[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6273887,"mediaKeyId","2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662","parentId",2997149,"title","Votes at a glance: Boone County commissioners approve policies, contracts, payments and building namings","audioSeconds",1265,"startMs",796000,"endMs",2061000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662&start=796&end=2061","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662/thumbnail_796000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6273887/Boone-County/Indiana/Votes-at-a-glance-Boone-County-commissioners-approve-policies-contracts-payments-and-building-namings","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6273887-25f835915c78174c851a350d822a7569/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155007&Signature=Bid9IDV6HrnPpyW6LZfzTRc5VGWKHJdGr6kmMQh7zGTKJNVIlfVTrjcNhiXleLz3GTKrGH5j0GOU4zOVbe1YEspnmnvUD~~A0gANMdmS6DEI2RYkkSkBjLIj3lX48srtmcnyG8~55~GVUygoeURLT300PFU-UcS-U5J7q2djUWtwJrFAC2n-Xlv7DL6q1lOSgImV3yOhkOXhTf2MV0yjnSD~1PAI2ECk-KTY5WFSGXPPvHqpmVOJtVhLB9IDnuLv2rpJXrlQc0i12W3mUzdkh-drhDwO0EscGHIs9DrsuOiLSM41T5mvRHSZLIvLTCgQDQJ0PjqLP~kCST4puqab4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Boone County IN","date","2025-04-15T20:05:56.023Z","article","Boone County commissioners voted on a number of items at their April 14 meeting. Major outcomes included approvals of bond releases and construction payments, adoption of personnel policies, awards for road and bridge work, and the hiring of an in‑house county attorney.

Key votes and motions recorded during the meeting:

- Minutes: A motion was made to table approval of minutes from March 3 and March 24, 2025 because the March 3 minutes were not ready; the motion to table carried.

- Release of bonds: The board accepted and released a performance bond for Adjustable Place Section 1 (stormwater and erosion control) after staff presented the recommendation; the motion passed by voice vote.

- Veritas / Justice Center payment recommendations: The county approved multiple payment recommendations tied to the Justice Center project, including a $14,150 payment for cellular boosters, roughly $2,640 for a hardware change, $2,200 for integration of touch-screen cameras and controls, $18,567 for upgraded lighting in the new dispatch center, and a construction draw of $2,555,009.84. Each payment was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

- Wabash Valley Power right-of-way bond release: Staff recommended and the board approved release of right-of-way permit bond(s) after confirming work for Wabash Valley Power was complete.

- Bridge and road projects: The commissioners declared one bid nonresponsive for the Pineview Subdivision small-structure project (project 2023-08 EA 021) and awarded the contract to the next lowest responsive bidder, Milestone, to preserve a Community Crossings award. They also recommended and approved execution of an agreement with Milestone for Bridge 44 rehabilitation (bid $438,700) and approved thank-you letters and recorded documents related to Bridge 139 landowner donations for a future replacement project.

- Parental leave and lactation policies: Human Resources presented changes to the employee handbook. The board approved adding a breastfeeding and lactation policy to align with the Fair Labor Standards Act and approved changing the parental leave policy from two weeks at full pay and four weeks at half pay to six weeks at full pay.

- Salaries.com contract: Commissioners approved a five-year subscription to Salaries.com for internal benchmarking at $3,000 per year (negotiated down from higher previous pricing).

- In-house county attorney hire: The board moved to hire Beth as the in‑house county attorney; commissioners recorded that her outside contract will self-terminate once she begins as an employee, and the motion passed.

- Naming the Justice Center: Sheriff Tony Harris proposed renaming the Boone County Justice Center for former Sheriff Ernie K. Hudson. A commissioner moved and a second carried the motion to name the building the Ernie K. Hudson Justice Center.

- Approval of claims: The board approved the claims docket by voice vote.

Most roll-call votes in the meeting were conducted by voice and recorded as \"All in favor, aye.\" The meeting packet and staff reports provided recommended actions and backup for each of the above items.

Several items were held or tabled to a future meeting, including discussion of an ordinance amending zoning text (Ordinance 2025-02) and certain meeting minutes that were not yet ready for approval.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Boone County Commissioners Meeting 04-14-2025","oneSentenceSummary","At the April 14 meeting commissioners approved routine bond releases, several contracts and payments for the Justice Center project, HR policy changes, awards for road/bridge projects and the in‑house county attorney hire; they also named the Justice Center for former Sheriff Ernie K. Hudson.","taxTitle","Boone County, Indiana","taxId",52300,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6273890,"Boone County grants exception so 400 North can remain eligible for hard‑surface conversion",619,849000,1468000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662&start=849&end=1468","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662/thumbnail_849000.jpg","/articles/6273890/Boone-County/Indiana/Boone-County-grants-exception-so-400-North-can-remain-eligible-for-hardsurface-conversion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6273890-5d1ca0685bc7054efb4e3f11e2844d99/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155007&Signature=ox2RATez3A1nPl5FhcGmqHxhkVv406~ViAwxmKrG6MqT8mPddt2tTtcxzEPVND2YrnCl8zs~zVoeXI2NQCjsMP8EkdoeCyGrhekJuJsGaRqoPHEANChXHwD7TVo9quEyYZOoM7qHTMG7ngqwQGAqvFNPzFSKADypwmsWSX7zrscrUCx-lTaOC1h~IVjACAD4QymSTe1nOaaCV4Ox1r7VX4B0buvovZNnP10yvrP8GVth0dPAS2aMZZ51PCT~nmbmz0SUGCPEOHnuC-V-3Z5m8pBfuC3uShzysKCLpki7r~eDf1AQfwfETkvT10j5NPGmxK3MJ00yAtIk~Ub~L6mTkg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Dan Smith, a landowner on 400 North, asked the Boone County commissioners on April 14 for a special exception to the county’s petition-road scoring process so his road could remain eligible for conversion from gravel to hard surface.

