Perry County commissioners held their organizational meeting and moved through annual reorganization, a slate of appointments and a series of procurement and finance items.

Randy Cole was nominated and elected president of the county commission by voice vote. Commissioners confirmed the standing meeting schedule (first Monday at 9 a.m.; third Tuesday at 6 p.m.) and conducted a series of reappointments: Kevin Hurd was reappointed as the county veteran service officer; Greg Lenny was reappointed as Emergency Management Agency director; and the board approved renewing the county attorney contract with Andrew Foster.

The board reviewed and approved annual surety-bond renewals for employees who handle county funds. Commissioners also approved the county’s EDIT (Economic Development Income Tax) plan as unchanged from last year and accepted a number of routine fiscal claims and payroll items, including payroll for Jan. 2, 2026, in the amount of $124,045.38 and payroll withholdings of $36,658.52.

Procurement decisions included approval to proceed with sheriff vehicle purchases under a multi-year replacement plan. Commissioners said the initial purchase will use opioid-related settlement funds set aside for the 2026 budget year, while two additional vehicles were budgeted in future years. The board moved to approve the requested documents to complete the purchase and authorized the presiding commissioner to sign related paperwork.

On mapping and imagery, the board directed staff to include EagleView pictometry in an updated request for bids (RFB). Unidentified Speaker 1 said EagleView can “fly Perry County” and provide pictometry, and the board voted to state EagleView availability in the RFB and to use county (ceded) funds for the first year’s expense while staff compares bids in later years.

The commissioners accepted two rock-supply bids (C and R) to ensure geographic coverage for road material deliveries and discussed reserving flexibility to hire contractor equipment and services on an as-needed basis. For fuel, the board accepted a gasoline bid from vendor CNS (the only gasoline response reported) and decided to delay any fixed-price diesel contract decision until the next meeting to allow staff to return with additional pricing information.

Votes at a glance (selected formal actions recorded in the meeting):
- Approve agenda as modified: approved by voice vote.
- Elect Randy Cole as commission president: approved by voice vote.
- Reappoint Kevin Hurd (veteran service officer): approved by voice vote.
- Table reappointment of Steve Howe (highway superintendent) to allow road-planning work: approved by voice vote.
- Reappoint Greg Lenny (EMA director): approved by voice vote.
- Approve county attorney contract with Andrew Foster: approved by voice vote.
- Approve surety-bond renewals: approved by voice vote.
- Approve sheriff vehicle procurement authorization (to sign documents): approved by voice vote.
- Include EagleView in RFB and authorize initial county funding: approved by voice vote.
- Accept rock bids (C and R) for 2026: approved by voice vote.
- Accept CNS gasoline bid and table diesel contract decision: approved by voice vote.
- Approve EDIT plan: approved by voice vote.
- Approve payroll and multiple claims (amounts recorded in minutes): approved by voice vote.

The board handled numerous additional board and commission appointments (alcohol-beverage board, welfare/animal-welfare positions, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Port Authority, Property Tax Board of Appeals, redevelopment commission, Indiana 15 regional planning representatives and others). In several places the transcript records variant name spellings for nominees (for example, forms of Brad Hearth / Bridal Hart and Kelly Hard(y/ing)); staff were asked to confirm applicant details and advertise vacancies where no applications were received.

The meeting concluded with a consultant update later in the agenda and adjournment; the next meeting was set for Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m.

Notes on attribution and records: direct quotes and speaker-attributed confirmations are taken from the meeting transcript; in places where the transcript shows variant name spellings or ambiguous amounts (for example, a cited first-year funding amount for EagleView), the article reflects the meeting’s discussion and flags uncertainties for staff follow-up.