Jay, Adams will partner

Funding for preventing a road from falling into the Wabash River has been approved.

Jay County Commissioners on Monday OK’d contributing roughly $143,000 toward work on county road 900 North (the Jay/Adams County line). Adams County will be responsible for the remainder of the funding for the project.

The Wabash River snakes along the road and, at one point just west of county road 350 East, is only about 20 feet away from the road. Over time, the dirt and embankment has been falling into the river, explained Adams County highway supervisor Brad Yoder.

“Some spots are worse than others –– you can actually see where it’s already dropped about 3 (feet) in places,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

Because the river is so close to the road, it’s a safety hazard, Yoder added.

Currently, there are posts with reflectors set up in the area. Without a solid foundation underneath of it, the road will eventually collapse into the river.

Yoder said plans are to put up sheet piling — steel driven into the ground to help keep it in place — between the road and water. A guard rail will also be placed along the road as a safety measure.

The engineer’s estimated cost is just over $285,200. With the road serving as a dividing line between Jay and Adams counties, the two will split the cost.

Yoder and Corn approached commissioners for the first time May 10 with the funding request. Commissioner Brian McGalliard suggested the trio review the information Yoder presented before making a decision.

Funds from Jay County will come out of the highway department engineering budget, according to highway superintendent Donnie Corn.

Yoder noted that Adams County Commissioners have known about the project for a while and he would be formally requesting the other half of funding from them today. If approved, the project will go to bid in about four to six weeks.

While work could be completed this year, Yoder guessed it may not happen until next spring. He noted the road will need to be closed during construction.

Commissioners president Chad Aker signed a letter of interest for Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District to pursue another Federal Clean Water Act Section 319 grant, which is offered through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The district plans to apply in September and, if it receives the money, will begin using it for purposes such as its cost-share program for implementing conservation practices starting in 2022.

Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District received two grants totaling more than $436,600 from the department previously in 2014 and 2017, but it was denied a third grant in 2019.

“We figured they would (deny it) because they’ve been really generous to us,” said conservation district coordinator Bettie Jacobs. “To get two grants in a row is pretty cool, to get three grants, it’s almost unheard of.”

The department has also received four Clean Water Indiana grants totaling $459,500 in the last six years. It is currently accepting applications from all landowners in Jay and Blackford counties interested in its cost-share program for implementing conservation practices, such as cover crops, filter strips and equipment modifications. Landowners can apply for 50% to 75% per acre, up to $20 per acre. There is a maximum of 300 acres per landowner allowed.

Also Monday, commissioners approved a $14,000 grant request from Arts Place for its 2022 Arts in the Parks funding.

Arts in the Parks is a summer arts education program for children ages 6 to 12. Since its start in 1977 in Portland and Pennville, the program has grown to include 14 communities in Indiana and Ohio and has reached more than 16,000 children, explained executive director Eric Rogers.

After a year with limited in-person and virtual classes, Rogers said, Arts Place plans to allow larger classes this summer. It is offering more than 200 hours of arts instruction in Jay County this summer.

Commissioners agreed to meet June 2 at 2 p.m. to approve the economic development agreement for Skycrest Solar Energy Center, the first solar farm in Jay County.

Invenergy, a global sustainable energy firm with headquarters in Chicago, is planning the $150 million, 155-megawatt facility to be built on about 2,500 acres in Penn and Jackson Townships. Construction is expected to be complete by 2024.

In other news, commissioners Rex Journay, Aker and McGalliard:

•Decided –– Aker dissenting –– not to allow hunting in the county-owned woods just south of the highway barn between county roads 100 North and 200 North and county roads 100 East and 200 East.

•Heard a monthly report from Jay County Emergency Medical Service directors Gary Barnett and John McFarland. Barnett said the April finances are nearly $160,000 more than April 2020, although he noted it’s not a fair comparison because of the coronavirus pandemic beginning in the United States around that time.

•Learned Jay County Country Living (formerly Jay County Retirement Center) needs a new refrigerator. Director Hope Confer explained the industrial-size kitchen refrigerator is nearly 20 years old and has been freezing over. She said the staff doesn’t use it for much more than drinks, so she suggested downgrading to a less expensive unit. She also noted the facility has all its shifts and positions covered. The facility will need to either bring in more residents –– Confer noted there may be at least one new resident soon –– or cut back on costs in order to stay financially viable.

•OK’d the following: a request from Jay County Coroner’s Office to apply for a gas credit card. The coroner’s office recently received a vehicle from the highway department to use for coroner-related business; Jay County clerk Jon Eads to purchase a new laptop, estimated at $1,500, for election purposes. Eads explained the laptop will be used as a backup in the event computers fail to work on election day; Corn to buy a $2,800 canopy for the chip box operator.