St. Joseph County commissioners accept resurfacing bids, approve vendor contracts and several change orders

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. — The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on Monday amended its agenda to add a resurfacing bid opening, accepted two bids for a county resurfacing rehabilitation project and approved a slate of routine contracts and change orders affecting county operations.

The board accepted two bids for project R and S 92602D: Milestone Contractors submitted $2,929,000 and Reeth Riley Construction Company submitted $3,210,681.24. County staff recommended forwarding both bids to county engineering for review and award, and commissioners approved that action.

Ryan Carlson of the Horton Group described the county’s 2025 pharmacy benefit management contract with Prime Therapeutics as the contract the board was being asked to approve. “What we're essentially approving here is the 2025 contract for Prime Therapeutics to administer and provide pharmacy through the benefit plan,” Carlson said. The board approved the Prime Therapeutics agreement.

Commissioners also approved dental coverage changes with Health Resources Incorporated that add a second, more affordable plan option for 2026 and accepted proposed administrative fees from third‑party administrator OXIANT for 2026, which staff said represented a modest increase of about 1.32 percent. The board approved execution of Schedule A (the plan sponsor fee and commission disclosure) tied to the renewal.

Abby Doyle, chief deputy auditor, presented a renewal with Kruger Lawton, CPA, for preparation of the county’s annual comprehensive financial report. Doyle said the county has worked with the firm since 2019 and that the current contract is $54,365 with no onboarding fee; staff told commissioners they plan to solicit bids via RFP in 2027 because a new vendor could require a one‑time implementation cost, which staff estimated at roughly $15,000–$20,000. The board approved the renewal.

Infrastructure and facilities items approved Monday included:

- A final deduct Change Order No. 7 on the Fillmore Road Improvements (IEC area) that reduces project cost by $26,100.12 and closes the project.

- Change Order No. 1 for the Hamilton Trail structure replacement (San Meyer Ditch), which added $23,106.64 to account for site conditions and a switch from chip seal to asphalt; staff said this is the final change order for that project.

- Addendum No. 1 to the county’s security contract with Trinity Protection Group, presented by Bree Roberts, director of physical assets; staff said Trinity offered to match the city of South Bend’s lower rate and the planned 4 percent annual increase will be deferred until 2027. Commissioners approved the addendum.

The board awarded an RFQ for winterization and temporary curing measures for the concrete plaza and tunnel worksite to Brown and Brown General Contractors for $27,475 to allow work to proceed through winter conditions. DLZ principal Steven Kromkowski described the work as a temporary measure focused on the concrete plaza; he said leak and interior repairs remain separate items.

Work on the courthouse dome and roof rehabilitation continues but has been delayed by weather on low‑slope roof sections. Kil Architecture and Planning’s Eric Stallheim said terracotta and dome work are complete and that Change Order No. 3 extends the substantial‑completion date but does not change the project cost; the board approved the extension.

Public health staff requested consulting and training with Jan Haley to re‑establish in‑house immunization billing and Medicaid reimbursement. Mike Rubel of the health department said Haley estimates roughly 5–8 hours of work at about $100 per hour and that staff expect recovered revenue to cover the cost. Commissioners approved the contract.

Nick Provold of the county PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) requested purchase of the PACE scheduling software to import schedules directly into payroll and reduce manual data entry for 911 telecommunicators; commissioners approved the purchase.

No public comments were offered in person or online before the board recessed.

Votes at a glance (selected approvals): Milestone/Reeth Riley bids forwarded to engineering (approved); Prime Therapeutics PBM contract (approved); Health Resources dental master policy (approved); acceptance of OXIANT administrative fees and Schedule A (approved); Kruger Lawton ACFR contract renewal (approved); Fillmore Road final change order (approved); Hamilton Trail change order (approved); Trinity Protection Group addendum (approved); Brown and Brown plaza winterization award ($27,475, approved); Courthouse roof completion date extension (approved); Jan Haley consulting for immunization billing (approved); PACE scheduler for PSAP (approved).

The board recorded routine unanimous voice votes on the items listed above with commissioners registering 'Aye' for each motion as called. The session recessed after the approvals.