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Allen County council approves $68,000 for standalone cooler after coroner warns of limited space and decomposed decedents
Summary
The council approved a $68,000 purchase of a Polar King standalone cooler to expand decedent storage, following testimony from Coroner John Brannenberger about capacity limits, decomposition odor issues, and regional caseload pressures. Council members requested security cameras at the proposed Meyer Road location.
John Brannenberger, Allen County coroner, told the County Council on March 12 that the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center's cooler is too small for current caseloads and that decomposed decedents have produced odors in downtown hallways. "Presently at the forensic center, 12 carts ... can fit into the cooler. Presently, we have 2 unidentified decomposed individuals in the cooler and they've been there for months," Brannenberger said, adding that the center serves 12 counties and sometimes must double up decedents on a cart.
Brannenberger and Chief Deputy Coroner Chris Meals described operational impacts and options. Meals said the office performs about 650 autopsies a year and that, historically, roughly half of cases taken into the office are autopsied. The coroner's office solicited quotes and presented a $68,000 firm price for a one-piece Polar King standalone cooler that would be placed on county-owned fenced land on Meyer Road. Brannenberger said the modular one-piece unit resists moisture intrusion better than the existing cooler and would hold roughly eight to ten decedents on rack systems while allowing movement inside the unit.
Council members questioned security and logistics. A council member asked whether cameras or additional fencing would be used at the Meyer Road location; Vance Hernandez, supervisor of maintenance, said the site is fenced and has 24/7 security guards and that the office had discussed adding one or two cameras. Brannenberger said the existing downtown cooler would remain in place and that the new unit would be used in addition to, not instead of, space at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center.
The coroner's office also outlined cost and reimbursement constraints. Chris Meals described state-level reimbursement rules for out-of-county autopsies and said pathologist fees vary by provider. He noted pathologist fees can be hundreds or thousands of dollars for specific tests, and that Lutheran Downtown Hospital charges $160 per body for storage when a body is in that facility.
Coroner Brannenberger framed the purchase as urgent: "This stand alone cooler is desperately and urgently needed. It's been 3 years in the works and finally we've come to a point that we feel like we can bring a good case and with warm and hot weather coming, we're eager to get this rolling." Councilmember motioned to approve the purchase; the council voted to approve the appropriation 6-0-1.
The council asked the coroner's office to follow up on security-camera installation and to return with any additional specifications asked by the council; the new cooler has an estimated manufacture lead time of 10 to 12 weeks per the vendor.
