‘Pull the plug’

Some county officials have decided it’s time to step away from developing infrastructure for a potential housing project in Portland.

Jay County Council voted Wednesday to stop planning for the project on 68 acres of county-owned land along Votaw Street on the west side of the city.

Jay County Commissioner Duane Monroe had suggested the measure at commissioners’ meeting Monday, citing a recent meeting between county officials and consulting firm Baker Tilly. He said the discussion indicated the county could reallocate American Rescue Plan Act dollars dedicated to the project.

Monroe approached the council Wednesday to explain the situation.

“Pull the plug,” responded council vice president Cindy Bracy, who also sat in on the conference call with Baker Tilly. “It’s done. It’s over. We sat, we listened, we got advice from a fellow who is dealing with ARPA money … Yes, do we need housing? Absolutely. Is that the right place and the right way to make it happen? No. We need radios.”

The county purchased the 68 acres in 2023 and hired planning firm Rundell, Ernstberger and Associates on a $395,000 contract to develop a plan for building infrastructure on the land.

Council and commissioners agreed in November 2024 to enter into an interlocal agreement with Jay County Redevelopment Commission for the remaining $1.24 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to be spent on the project. Those federal coronavirus relief dollars had to be allocated by the end of 2024. Per guidelines, they are also supposed to be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

No bids were submitted in September for the infrastructure project. Plans had been to negotiate directly with vendors.

County attorney Wes Schemenaur cautioned council Wednesday, noting American Rescue Plan Act dollars were given to communities in a unique fashion. He voiced concerns about the county being forced to pay the money back to the federal government if an issue arises in a future audit.

“I mean, it is a risk,” he said. “My problem is, as your attorney, I can’t quantify that risk … at $1.2 million dollars. I’m not comfortable signing my name to that saying, ‘Yeah,’ because I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

He added that if there was a process through which the U.S. Department of the Treasury were to approve the change or another similar approval method, he would feel comfortable.

Council president Matt Minnich pointed out that if the county does pull the federal funding from the 68-acre project, it will need to be cautious with how it’s spent.

County officials in November 2024 had considered using the $1.24 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to pay for a chunk of the county’s radio upgrades but chose to move forward with the 68-acre project instead. Bracy suggested Wednesday that the county reallocate the funds for radios, pointing to some language in documents submitted to the federal government as well as the fact the county previously used American Rescue Plan Act dollars to help pay for a radio study.

A decision on whether to reallocate American Rescue Plan Act dollars will need to be approved by Jay County Commissioners and Jay County Redevelopment Commission.

Council member Harold Towell recalled how commissioners last month voted 2-1 not to make a formal financial request to the redevelopment commission for the project. Commissioners president Chad Aker had requested the board provide an additional $400,000 for the project to match a contribution from the City of Portland, which was contingent on receiving said match.

“I think it’s time to kill it,” Towell said.

He added that the project could always be revisited later and completed in a different scope.

“I hate to kill it, but I think that’s where it’s going,” said council member Randy May.

“It was a big dream project, and we never got the funding we asked for, (that) really kicked it off,” added council member Faron Parr, referencing the fact that the county is expecting to receive only a portion of funding from a Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 2.0 grant it had anticipated. 

To date, no formal award from READI 2.0 for the project has been announced.

Answering a question from Minnich, Bracy said her comment to “pull the plug” was a motion. Her intentions were for the county to inform Rundell, Ernstberger and Associates to cease work on the project. 

Council members Bracy, Minnich, Towell, Parr and May agreed. Council members Bryan Alexander and Michael Brewster were absent.

In other business, council:

•Heard from Bracy that Jay County Country Living has no more residents, with the last individual having moved out Monday. Bracy, Monroe and others did a walk-through of the facility before the meeting Wednesday. Bracy noted maintenance will continue keeping up with the building, and Sheriff Ray Newton indicated plans for patrols around the facility as needed.

•Spoke with Justin Lester, director of advancement and operations at veteran service organization The Journey Home. The organization, currently based in Winchester, has expressed an interest in the Jay County Country Living building. Lester said the Department of Veterans Affairs released a report today about the facility, indicating it would not recommend moving in. Despite the report, Lester said there are changes that could be made at the facility to make it viable, such as updating fire alarms. (Some of the alarms didn’t work during an inspection, Lester noted.) He shared hopes to conduct an assessment of the building with engineers soon.

•Amended next year’s salary ordinance, moving a Jay County Country Living maintenance worker to the commissioners’ budget and at least one Jay County Sheriff’s Office vacant position to a lower pay tier.

•Made the following additional appropriations: $768,750 from a Community Crossings grant for bridge repairs along Seventh Street in Portland, $79,300 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, with $70,000 going toward new financial software for Jay County Auditor’s Office and $9,300 going toward a contract for radio planning with Ritter Strategic Services (Towell opposed), $35,000 for overtime and compensation pay at Jay County Sheriff’s Office, $25,000 for A Better Life – Brianna’s Hope, $22,000 for Jay County Highway Department, $18,100 for training from a hazardous materials grant for Jay County Emergency Management Agency, $17,000 for West Jay Community Center’s new gas furnaces from economic development income tax dollars, $12,380.19 from the owner-occupied rehabilitation grant, $9,300 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, $6,745 for incentive pay for Jay County Country Living, $5,000 for part-time custodian pay at Jay County Courthouse, $4,860 for training from a multi-hazard mitigation grant for Jay County EMA, $2,000 for ammunition and flares in the sheriff’s office firearms fund, and $9.41 for Jay County Surveyor’s Office second deputy wages.

•Approved various year-end transfers as follows: $57,000 in Jay County Jail’s fund, $76,916.12 in Jay Emergency Medical Service’s fund, $62,000 in local income tax Emergency Medical Service’s fund, $36,000 in Jay County Commissioners’ fund, $16,870.45 in Jay County Sheriff’s fund, $14,743.04 in Jay County Country Living’s fund, $7,154 in the plat book fund, $1,000 in Jay County Courthouse’s fund and $676.64 in Jay County Cemetery Commission’s fund.