County gives OK to charges

Jay Emergency Medical Service will implement new rates.

Jay County Commissioners approved an amendment to the emergency medical service’s fee schedule ordinance at its meeting Monday morning.

Commissioners also heard an update on the planning process for the Bluff Point Wind Energy Center and discussed the purchase of a backhoe that would allow county employees to install small culverts.

County attorney Bill Hinkle presented a revised version of the emergency medical service fee schedule, which the commissioners approved. The new schedule will increase the per-mileage cost for ambulance runs from $12 to $16.50 per mile, and add a new $150 fee for those who receive treatment but are not transported to a medical facility. The new schedule also reduces costs for Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support Calls, dropping the cost of ALS emergency from $850 to $600, ALS II emergency from $1,050 to $900 and BLS emergency from $650 to $500.

In the past, payment received within 30 days received a 10 percent discount. The new schedule eliminates the discount for all fees. The new fees were recommended by AccuMed, the company that is contracted to handle medical claims for the ambulance service.

Commissioners Doug Inman and Mike Leonhard, absent Chuck Huffman, also discussed ongoing planning for Bluff Point Wind Energy Center. County engineer Dan Watson said Blattner Energy, the general contractor for the project, is waiting on an engineer’s review before completing all the requirements for the road use agreement. Once all the requirements for the agreements with the county are complete, Blattner will start pursuing building permits for the wind turbines.

County highway superintendent Ken Wellman discussed the possibility of purchasing a backhoe that county employees would use to install culverts that are 30 inches or smaller in diameter.

Currently, the work is outsourced. Wellman presented a financial breakdown of the cost of materials, labor and equipment for culvert installation. In 2016, the county spent $166,000 on materials and $126,400 on labor and equipment.

Leonhard said he supports the idea of letting county employees install smaller culverts.

“I think it’s beneficial if the county puts their own culverts in, for the simple fact, if we’ve got some guys out there on a slow day … they might be able to put a culvert in that day,” Leonhard said.

Inman and Leonhard decided to table a decision on the backhoe purchase until Huffman is back from vacation, and asked Wellman to seek bids for consideration.

In other business, commissioners:

•Heard from Cheri Brown and Larry Temple of the Purdue Extension Service. Brown shared plans for a poverty simulation at 1 p.m. April 27 in the John Jay Center for Learning and a two-day Bridges out of Poverty seminar beginning May 24. Temple discussed the success of Jay County Ag Week and also spoke about an avian flu training session conducted with the county’s poultry producers Friday.

•Agreed to allow Jay County Sheriff’s Office to swap out a undercover vehicle with an expiring lease and lease a new one.

•Heard from auditor Anna Culy that a water tester contract for Jay County Retirement Center is almost up and will need to be renewed. Also heard from Culy that only three of 18 properties were sold in commissioners’ tax sales last week.

•Approved $1,350,226.65 in claims.