Commissioners approve grant agreement

A management plan for the Upper Salamonie River Watershed is set to be implemented.
Jay County Commissioners approved a grant agreement Monday with Indiana Department of Environmental Management to allow the state to award $323,000 for implementation of the Upper Salamonie River Watershed Management Plan, which was completed by watershed coordinator Tim Kroeker.
He presented the plan to commissioners in March, after it had been approved by IDEM and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Additionally, commissioners approved a contract Monday to hire Kroeker as subcontractor to administer the grant.
The grant agreement will head back to IDEM for signatures and will likely not kick in until next year, commissioner Doug Inman said Monday.
Under the three-year grant, Kroeker will be responsible for developing and promoting a cost-share program for the implementation of best management practices, implementing that program, setting up an education and outreach program and completing a water quality monitoring program. Quarterly reports on the project’s progress will also have to be submitted to the state.
“They want us to concentrate on critical areas and most of the watershed is pretty much the same so we’re kind of splitting hairs to come up with critical areas,” he said.
The agreement requires the grantee provide no less than $215,600 in “in-kind services and/or cash match.”
Kroeker said in-kind funds will come from a number of areas such as steering committee work and the share that farmers pay for conservation practices. He does not foresee any issues with meeting that figure.
“The last grant that we did, we overshot it quite a bit,” he said.
Meanwhile, commissioners heard from county engineer Dan Watson, who said the part of Indiana 26 under construction will not opened until after Thanksgiving. Watson said it was decided to keep the road closed longer to allow final items to be completed without traffic interference.
Watson also informed commissioners he is completing culvert installation in the area of the proposed Bluff Point Wind Energy Center, which is scheduled for construction in 2017, and that he will have multiple culverts to replace elsewhere in December, if weather permits.
A county sign inventory is also moving along nicely, Watson said, with 80 percent of field work completed. He anticipates that project will be completed early next year.
In other business, commissioners Jim Zimmerman and Inman, absent Faron Parr:
•Approved using $5,200 out of the infrastructure fund for a new heating, ventilation and cooling unit at the Jay County Health Department annex on Arch Street.
•Heard from highway superintendent that he received two quotes for purchasing a new service truck. Wellman said he is waiting to receive one more quote and that he has the funds in his budget to purchase the vehicle.
•Appointed Hannah Hughes to a four-year term on Jay County Public Library Board. Hughes’ current term is set to expire at the end of the year.
•Heard from Sheriff Dwane Ford that purchasing a new Ford Explorer for his department would cost $27,076. The vehicle would replace a 2013 Chevrolet Impala that was recently totaled in an accident.
Ford said insurance is willing to give $7,975 for the wrecked vehicle. Commissioners advised Ford to send out bids for purchasing a new vehicle and recommended he check the Blue Book value of the Impala. County attorney also advised acquire a breakdown of the funds the insurance company is willing to pay.