County plans to seek grant

Jay County hopes to leverage some of its recent special distribution of local option income tax revenues by winning a matching grant that could provide another $500,000 for local roads and bridges.
“We could maximize that if we go for the match,” county engineer Dan Watson told Jay County Commissioners Monday.
Watson and highway superintendent Ken Wellman are working on a required transportation asset management plan to submit to Indiana Department of Transportation.
Once INDOT approves that asset management plan, the county can apply for a grant of up to $500,000 on a 50-50 matching basis. The local match would come from allocating a portion of the $933,494 the county will be receiving in May under House Bill 1001.
“If we can leverage it and double it, we’d be foolish not to,” commissioner Doug Inman said.
Under the Funding Indiana's Roads for a Strong and Safer Tomorrow (FIRSST) program established as part of House Bill 1001, local governments can apply for the 50-50 match only if they have an INDOT-approved transportation asset management plan. The match can come from the special LOIT distribution, from local government’s rainy day fund or from an increase in the local wheel tax.
In Jay County’s case, Watson said, the LOIT distribution is the option that makes sense.
INDOT will select projects based upon “greatest regional economic significance” and has set aside at least 50 percent of the grants to local governments in counties with population fewer than 50,000.
In total, House Bill 1001 makes available $430 million for roads statewide via distribution of LOIT revenues that had been held in a state reserve account, provides $186 million for the matching grant program over the next two years, increases local authority for road funding, provides $104 million in federal funds for roads through 2020 and appropriates $500,000 to help develop asset management plans.
Commissioners opened asphalt bids for the road work season ahead with Asphalt Materials of Indianapolis to apparent low bidder at $1.283 per gallon. Other bids ranged from $1.38 a gallon to $1.43 a gallon.
Wellman and Watson will review the bids and related documents and return to the commissioners with a recommendation for approval.
Also Monday, LifeStream requested that the county budget $61,920 next year for continued local support of the New Interurban transportation service it provides in Jay, Blackford, Henry and Randolph counties.
Jay County currently provides $50,000 a year toward support of the service and is the largest user, with 53 percent of the Interurban trips taking place in Jay.
Here’s how those trips break down: 13,750 were trips related to employment, 5,850 were trips to school, 1,075 were medically-related, 1,300 were related to shopping and 1,200 were categorized as miscellaneous. LifeStream also helped provide transportation during the annual Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in August.
In other business, commissioners:
•Heard Portland resident Joe Johnston express concerns about the changes in zoning regulations for confined feeding operations. Johnston said he believes the setbacks for such operations should be reconsidered.
•Learned that recent high winds damaged the roof of the Jay Emergency Medical Service building. JEMS director Pat Frazee will seek out quotes for installing a metal roof and bring those to the commissioners.
•Heard Sheriff Dwane Ford say he has begun the process of acquiring an additional K-9 for the department.
•Heard concerns about the condition of county road 650 North between roads 200 East and 350 East and said they would take a look at the situation with Wellman.
•Authorized county surveyor Brad Daniels to begin gathering quotes for a new backhoe. There is about $100,000 available in the backhoe replacement fund, and the current machine has accumulated a significant number of hours.