Advisory board created for Jay County Country Living

Jay County Country Living’s administration will be changing.

Jay County Commissioners approved an ordinance Monday creating an advisory board of directors for the county’s residential facility.

According to the ordinance, the board will “assist the commissioners in the oversight and administration of Jay Country Living.”

Commissioners, Jay County Council and the Jay County Country Living advisory committee that has been reviewing the facility’s financial outlook have reviewed the document, which lays out specifics about the board and its responsibilities.

The advisory board will consist of seven Jay County residents and will meet once each quarter at Jay County Country Living. 

Its duties, as outlined in the ordinance, are as follows:

•Recommend to commissioners adopting rules, policies and regulations, appointing a facility director and, if necessary, recommend the removal of the facility director

•Review the facility’s finances each meeting and assist the director in preparing for the annual budget recommendation to council

•Supervise Jay County Country Living’s maintenance, operation and services as well as the residents’ health, safety, welfare and comfort

•Recommend to commissioners necessary repairs, maintenance or improvements to the building or grounds

•Review estimates for food, supplies and equipment

•Regularly inspect the facility for various criteria, including personnel performance, drug handling and resident living standards

•Prepare an annual report for council and commissioners

Appointments will be made by commissioners with council’s consent, and members will be appointed without regard to political affiliation. (Instead, “each member shall be appointed on the basis of the member’s recognized interest in and demonstrated knowledge of the purpose and problems of Jay Country Living and the proper care and treatment of Jay County Living’s residents,” the ordinance says.) Initially, members will have either one- or two-year terms. Members to follow will have four-year terms.

County attorney Wes Schemenaur explained the ordinance is modeled after Indiana Code Title 12 Article 30, which typically applies to a county with a population of more than 235,000 people.

“Essentially, this advisory board is going to consist of seven people (who) are interested in the county home, Jay Country Living, and have an interest in seeing it succeed,” he said.

Final rules are still decided by commissioners and final budget decisions are still under council’s jurisdiction, he noted. 

As discussed at the meeting, members planned for the board include Nancy Cline, Chris Nixon, Virginia Burkey, Becky Thornburg, county clerk Jon Eads and council members Cindy Bracy and Harold Towell.

Also Monday, commissioners agreed to contribute $35,000 toward Pennville Park Board’s revitalization project.

Dollars will be split from economic development income tax (EDIT), American Rescue Plan and wind farm economic development dollars. (An additional $5,000 will be taken from EDIT for Pennville Economic Development in order to meet grant requirements.) Council OK’d moving forward with a $30,000 additional appropriation for the project last week and will consider a final decision on the matter in March.

Pennville’s park board is looking into a three-phase plan for its park. Its first phase — it’s estimated at $100,800 — will involve removing the park’s baseball diamond and converting it into three soccer fields, renovating basketball courts on the north side of the park and installing a pump track. Park board is looking into an agreement with the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and Patronicity, a crowdfunding business that would match up to $50,000 toward the project for a $2,500 administration fee. 

So far, the park board has raised more than $35,000. Tanner McClain of the park board requested commissioners bump the county’s contribution to $35,000 at the meeting Monday, explaining they could give $5,000 to Pennville boosters or Pennville Economic Development to provide toward the grant application. (Patronicity requires funding to be split from various sources.)

Commissioners also approved a $15,000 funding request from Arts Place as a match toward the Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). (The funding from EDIT dollars will be an additional appropriation that must be approved by council.)

Arts Place executive director Carolyn Carducci explained the organization was approved for a $75,000 matching grant through NEA for “master regional arts planning and collaborations.”

The grant will work in three phases. Initial plans include designing and constructing a portable art studio to be used by any organization in Jay County, Blackford County or Auglaize County, Ohio. The next phase is meant to identify the arts and their location in Jay County. The third phase will serve to create a regional arts master plan for Jay County.

Per the grant, Arts Place is looking to raise $25,000 from each of its served counties in order to meet the NEA grant’s matching funds.

Also Monday, highway superintendent Bob Howell formally introduced Spencer Patterson, the department’s new road foreman. Patterson takes the position from Howell, who was chosen to step into the superintendent role after Eric Butcher announced his resignation in January.

Patterson, a 2014 Jay County High School graduate, worked in the Marine Corps for four years before shifting to a job with Indiana Department of Transportation in Bluffton. He served as a highway technician and a heavy equipment operator for about a year.

In other business, Chad Aker, Brian McGalliard and Rex Journay:

•Heard a proposal from Jeff Larrison of Indianapolis’ United Consulting Engineers. Larrison noted Jay County’s bridge inspections upcoming in 2025 and recommended his company’s bridge inventory work. United Consulting Engineers puts together interactive reports and summaries for bridges, he explained. Approximately 80% of its contracts — they can cost up to $400,000 — are covered by federal dollars.

•Approved a change to the personnel policy handbook for county employees. The change adjusted language related to personal leave — after six months of full-time work, employees are allowed three personal days, with those days being equivalent to the number of hours the employee would be typically scheduled to work.

•Appointed Dunkirk City Council member Dan Watson and reappointed McGalliard to the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District board.

•Heard six county stop signs were stolen over the weekend along county roads 300 East and 500 North. Howell noted he almost got into an accident along the roads because of the missing signs.

•OK’d a request from Jay County Highway Department to purchase new software for inventory management using $13,615 out of the department’s budget.

•Transferred a vehicle’s ownership from Jay County Sheriff’s Office to Jay County Country Living.

•Agreed to vacate Second Street, an alley between county road 200 South and Ruth Street near U.S. 27 in rural Portland. Adjoining property owners Randy Fisher and Greg Bailey attended the public hearing in support of the measure.

•Heard Jay Emergency Medical Service’s financial breakdown from January, which came to $131,107.35 in expenses and $92,869.15 in income.