Smith told the board residents began the petition in February 2018 and that the road ranks in the top 20% of petition roads by the county’s scoring criteria, notably scoring between 100 and 300 vehicles per day on average. The county’s conversion program uses several metrics and requires dedication of right of way signatures from landowners; to receive full points for that metric the county requires 75% or more of landowners to sign the dedication document.

Smith said seven of the 10 landowners had signed the dedication but that Commissioner Donnie Lawson — a landowner on the road — had been advised by his personal attorney not to sign because doing so might be viewed as a conflict of interest. Smith explained that excluding Lawson’s signature from the denominator would raise the percentage to just under 78%, making the road eligible for conversion under the current scoring rules, and asked the board for a special exception to account for Lawson’s conflict constraint.

County staff confirmed that the scoring threshold is 75% and that with Lawson counted among the ten owners the signatory share would be 7 of 10 (70%), below the threshold; excluding Lawson would yield 7 of 9 (~77.8%). A commissioner moved to grant the exception to the scoring system in this instance, another commissioner seconded the motion, and the board approved the exception by voice vote.

The approval means 400 North will retain the points associated with the right-of-way metric and remain in contention for hard‑surface conversion under the county’s petition-road program in 2025. Commissioners did not amend the formal scoring rules at large; this action was recorded as an exception based on the specific factual circumstance described by Smith.

Proper names, roadway references and the petition details were recorded into the meeting packet and provided by Smith during his presentation.","Landowners petitioned to convert 400 North from gravel to hard surface. The road scored above many petition roads except for a required 75% right-of-way dedication signature threshold; commissioners approved a special exception because one landowner who is a commissioner could not sign per attorney advice.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6273895,"Boone County commissioners debate moving forward on IT assessment amid funding dispute",622,85000,707000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662&start=85&end=707","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2997149-407e39ddcd4f1f5855f1973b98100662/thumbnail_85000.jpg","/articles/6273895/Boone-County/Indiana/Boone-County-commissioners-debate-moving-forward-on-IT-assessment-amid-funding-dispute","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6273895-d2b76bebd327aa2adfebb60456d9f33a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155007&Signature=LslSdmswL~r-7IgZbw8xaxp9BywSHVz~-6DxjffaK4Snv2PjRf1lbTsFmftD4TaYjNBOoKucozXQwY2Eh1~2HxEQSHgw-LVdiE8m6iREOJX7lYLksJcsVNY9HF6FMD7IS98I13rDXXopVIQz5ewfccTHmsCzwfDXXi9OneIxLglRqJMsouYdeI0Pkkzsa-GtEW2rpnlY9sc2CQSiOudNuOeauFURJhmBLXFnRwBY5O~5Uyjph4wABhTcCEN24UwMNmvVSdTpYUnmubmj4RNyqE2NTrms5kGwlV1upfWN7YZVs-dU6CEuPqxEJZuYWvA1SY4UbpSXgjSUyHxHwOhxoQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Boone County commissioners on April 14 again discussed an IT and cybersecurity assessment that the board approved in December 2024 and which had been listed as an ARPA-funded project.

The item prompted a dispute over whether the county currently has funds available to pay for the assessment. One commissioner said there is no money in the current budget and urged that the IT assessment be tabled until the county’s budget process in July–August. Another commissioner and staff described the item as already approved under ARPA and said the county has previously shifted ARPA allocations between projects to cover costs when estimates change.

Officials recounted that the IT assessment was approved at the Dec. 16, 2024 meeting and that ARPA funds had been used previously to move money between projects to avoid returning funds to the federal government. Those supporting proceeding said approved ARPA projects can be reallocated if needed and asked the board to move forward with the assessment so any recommended improvements would be identified.

Those urging delay said ARPA-authorized usage had ended for some allocations and that, as of now, there was no available budget line to pay for the assessment without a future reappropriation or transfer during the upcoming budget cycle. A motion was made to terminate the contract until funding was available, but no recorded vote followed and the effort did not advance to a formal termination. Commissioners discussed bringing the issue to the July–August budgeting process if funds are not available.

The discussion included statements from commissioners and staff about prior outreach: one commissioner said they had contacted several Indiana municipalities that had worked with the vendor under consideration and reported generally favorable performance and no known breaches, while another emphasized the county must not begin work without an identified funding source.

The board did not rescind the December approval at the April 14 meeting; commissioners indicated options remain including a budget reappropriation in 2025 if ARPA funds cannot be used. No formal vote to terminate the contract was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Clarifying details raised during debate included that the IT assessment had been approved on Dec. 16, 2024, that the item had been discussed previously at multiple meetings, and that the county’s regular budget process occurs in mid-summer. Commissioners agreed that if ARPA funds prove unavailable the county would need to transfer or reappropriate funds in 2025 to pay for the assessment.","Commissioners revisited a previously approved IT and cybersecurity assessment funded with ARPA money; one commissioner pushed to terminate the contract citing lack of available funds while others said the ARPA-approved project can be re-funded. No termination vote was taken and the assessment remains approved pending budgeting.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Boone County commissioners approve policies, contracts, payments and building namings

Boone County grants exception so 400 North can remain eligible for hard‑surface conversion

Boone County commissioners debate moving forward on IT assessment amid funding dispute