Masks required

Local officials took steps Monday to match rules set in place at the state level.

Commissioners adopted a resolution Monday that set COVID-19 regulations for county facilities identical to those set by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Effective Monday, community members who are 8 years old or older must wear a face mask or face covering when entering the courthouse or other county-owned buildings. County employees are required to wear face masks or face coverings while waiting on community members or while performing work closer than 6 feet to others.

County employees are also required to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, such as frequently washing hands or using hand sanitizer as well as regularly disinfecting high-contact surfaces and items. Courthouse staff will disinfect common areas in the building and provide hand sanitizer and disinfectant to all offices and departments, which in turn will be in charge of disinfecting their own work areas.

Commissioners president Chuck Huffman said the resolution isn’t much different from what the county required before facilities reopened.

Commissioner Mike Leonhard said he thinks people should be able to choose whether or not to wear a mask. He doesn’t like masks because it makes his sinuses act up, but he referred to using a mask as “common sense.”

“If you don’t want to go some place, stay at home,” Leonhard said.

In response to the state mandate, he “reluctantly” made a motion to approve the resolution, which passed 3-0.

Law enforcement will not enforce the mask order, said Jay County Sheriff Dwane Ford. (See related story.)

Auditor Anna Culy said she met with health insurance broker Jessica Clayton and learned she won’t be able to receive insurance rates until the end of September or sometime in October.

She estimated the county’s 2021 salary ordinance to be completed a few months following that date.

Culy reminded commissioners about the fresh caulking and weatherproofing on the courthouse exterior, which contractors will be spraying Thursday. She said they might set up roadblocks to prevent community members from traveling on Court Street that day to ensure no person or vehicle gets sprayed.

Commissioners also approved an agreement between Portland and Jay County to install a chip-and-seal surface on part of the driveway leading to the Portland wastewater treatment plant.

The county will install the surface, and the city will mark the designated area as well as put up barriers to prevent overspray from reaching buildings or vehicles. Portland will pay the county for the installation, which will cost $14,803.

In other business, commissioners Chad Aker, Huffman and Leonhard:

•Approved the following: a stormwater drainage plan for American Electric Power Jay substation in Dunkirk. Windmill construction has resulted in a need for a drainage system at the substation, said surveyor Brad Daniels; moving funds for the community crossings grant; $3,800 for the first portion of the courthouse phone system update; repairing the jail roof, which was already completed; $800 to repair a weathered brick in the courthouse siding; a remodeled insurance website for county employees; Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchinson’s request to reappoint the following community corrections advisory board members — chief public defender Brandon Murphy, probation officer Amy Sutton, mental health administrator Mischa Staton, Jay County High School assistant principal James Myers and county council member Faron Parr; a deal with Digital Video Solutions for $10,716 to set up security cameras in the courthouse; and a $3,820 sprinkler service proposal for the jail, which Ford explained is necessary because the jail needs more durable sprinklers

•Listened to an update from retirement center director Hope Confer, who voiced concerns about a resident who hasn’t paid rent and has been warned about eviction. She also discussed some needs for the facility, such as putting in a new water filter in the kitchen to combat high arsenic levels and, if the budget allowed, adding an industrial dishwasher for the high volume of dishes made each day

•Heard from Jay Emergency Medical Service supervisor Gary Barnett about a “deer versus ambulance” incident, resulting in damage to the driver’s side front of an ambulance. Barnett doesn’t have exact numbers for how much repairs will cost, but he estimated it will be more than $10,000. Barnett also shared 2020 JEMS monthly incomes and losses, as well as comparing this year to last year. Compared to June 30, 2019, JEMS has increased income total by about $117,813 and decreased losses by about $77,363.

•Listened to Amanda Bullion, health and human sciences educator at the Purdue Extension office. She shared details about her plans for the upcoming year in her new position.