Vandenberg County commissioners approve contracts, raise health-department card limit and discuss Pigeon Creek log jam

VANDENBERG COUNTY, Ind. — The Vandenberg County Board of Commissioners on April 1 approved a series of contracts and routine items, including a $1.36 million consulting contract for Oak Hill Road reconstruction, a grant to the county health department, and a professional services agreement to start a jail-based mental health program. Commissioners also spent more than an hour on the Pigeon Creek Watershed Development Commission’s start-up, and on a log jam affecting Pigeon Creek that crosses county lines.

The meeting opened with unanimous votes on consent and action items. Commissioners approved a consulting contract with RQAW Corporation for inspection services on Oak Hill Road reconstruction between Lynch and Saint George for a not-to-exceed $1,357,444.62 (of which $491,280 will be paid with federal funds). They approved a grant from the Indiana Department of Health (agreement number 91512) providing $89,796 for a disease investigation specialist, and they agreed to increase the Vanderburgh County Health Department’s credit card limit from $5,000 to $10,000 while also approving a department vendor list for recurring online payments.

Why it matters: the Oak Hill Road contract moves a major reconstruction project into the procurement phase with a substantial federal funding component; the public-health grant funds a specialist to support communicable-disease work; and the credit-card policy change raises the department’s card limit and formalizes vendor use for online-only charges.

Commissioners also approved a professional services agreement with Southwestern Behavioral Health to begin operating an on-site competency restoration/mental health unit within the county jail ahead of larger construction of a new facility. Sheriff Noah Robinson described the agreement…