Progress made toward rehab program

An agreement has been signed with the state for the owner occupied rehabilitation program.

The county still has a few specifications to work out before opening applications. 

Jay County Commissioners heard an update Monday about the $1 million program mostly funded through a grant from Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The county is contributing a match of about $90,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward the program, which was offered as an incentive for communities allocating their American Rescue Plan Act dollars through OCRA’s Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program (HELP).

Jay County’s owner occupied rehabilitation program is intended to help residents pay for home improvements such as replacing a roof, water heater or heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit, doing electrical work or making a home more accessible. Applications have not yet opened for the program, which will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Projects are limited to $25,000 per household. To be qualified, applicants must make at or below a salary threshold. Those amounts are as follows: one-person household, $44,200; two-person household, $50,500; three-person household, $56,800; four-person household, $63,100; five-person household, $68,150; six-person household, $73,200; seven-person household, $78,250; eight-person household, $83,300. The program will help a minimum of 40 households.  Commissioners will make recommendations on project selection, with the final decisions made by OCRA.

Community coordinator Nate Kimball explained president Chad Aker — he wasn’t in attendance Monday — has signed the grant agreement with OCRA. Kimball noted the county will need to wait on a few steps before moving forward, including selecting a building inspector for the program.

“We have to have somebody that can tell what each household may or may not need,” he said.

Per state guidelines, explained Kimball, the building inspector will provide specifications for each project. He used a home needing a new furnace as an example.

“There’s dozens of different types of furnaces,” he said. “You need to have someone come in and be able to say they need this type of service for this kind of furnace for this size of a home, and it should cost roughly about this much.”

He added that the role also should be given to someone who isn’t planning to put in bids for the projects. 

The county could put out a request for qualifications for a building inspector, Kimball said.

Commissioner Brian McGalliard asked if Kimball could be prepared by the next commissioners’ meeting, April 8, to discuss a system for getting applications out to the public. 

Kimball said he wants to make sure each municipality receives at least a week notice prior to the county opening applications, with plans to also advertise through newspaper, radio and social media.

“We want everybody to have fair and equal access,” agreed McGalliard.

Commissioner Rex Journay also expressed his excitement for the program but noted it has taken longer than anticipated. (Officials originally anticipated applications to open as soon as November 2023.)

In other business, commissioners:

•OK’d Arch Bridge Kroozers to use the restrooms at Jay County Courthouse from 1 to 7 p.m. May 18 for the group’s annual car show.

•Approved an application to the Indiana Department of Corrections for Jay County Community Corrections’ 2025 operations budget of $208,398, which annually comes as a passthrough grant.

•Heard Jay County Country Living has received its $43,320 reimbursable grant from the Indiana Residential Care Assistance Program. (The grant will be up for formal approval at Jay County Council’s meeting in April.) Plans are in the works to remodel the facility, specifically installing new floors. Local resident Virginia Burkey mentioned potential volunteers willing to paint furniture and design new drapes.

•Learned Jay County emergency personnel are gearing up for the total solar eclipse April 8. Jay County Emergency Management Agency director Samantha Rhodehamel noted local emergency officials met with IU Health Jay last week to discuss plans. Rhodehamel has received certified solar eclipse glasses to distribute to employees at Jay County public safety agencies. Responding to a question from McGalliard about the anticipated influx of people, Rhodehamel said she expects many family members who have moved away to visit their hometowns in Jay County for the eclipse.

•OK’d a $700 charge from ERS Wireless to retrieve data from a Jay County Sheriff’s Office repeater. Ritter Strategic Services is conducting a study on looking into radios for emergency responders — it includes looking into equipment needs and performing a land survey to determine whether the county needs more radios to deal with dead zones. The county approved a $76,400 contract with Ritter Strategic Services in December, with the study expected to take about 210 days.

•Tabled decision on a three-year contract with Perry ProTech for managing printer services throughout county offices. A 30-day out clause has been added to the agreement, but commissioners wanted an OK from county attorney Wes Schemenaur — he was not present at the meeting — before moving forward.

•Heard Jay Emergency Medical Service has received its new vehicle and is waiting to hear from the insurance company before outfitting it with equipment from the totaled truck. The department had nine personnel and one ambulance respond to the March 14 tornado in Winchester, noted director Gary Barnett. Also, the department’s financial breakdown from February came to $143,202.21 in expenses — Barnett noted a few different one-time or once-a-year costs — and $92,318.17 in income.

•Approved the following: $1,688,151.16 in claims; $2,500 for dump truck repairs at Jay County Surveyor’s Office; $2,028 for a subscription services through Jay Circuit Court; $1,891.04 for paper to be used for tax bills at Jay County Treasurer’s Office; and $248 for a waiver for injections at Jay County Health Department.

•Agreed to contribute $3,450 in economic development income tax (EDIT) dollars to the Portland Rockets’ season-opening celebration May 18.