Properties transferred to DIDC

County officials are working on development opportunities in Dunkirk.

Jay County Commissioners agreed Monday to transfer 19 properties to Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation.

Jay County Development Corporation executive director Ceann Bales explained the 19 properties in Dunkirk were up for tax sale, with four of them including houses. The hope is to remove the existing structures and look for private developers to build. For lots that may not have the capacity for construction, they could be offered to adjoining property owners.

In order to move forward with those plans, Bales suggested commissioners transfer the properties to Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation.

“That’s my pitch to you, to say, give up the county’s income of this, the potential sale of these properties with the risk of, and the investment in and the potential of, flipping these lots and building new homes at a smaller scale within the City of Dunkirk.”

There are currently 30 properties that have not sold in the last two tax sales. More than $150,600 in back taxes are owed on those properties. Dunkirk makes up the largest portion of the list with 19 properties, for a total of just over $96,000 in back taxes owed.

Per Indiana law, after the properties go through two tax sales with no buyer, they  are acquired by commissioners and may be transferred through a certificate sale for redevelopment.

“I mean, it’s sitting here with this balance, it’s like EMS, they bill for something, and they may never get paid for it,” said commissioners president Chad Aker. “And, we may never collect taxes on this and it just sits here, at least this gives the potential for these (nonprofit organizations) to come in and maybe get these properties back on the tax rolls where we can start collecting tax on this, not to mention additional housing.”

“It’s an investment, in my opinion, and maybe get these back on the tax rolls, and also clean up the properties, clean up the cities, clean up the towns,” he added.

County attorney Wes Schemenaur recalled Dunkirk’s work with an Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant program that allowed the city to tear down dilapidated houses and sell the properties at low prices to encourage development.

“We’ve had a lot of success with that in Dunkirk over the last 10 years of doing it this way,” he said.

Bales noted JCDC would work with Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation throughout the process, including looking for developers. She said she also plans to approach the City of Portland to gauge its interest in such a program. (Four properties in Portland are on the list, with a total of $45,200 in back taxes owed.)

Commissioners then agreed to transfer the properties to Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation.

Also Monday, commissioners signed a letter indicating plans to provide incentive pay to Jay County Country Living employees.

The living facility is on track to close by the end of the year, according to director Stacey Johnson. Plans are to offer incentive pay to staff to continue working through the next few months as residents are transitioned to new homes.

If the facility closes by Dec. 31, employees will receive the equivalent of four months’ worth of additional pay. If it remains open past the end of the year and closes in 2026, employees will instead receive the equivalent of two months’ worth of additional pay.

Per the letter, employees must have worked at least one shift during the two-week pay period immediately prior to the final day of operation at the facility and must not have resigned or been terminated prior to the final day of operation.

The letter also stipulates plans for employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement, with commissioners and county attorney Wes Schemenaur noting employees’ salaries are public information. Johnson shared concerns about protecting residents’ confidentiality. While he said nondisclosure agreements are typically written for private entities, Schemenaur agreed there could be a nondisclosure agreement regarding residents’ medical information.

Commissioners recommended moving forward with the incentive pay earlier this month. Jay County Council will review the commissioners’ recommendation and letter — it goes along with the salary ordinance for next year — at its meeting in November.

Commissioners also took no action on a proposed burn ordinance.

Commissioners Doug Horn and Duane Monroe voiced concerns about the legislation, with Horn pointing out the ordinance requires folks to stay near fires until they’re extinguished. Horn argued it’s not realistic, saying some brush piles will burn for days. Portland Fire Chief Mike Weitzel pointed out that the guideline in question is an existing state rule enforced by Indiana Department of Environmental Management. 

Weitzel and Aker argued in favor of the ordinance, both saying it would help prevent area fire departments from responding to controlled fires.

Per the ordinance, open burning allowed in the county would include the burning of charcoal, clean, untreated wood and other cooking fuels used in outdoor grills, cooking devices or campfires. Fires used for recreational or ceremonial purposes — the ordinance lists school pep rallies and scouting activities as examples — would be allowed as long as they adhere to a list of criteria. Jay County 911 Dispatch Center must be notified before lighting piles more than 125 cubic feet.

In other business, commissioners Monroe, Horn and Aker:

•Approved the following: a debris management plan detailing how to handle debris in the event of an emergency situation as presented by Jay County Emergency Management Agency; granting a stormwater retention variance during the drainage board meeting to Jay County REMC for building expansion plans; an $18,500 project with NuFlow Indy for installing water lining in Jay County Courthouse; a $5,500 contract with CSI for Jay County Recorder’s Office; and the 2026 county calendar.

•OK’d Jay Emergency Medical Service to purchase four new video laryngoscopes estimated between $3,000 and $3,600 apiece, with the cost to come out of the department’s budget.

•Heard the county’s health insurance annual premium for next year through Physicians Health Plan increased by 5%. OneDigital representative Jessica Clayton shared an overview of the proposed plan, with the cost projected to be $1.65 million. Commissioners agreed to review the information and make a decision at a special meeting at 4 p.m. today.

•Signed a resolution during the drainage board meeting raising the assessment on the Darst watershed, located along Indiana 26 near the state line, to $1 an acre or a minimum of $10 per parcel.

• Heard a monthly financial breakdown from Jay Emergency Medical Service director Gary Barnett. It had $139,322.24 in expenses and $90,938.91 in income in September. It also made 139 ambulance runs to hospitals, approximately 67 of which were to IU Health Jay.