Decatur County commissioners approve revitalization board ordinance, health plan and range of service agreements; several zoning petitions and facility actions也

The Decatur County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 6 adopted an ordinance to establish a Decatur County Revitalization Project Board, approved the county health department's 2026 health plan, released withheld community mental-health levy payments for 2022 and 2023, and approved a number of other service agreements, grants and facility motions.

The board voted to adopt a second-reading ordinance delegating authority for the Decatur County Revitalization Project to the Decatur County Area Planning Commission and establishing the Decatur County Revitalization Project Board under that commission's guidance. Doug Westerfeld of the Area Plan Office read the ordinance in full, citing Indiana Code chapter 36-1-3 as the enabling statute. The ordinance lists membership for the new board and states it takes effect immediately on passage. Commissioners approved the second reading by voice vote; the motion carried.

The county health department presented a statutorily required county health plan. John Durbin outlined four priority areas chosen from state health indicators: cigarette smoking during pregnancy, infant mortality, opioid overdose rate and adult obesity. Durbin described the plan as a multi-year, incremental effort emphasizing low-cost interventions and community partnerships (safe-sleep education, car-seat certification and infant-mortality review teams were among the measures described). The commissioners voted to approve the health plan as presented.

County attorney Chad Smith and commissioners discussed long-running reporting disputes with Centerstone, the state-designated community mental health provider for Decatur County. Smith told the board that state counsel (FSSA) supplied missing reporting components for 2022 and 2023; commissioners then approved releasing the withheld 2022 and 2023 invoices. At the meeting Smith read two invoice amounts into the record: $2,266,755 for 2022 and $237,779.04 for 2023; commissioners voted to pay the provider for those years.

Highway Department updates and FEMA mitigation: Todd Halk (Highway Department) reported ongoing maintenance, bridge work at County Road 63 and submitted FEMA documentation for damage and mitigation work, including a proposed mitigation change near Lake McCoy that would remove a bridge and convert a road end to a cul-de-sac to reduce future erosion and repair costs. The board approved a professional-services agreement with United for on-call engineering related to FEMA mitigation and other highway design work.

Grants, equipment and public safety: Sheriff's staff and Emergency Management Director Mike Snyder reported on the county's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program funded by a Lilly Endowment grant. Commissioners approved purchase of a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado to support a newly authorized third CIT field deputy; sheriff's staff said the foundation will fund the vehicle at an agreed price of $48,410. Snyder also requested two grants: the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) application (equipment and command-bus upgrades; requested amount $112,166.46) and the annual Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG; expected $30,000). The commissioners approved applying for both grants.

Facilities, fairgrounds and community building pricing: The board reviewed recommended updates to rental rates and policies for the county fairgrounds and the planned new community building. Following fair-committee recommendations, commissioners approved a set of revised fees (including a $2,500 rental fee for the new community building for the 2026 launch year, and other changes such as a $10,000 full-fair rental and consolidated horse-facility rental). Commissioners authorized staff to have county attorney Chad Smith revise the rental contract language to reflect the new schedule and to return with criteria for any sponsor/donor discounts discussed by the committee.

Pool project and contractor selection: The pool committee recommended Blue Escapes Pools (Greenwood, Ind.) for the county's pool/building project after reviewing responses to the county's RFP. The commissioners approved moving forward with Blue Escapes.

Planning petitions and zoning approvals: The board signed off on planning commission-approved petitions forwarded for commissioners' signatures and ratified several rezoning petitions that had been approved at the Area Planning Commission level. Petition numbers heard or cleared during the meeting and announced as approved at the commissioners' session included (as read into the record): 2023-12, 2024-19, 2024-18, 2024-23 and 2025-18. Commissioners recorded the planning commission's votes and approved signature of its petitions.

Other business and facility maintenance: Commissioners approved an arborist's estimate to winterize and restart a courthouse-tree irrigation system (quote presented in the meeting: $2,860 and $1,250 for winterize work was discussed); they also authorized installation of reverse-osmosis drinking-water systems at three county offices (dispatch, IT, and the health department) after staff presented cost comparisons showing multi-year operating savings over bottled-water purchases. The board approved an updated Decatur County Fair Emergency Plan as presented by EMA and fairground staff. The meeting also included public comment from a Clarksburg resident about blight, trash and safety at a local park; county staff said code enforcement and parks staff would coordinate follow-up.

Votes at a glance - Adopt second reading of ordinance establishing the Decatur County Revitalization Project Board (ordinance adopts authority to the Area Planning Commission): Approved by voice vote. - Approve professional services agreement with United (on-call engineering for FEMA mitigation and highway projects): Approved by voice vote. - Approve Decatur County health plan (2026 priorities and timeline): Approved by voice vote. - Release Centerstone invoices for 2022 ($2,266,755) and 2023 ($237,779.04): Motion to pay approved by voice vote; commissioners instructed staff to process payments. - Approve sheriff's purchase of vehicle for third CIT deputy (price quoted $48,410; foundation-funded): Approved by voice vote. - Approve SHSP grant application ($112,166.46) and EMPG application (approx. $30,000): Approved by voice vote. - Approve pool RFP award to Blue Escapes Pools: Approved by voice vote. - Approve fairgrounds rental-rate updates and set initial community-building rental at $2,500 for year one: Approved by voice vote; staff to return with contract language. - Ratify Area Planning Commission petitions and sign petitions for rezones (2023-12; 2024-19; 2024-18; 2024-23; 2025-18): Recorded as approved; commissioners signed the petitions. - Approve arborist work to winterize the courthouse-tree irrigation system (estimate discussed $2,860; winterize line item $1,250): Approved by voice vote. - Approve installation of reverse-osmosis drinking-water systems for three county offices (dispatch, IT, health): Approved by voice vote.

What remains unresolved: commissioners discussed donor discount options for community-building rentals (no final policy approved; staff will return with criteria), and the board noted incomplete reporting from Centerstone for 2024 (no payment for 2024 was released pending receipt of that year's required reports). Several agenda items heard as updates (FEMA mitigation follow-up, CCMG grant submissions, and local park/blight enforcement) will return as staff provide additional documentation.

The board recessed at the meeting's close after routine housekeeping items.

Ending: The commissioners scheduled standard follow-up actions: staff were instructed to draft contract updates for the fairgrounds rental agreement, finalize procurement steps for the pool and vehicle purchases, process the released mental-health payments, and continue FEMA and biosolids notifications as required by county ordinances and state guidance.