners agreed to pay the lease payment from the county infrastructure fund
Revenue for the infrastructure fund is generated by a host fee paid by Jay County Landfill operator Waste Management of Indiana. That fee is equal to 10 percent of the gross per-ton fee on trash dumped into the landfill.
The landfill also pays a $35,000 annual operating fee to the county. Both payments are part of a host agreement between the county and Waste Management during a successful expansion attempt several years ago.
While amending the ordinance regulating how the infrastructure fund is spent on Monday, Commissioners Milo Miller Jr., Gary Theurer and Faron Parr discovered the guidelines did not include the purchase of property — something the county has done twice in the past four years with the fund.
Last year, the county purchased a building at 215 W. Main St. to provide space for possible future jail expansion, while a former office building at 504 W. Arch St. purchased several years ago is home to the county health department and the local office of the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service.
The commissioners have also proposed buying a currently vacant building on West Walnut Street across from the courthouse that would be torn down and used as overflow parking for the courthouse.
Parr, who took office in January, jokingly noted that he didn’t have anything to do with the previous purchases.
The changes approved Monday in the ordinance regulating the infrastructure fund included allowing the purchase of property. The new ordinance was written by commissioners’ attorney Brad Burkett.
Also Monday, the commissioners agreed to allow the purchase of a 2005 Kamatsu bulldozer for the Jay County Surveyor’s crew at a cost of $129,000.
The purchase, which has been discussed for several months, will be made from low-bidder Brandeis Equipment Co. of Fort Wayne.
A $50,000 down payment from the county’s backhoe/bulldozer repair and replacement fund will be made, with the balance being financed through a local bank.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Began taking steps toward making a loan to a Jefferson Township couple for replacement of their home’s septic system.
A hearing will be held June 6 for the proposed loan to Dale and Mary C. Schutz, 5987 West 800 South, Portland.
If the benefits of the proposed project are found to equal the cost, the commissioners would then proceed to request bids for the proposed system.
The county-backed program has been in existence for several years and several property owners have expressed interest, but no loans have been made.
Repayment of the loans, which carry a 10 percent interest rate, is done on property tax bills over a 10-year period.
•Discussed possible replacement of a patching machine for county roads with county highway superintendent Ken Wellman. Wellman said that the Dura-Patcher is in need of repair. “If we can get $15,000 out of (the old one), we’ll probably buy a new,” Miller said.
•Received an invitation from Jim Waechter, director of the Museum of the Soldier, to a ceremony Saturday dedicating a new marker for a local man who was the last soldier killed in the Civil War.
Saturday’s 2 p.m. event will be held at a small cemetery on the grounds of the Jay County Retirement Center to honor John J. Williams, who was killed May 13, 1865 at Palmito Ranch, Texas.
The event will include a color guard of Civil War re-enactors from Hartford City, and a variety of other officials and dignitaries.
Waechter said he’s hoping for a crowd of 300 or more people at Saturday’s event.[[In-content Ad]]
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