JCDC gets a budget increase

The Jay County Development Corporation 2021 budget will have an extra $30,000.

After five years of budget cuts, JCDC received approval at the Jay County Commissioners meeting Monday for a 2021 budget increase to $230,000. That is $30,000 more than the current year and about $14,000 more than five years ago.

Close to a dozen community members crowded into the commissioners room at the beginning of the meeting. When JCDC executive director Travis Richards asked the crowd how many support the corporation, nearly every one raised their hand.

He emphasized the mission statement for JCDC and put it into two key points.

“So, in short, we’re here to help drive jobs and investment, two things that are very important to the county,” Richards said.

Richards presented a slideshow about JCDC and its benefit to the community. He said every dollar the community invests in the corporation, it receives about $4 back in tax revenue.

“So, the cycle really kind of feeds on itself,” he said.

He also discussed plans for the housing task force created recently in Portland and the surrounding area. More than 60% of local homes were built before or during the 1940s. He noted there are more than 15 houses in Portland which are potentially ready for developments next year. Housing is key to business development, he said.

He also discussed addressing broadband internet access in some areas of the county. Both commissioner Chuck Huffman and Richards voiced the need for this in hindsight of the coronavirus government shutdown.

“Boy, if we could’ve had it done by the end of last year, it would have been helpful,” Richards said.

Jay County Community Development director Ami Huffman also spoke at the meeting and shared information from working her position for 15 years.

“When I first started 15 years ago, there were several projects that had to be done,” she said, noting projects like the leaking Redkey water tower. After completing those necessities, JCCD moved from urgent projects to planning wants and needs for the community, and developing projects in response, she said.

For every dollar spent on JCCD (in the last 15 years), about $16.51 comes back into Jay County, she explained. Since it began, JCCD has generated more than $22 million in investments for the county.

In the past year, JCCD has been managing more than $4 million in projects and programming in Jay communities, and about $2.5 million of that amount is new funding for 2019 through 2020.

Commissioners then voted to increase the JCDC budget to $230,000.

After the budget increase was approved, all but about four department heads in the public seating left the meeting.

During the meeting, commissioners also signed an emergency paid sick leave resolution, which states the county will provide full-time employees with 80 hours of paid sick leave if:

•Exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms as described by the Center for Disease Control.

•Required or advised to quarantine.

•Caring for an individual who is exhibiting symptoms or required or advised to quarantine.

•Caring for the employee’s child while the school or place of care is closed or if the child’s care provider is unavailable due to public health emergency.

In road-related business, commissioners granted permission for Frontier Communications to run a telephone line under county road 200 South. Highway superintendent Donnie Corn presented the request to commissioners during his report.

After hearing from Corn about the increased productivity with the new work schedule, commissioners also approved keeping highway workers on a 10-hour shift four days a week through Nov. 2, at which point they will return to an eight-hour shift five days a week.

During Corn’s report, he mentioned a family requested to rename the bridge on country road 125 West in memory of a deceased family member. Commissioner Chuck Huffman noted the gesture was nice, but said it would set an unfair precedent. Commissioner Chad Aker voiced his agreement.

“It is a nice gesture, but where do you stop, where do you draw the line?” Aker said.

Commissioner Mike Leonhard noted if the family wanted to set up a cross or small memorial alongside the road, it is more than welcome to do so.

Before Corn left the meeting, county attorney Bill Hinkle said he took a closer look at plowing snow on Golf Brook Estates. After looking into legal documentation, Hinkle explained that job should be the residents’ responsibilities to hire and pay a snow plow. Corn said he would touch base with them.

In other business, commissioners:

•Granted permission for Heath Butz, Jay County Health Department environmentalist and administrator, to pursue a COVID-19 reimbursement grant worth about $81,286. There is no required match for the grant, although upfront costs will need to be covered by the county before those can be reimbursed.

•Approved a $2,576.75 quote from Fort Recovery Lumber Company for a new southwest door at the jail. Sheriff Dwane Ford mentioned the new cleaning position for the courthouse, community corrections building and jail has been filled by Terry Adair, who is scheduled to begin work today.

•Granted permission for Jay Emergency Medical Service to pursue about $28,800 in COVID-19 funding from the state for two CPR machines. These mechanisms allow EMS workers to do continuous CPR with a smaller group of rescuers. “It never gets tired, it doesn’t get COVID,” JEMS manager Wesley Miller said. County auditor Anna Culy and commissioners suggested JEMS request a third CPR machine if the funding is approved.

•Heard from county engineer Dan Watson, who noted several projects have been completed, including the Bitter Ridge Wind Farm, the Como Road paving project and county road conversations from stone to hard surface. The roads converted include: county roads 300 South from Blaine Pike to 200 West, 350 South from the bridge to 200 West, 200 West from 400 South to Mount Pleasant Road, 275 South from 100 West to Southtown Place and 450 South from U.S. 27 to Boundary Pike.

Watson noted he is hoping to add about 10 or 15 more miles of chip and seal work on roads before the year ends.

•Approved the following: $817.12 for Jay County Fair Board to be reimbursed for COVID-19 cleaning and sanitary costs; and $10,156.49 to the surveyor’s office to adjust for the unexpected price increase for the new bulldozer.

•Decided against adopting a payroll tax deferral option, which was allowed by the president’s executive order in August. Culy noted the deferral wouldn’t be eradicating those taxes completely. If the payroll taxes are not paid by April 2021, there would be interest and other fees added to the total.