Vote issue settled

Jefferson Township voters will vote at the Freeman Scouting Facility in November, but the county will have to find a new home for the precinct in 2012.
Jay County Commissioner Milo Miller Jr. said at this morning’s commissioners meeting that he was able to reach an agreement with the facility’s management staff to have the Jefferson Township polling place at the scout facility.
However, the facility staff said after this election that the county will need to find a new home for the precinct.
“They don’t want it no more,” Miller said.
Miller said the facility staff asked the commissioners to sign a “Memorandum of Understanding” outlining some guidelines for use of the cabin, which they did this morning.
“We’ve got a memo for the Boy Scout cabin with the dos and don’ts,” Miller said.
Those guidelines include providing proof of liability insurance, having poll working attend an orientation walkthrough of the facility, allow a facility staff member to check in on the premises during the day and agreeing that any damage or unusual wear to the facility will be compensated by the county.
Miller said Bixler Insurance, which provides the county’s liability coverage, will send a letter confirming the county’s coverage during polling hours.
Although the commissioners expressed some displeasure about having to acquiesce to the extended terms of use, they signed the memo.
The agreement is made with the understanding that the commissioners will have to find a new polling place for the 2012 elections.
Miller also informed the commissioners that Jay County Clerk Ellen Coats told him that some poll workers are reluctant or unwilling to return to the scout facility after being accused of abusing the property during the May primary and that new poll workers may need to be found.
The precinct problem arose in May after scout facility management claimed that poll workers misused and damaged the property, moving the commissioners to relocate the Jefferson Township precinct to the Jay Community Center in Portland.
Poll workers, however, rose to defend themselves and asked if the commissioners could keep the polling place in the township, perhaps moving it to the Jay County Conservation Club if improvements were made.
Those improvements were not completed however, and the commissioners bounced around to a few other options including Paradise Pointe R.V. Camp and the Jay County Solid Waste District office before reaching an agreement with the scout facility to return it there.
In other business this morning, the commissioners:
•Were informed by Jeff Badders of SchenkelShultz that work crews will be removing the old generator from the Jay County Jail today. The generator is being moved to the Jay County Highway Department garage where it will be installed.
•Signed a resolution pledging a $50,000 match for a grant application to the Office of Community and Rural Affairs for an expansion at Jay-Randolph Developmental Services.
JRDS director Ruth Ann Widman told the commissioners that the organization has the money to cover the match but is also planning a fundraising drive to try to recoup all of the expense.
•Signed an emergency claim for $533.63 for fuel tax.[[In-content Ad]]