4-H OK’d for funds

After nearly half a year of fundraising, Jay County 4-H has met its goal.

Commissioners agreed to contribute $70,000 toward 4-H building repairs at Jay County Fairgrounds. The group has raised nearly $118,000 toward the $185,000 project since October.

Dru Mercer, dairy barn superintendent and 4-H council vice president, requested the remaining funds from commissioners Monday.

“None of us (on the council) had ever done a project like this before,” Mercer said. “(The community) has been wonderful making donations. It’s been very remarkable.”

Several 4-H buildings have become a safety issue with rotting or loose foundation posts, and work is needed soon, he explained.

Remodeling will include cutting off posts and adding a cement wall around the hog barn, the front half of the show arena and the cattle barn and setting the posts back in place, Mercer said. Work is also planned for the poultry barn.

He added there are plans for a separate fundraising campaign to add a new furnace and sound system to Bob Schmit Memorial Exhibition Hall.

Mercer came to then-commissioners Mike Leonhard, Chuck Huffman and Chad Aker in October requesting funding for the work.

All three voiced support of 4-H but suggested seeking local grants, such as those offered through The Portland Foundation.

As of May, the group has received more than half its goal of about $185,000.

That amount includes a $40,000 grant from the Portland Foundation and a $2,500 grant from Friends of Agriculture as well as donations from the community.

Although the group only needs about $67,000 to finish its goal, Mercer requested an extra $3,000 to account for rising material costs.

“I know when you guys came last year, it was kind of a shock, what the price was going to be,” Aker said Monday. “I’m just thrilled how much you guys have raised so far.”

Commissioners Brian McGalliard, Rex Journay and Aker approved the 4-H request unanimously.

They also agreed to give $10,000 toward Jay County 4th of July festivities. George Patterson of the Jay County 4th of July Committee said the group spends an average of $22,000 per year on the event. Last year, the committee decided to forego the celebration because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This year, I’m going full blast,” Patterson said, noting the parade will likely start an hour later in respect to churchgoers because July 4 lands on a Sunday this year.

Core Facilities Inc. president Matthew Stechly brought three bids to the meeting for the installation of new video equipment at Jay County Jail. Commissioners hired Stechly in March to seek bids and supervise the installation process in order to prevent unnecessary charges to the county.

He explained prior to opening the bids there would be four prices listed on each bid: a base amount for the cameras only; option A, which adds door controls and intercoms with a new software platform; option B, which adds fob access control; and a total amount for all three of the options.

For the camera installation alone, Stanley Security of Fishers bid about $316,000, Security Automation Systems of Indianapolis bid just over $333,300 and Tech Solutions of Fort Wayne bid $370,400. After Stechly opened the bid from Tech Solutions, he saw the company had noted if the county decided to decrease the video footage to seven frames per second, it would take $60,000 off the cost.

Totals after the door controls, intercoms and fob access were just over $403,700 for Stanley Security, about $521,300 for Security Automation Systems and $635,600 or $576,600 for Tech Solutions, depending on the frames per second.

All three companies bid for six months of video storage at 15 frames per second. Commissioners took the bids under advisement.

Also Monday, commissioners tabled a decision on moving forward with work on county road 900 North (the Jay/Adams county line).

Adams County highway supervisor Brad Yoder explained the Wabash River snakes along the road just west of county road 350 East and the road has started to slip off into the river. Yoder requested the county give the OK to move forward with the project. He noted the road would need to be closed during construction, and he requested Jay County contribute about half of the estimated cost of just over $286,200.

McGalliard suggested commissioners review the information Yoder presented Monday before making a decision.

Also, commissioners signed an ordinance establishing a fund for incoming American Rescue Plan Act monies. The county will be receiving nearly $3.9 million, and usage of that funding will be discussed after more funding guidance is released.

In other news, commissioners:

•Agreed to enter into a two-year, 2.44%-interest loan from First Financial Bank for a $207,000 chip spreader. The loan will be used to pay for the machine the highway department purchased after receiving approval from commissioners last year.

•Heard from Aker the cemetery board will pay to put in a new drive at Liber Cemetery on the east side of the property leading to county road 200 South.

•Selected the following quotes for equipment purchases: a $1,599 shredder from Four-U Office of Celina and $9,375 in computer equipment from Computer Systems Inc. of Fishers for Jay County Recorder’s Office, a $3,154 copier and fax machine from Ricoh USA for the highway department; a $2,453.60 shipment of copier paper for all county offices from Progressive Office Products of Portland.

•Signed a quarterly claim and accepted a $1.7 million Indiana Department of Transportation grant for Lifestream Services.

•OK’d Jay County Drug Coalition to distribute about $20,000 in drug and alcohol countermeasure fees from Jay County courts.

•Heard from John Hemmelgarn, director the Jay County Building and Planning Department, that from the beginning of January through the end of April, 81 permits and applications were issued, 31 of which were in Portland. Six new-home permits were also issued. In total, there was just under $7.8 million in total declared construction value. Despite the pandemic, Hemmelgarn said, the amount of building projects hasn’t decreased much.

•Signed several vehicle titles going to the county auction slated for 10:30 a.m. May 22.