Dubois County commissioners approve highway safety plan, short staffing changes and multiple contracts; HVAC bids opened

Dubois County commissioners met Jan. 8 in Jasper and approved a package of highway projects, staffing changes and contracts while opening competitive bids for the courthouse heating and cooling system.

The board approved the county's Safety Action Plan for the highway department, granted a short daily time increase for attendants at three high-volume recycling sites, voted to forward bridge rehab funding requests to the county council and took several procurement items under advisement, including three bids for a courthouse temperature-control replacement.

Why it matters: The highway decisions and the safety plan shape which roads and bridges will be prioritized for repair and which projects will be eligible for state grant matches. The vote to create two new night-shift positions in community corrections (pending council funding) and approvals for health-department contracts and agreements will affect staffing, public-safety coverage and local public-health programs.

Highway work, safety plan and recycling-site staffing The board unanimously approved the DuBois County Safety Action Plan as presented and agreed to publish it on the county website to become eligible for implementation grants. Commissioners also approved a motion to add up to 15 minutes per day (per shift) for attendants at three busy recycling/transfer sites named in the meeting as Ira, Jasper and Fuhrman so attendants can inspect and sort incoming recycling before closing. County staff said the change is intended to reduce contamination of the recycling stream and does not create overtime under current shift schedules.

Highway leadership briefed the commissioners on 2024 capital spending for pavement, chip seal and bridge work. Highway staff reported approximately $2.8 million spent on hot-mix asphalt work, about $885,000 on chip-seal rehab and several hundred thousand dollars on bridge work and other safety improvements; staff provided a printed year-end activity summary to the board.

The board gave consent to proceed with the county's submitted list for the Indiana Community Crossings matching grant program (the 'refaving' list) and authorized signing the document to seek the state match. County staff stated the application set included several roads; staff noted the program is open and that, if funding changes at the state level, the county will revisit priorities. (Transcript figures for the full project cost were unclear in the record; staff said the county match will be capped and that the county would cover any overages.)

Commissioners also authorized the county highway representative to ask the county council to appropriate up to $200,000 to rehabilitate two county bridges (work described as demolition of delaminated deck material, hydro-demolition, modified concrete overlay and approach repairs). Staff said a contractor provided a budgetary quote of roughly $71,715 for the pair; the $200,000 request is to cover price escalation and contingencies. The commissioners approved forwarding that appropriation request to the county council for final appropriation.

Courthouse HVAC: bids opened, no award The board opened proposals for a courthouse temperature-control (HVAC) replacement. Three proposals were announced on the record: a mechanical contractor at $257,236; Mariner Plumbing and Heating at $342,800; and Johnson Controls (Louisville) at $555,400. Commissioners took the bids under advisement and instructed staff and counsel to review bid completeness and compliance; the board did not award the work at the Jan. 8 meeting.

Bridges and consultant selection For an unrelated bridge-rehab project (project #78), commissioners consented to move forward with hiring American StructurePoint to perform the design work; staff said the proposed fee was about $93,000 and that the county council previously approved funds for the design phase. Commissioners asked staff to bring a signed contract for the next meeting and to coordinate the procurement paperwork.

Corrections staffing: two night-shift officers approved pending council funding YM Madden, director of work community corrections, requested two additional night-shift corrections officer positions to reduce single-officer coverage at night and to allow staff to attend required training without moving day-shift officers to nights. The board approved creating two night-shift positions on the condition that county council approve the associated budget (commissioners discussed possible one-time funding sources such as opioid-settlement funds and the county correctional-rehabilitation tax). Commissioners asked that the positions mirror existing county compensation classifications; staff said the new positions would reduce PTO liabilities over time by improving coverage.

Health department approvals and hospital MOU The board approved an MOU with Memorial Hospital (the hospital representatives said they are applying for the federal 340B drug-pricing program) stating the county understands Memorial Hospital's planned application and its intent to extend discounted drug purchases to indigent and underinsured patients. Commissioners also signed an FDA data-sharing agreement to allow the health department to share outbreak- and food-safety information with federal partners.

The board approved payment of an additional electrical invoice for an in-progress health-department training facility remodel (Wire Electric, $2,315.74) from a grant line item and authorized two cell phones for part-time community-health workers to support home visits and translation needs; staff said the cost will be charged to the grant program that funds the positions.

Telecom, vehicle tracking and county technology contracts County staff reported that a proposed vehicle-tracking vendor revised contract language and counseled sending a termination letter to the incumbent provider (Verizon) under the month-to-month extension in the existing contract; commissioners authorized staff to proceed with contract signature and termination steps as described. Separately, the board approved a Mitel/Matrix telecom maintenance agreement (telecom-care) in the amount recorded in the meeting record and took the recommendation to continue centralized vendor-managed phone support.

4-H swine barn repair contract The board approved a construction contract with Pough Construction (bid amount recorded as $107,052 in the contract documents presented) to repair structural and concrete failures at the fairgrounds swine barn; the work described includes wall reconstruction, new footings and replacement of affected posts and floor slabs with a target completion in late spring.

Extension-office lease and other facilities items Extension-office leadership raised concerns about a proposed renewal MOU for leased space: the MOU in the packet allowed the landlord to terminate the agreement on short notice, and commissioners and extension staff asked for at least 60 days' notice and clearer budgeted rent projections before signing a multi-month arrangement. Commissioners asked staff to return to the landlord to request language changes and to report back; no final county action was taken on the extension-office lease on Jan. 8.

Travel-warning proclamation and communications Commissioners signed a travel-warning declaration that had been issued earlier in the weekend during an ice event. County officials discussed communications timing and said they will refine the county's public-notification approach in future weather events to give earlier, clearer guidance to residents.

Votes at a glance (motions recorded on the Jan. 8 transcript) - Elect Chad Blessinger as board president for 2025 — approved on voice vote. - Elect Mr. Halstead as board vice president for 2025 — approved on voice vote. - Approve payroll and Dec. 16 minutes — approved. - Approve DuBois County Safety Action Plan — approved. - Approve adding up to 15 minutes per day (per shift) at the Ira, Jasper and Fuhrman recycling sites for attendants to inspect recycling — approved. - Approve Community Crossings refaving list and authorize signing application documents — approved. - Consent to forward appropriation request to county council for up to $200,000 for two bridge-rehab projects — approved (council appropriation required). - Take courthouse HVAC bids under advisement; staff to verify bid completeness — taken under advisement (no award). - Approve selection/consent to hire American StructurePoint for bridge design (design fee reported in discussion) — consent given to proceed. - Approve (pending council appropriation) creation of two night-shift community-corrections officer positions — approved subject to council funding. - Approve vehicle-tracking contract steps and terminate Verizon month-to-month extension — motion approved. - Approve payment of Wire Electric invoice $2,315.74 from COAC grant line item — approved. - Approve FDA data-sharing agreement for the health department — approved. - Approve Memorial Hospital 340B MOU acknowledging hospital's application and intent — approved. - Approve two cell phones for part-time community-health workers (to be paid from grant/contract funds) — approved. - Approve Mitel/Matrix telecom-care agreement — approved. - Approve contract with Pough Construction for swine-barn repairs (~$107,052) — approved.

What's next: Several items require follow-up with the county council (bridge funding appropriation and creation of corrections positions). Staff will return with finalized contracts, council-appropriation paperwork and any revised lease language for the extension office. The courthouse HVAC procurement remains under review by staff and counsel.

Sources: meeting transcript and presentations read into the record on Jan. 8, 2025. Direct quotes and attributions in this report are only those speaker identifications made on the record.