County facility will be closed

Jay County Country Living will close by Dec. 31, 2026.

Jay County Commissioners on a 2-1 vote decided to move forward with ceasing the county’s operations of the living facility over the next year and a half. Jay County Council also verbally agreed with no formal vote to allocate another year of funding to the facility amid transitional efforts.

Discussion circulated Wednesday around the county’s options, which could include finding another entity to run the establishment, locating new homes for current residents or selling or refurbishing the building for another purpose.

For years, county officials have questioned whether to continue funding and operating the residential center. Jay County Country Living Advisory Board recommended in June that the county close the facility.

Adams County Commissioner Stan Stoppenhagen shared his experience with the decision to close county living facility Golden Meadows Home last year.

He pointed to managerial turnover and money issues, noting the facility went through three directors in a short span of time and had been running a deficit around $500,000. Commissioners called on Adams Memorial Hospital to conduct health evaluations on the facility’s residents. Ultimately, the hospital determined the county could not provide the medical care that residents needed, Stoppenhagen explained.

“It was an extremely difficult decision, that’s for sure, because the residents out there were a family, and a lot of the employees were a family to those residents and to each other,” he said.

Adams County Commissioners closed the facility’s doors after all residents were relocated.

“That was kind of my stopping point on, ‘We’re not closing this until every resident has an appropriate place to live,’” he recalled.

Commissioners president Chad Aker asked what Adams County chose to do with the building and property. Stoppenhagen noted the county sold about 140 acres of the farm ground previously, but the building and about 11 acres of the property are still unoccupied. They’re currently exploring their options, he noted.

Council member Bryan Alexander asked what happens to folks in Adams County now who would have previously qualified to live at Golden Meadows. 

Muncie Mission CEO and president Frank Baldwin referenced Indianapolis Continuum of Care and Indiana Balance of State Continuum of Care, the latter of which is facilitated by Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Baldwin serves as the Region 6 chair on the Indiana Balance of State Continuum of Care and represents Henry, Marion, Delaware, Randolph, Blackford and Jay counties.

“My responsibility is addressing homelessness in these counties,” he explained.

Those who are in need of housing should join a coordinated entry list, which is managed at the regional Muncie Hub, he said. Assessments are made from there on the individual’s needs and their situation.

There are about 260 individuals on that list in the region currently, Baldwin said. As identified by the state, he later added, there are 41 homeless people in Jay County.

“I can tell you there is not enough housing at all in our region, in a six-county region, to house all of these individuals,” he noted.

Delaware County offers a landlord liaison, he continued, to help facilitate housing solutions for individuals in need.

Baldwin noted Delaware County has addressed the housing shortage by developing a housing consortium. He said Jay County already has the beginnings of a consortium, and he said the next steps could be to develop a strategic plan.

Baldwin toured Jay Country Living recently. He talked about opportunities moving forward, saying he has found two developers interested in looking at the property. He suggested a permanent supportive housing project or income-based housing.

He asked council to consider funding the facility for another year to a year and a half as a plan is developed.

Jay County Country Living director Stacey Johnson pointed to the housing shortage. While she acknowledged she believes the facility should not be operated by the county, she said the community and partners, including Meridian Health Services, want to be involved in the process moving forward.

“The only thing that I’m asking is that we do this thoughtfully,” she said.

Council member and advisory board president Cindy Bracy recalled how much has changed since Jay County Country Living Advisory Board took charge in February 2026. Despite various improvements with regulations, fiscal responsibilities and other issues, she said she stood by the board’s decision to close the facility.

“It is a beast that is bigger than the county has the capability to manage,” she said. “I would have never thought two years ago that would have come out of my mouth.”

“The building itself is a beast,” added Johnson.

Council member Michael Brewster said Jay County Country Living has lost approximately $1 million in the last five years. He referenced concerns about tax cuts as planned with Senate Enrolled Act 1, saying the county needs to do something.

Council member and advisory board member Harold Towell suggested commissioners vote to close the facility. From there, the advisory board can begin working on what comes next.

“All of seven us of (board members) will stay on if that’s what the commissioners want, and we’ll close it as gently and as easily as we can, and as quickly as we can,” he said. “Without putting anybody, any of the residents out there under any kind of duress or anything else. It’s going to be hard enough.”

When the advisory board made its recommendation, Towell noted, the facility had been housing 18 residents. He recalled Johnson saying 10 of those residents needed help the county couldn’t provide.

“I think back to parents, siblings, would you want them out there knowing if we could place them somewhere else, they’d be better off?” he asked. “That’s what I want. I don’t want to see them stay there because we’re open and not get all the help they can get.”

Council president Matt Minnich said he’s on board with funding the facility for as long as it takes to transition. Commissioner Doug Horn asked if the county should set a hard date for closing, with commissioner Duane Monroe saying he feels there has to be a date set. Bracy suggested council approve the budget for one more year, with other council members verbally agreeing. (No formal vote was taken, with the decision to come up in the budgeting process in the coming months.)

Commissioners Monroe and Horn agreed to close the facility by Dec. 31, 2026. Aker voted in opposition to the motion, saying he voted no “to be a rebel.”