Dubois County commissioners adopt contract ordinance, approve grant application and multiple administrative actions

The Dubois County Board of Commissioners on July 15 adopted an ordinance formalizing county contract requirements under new state law, authorized a Community Crossing Matching Grant application for road work, and approved a series of administrative measures including the termination of the county—57B deferred compensation plan and several small purchases.

The board voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 2024-12, which implements contractual requirements consistent with House Enrolled Act 1158 (I.C. —36-2-2.8, et seq.) and requires that county contracts include standardized language (listed as Exhibit A) such as an E-Verify clause, nondiscrimination and indemnification provisions, and access-to-public-records language. Commissioner Chad A. Blessinger presented the ordinance during the meeting at the Courthouse Annex in Jasper.

Why it matters: the ordinance codifies state-directed contract language for county agreements and establishes minimum vendor certifications and contractual protections the county will require going forward.

Highway funding and grant commitments Highway Superintendent Steve Berg and Highway Engineer Brent Wendholt reported on roadwork and funding. Wendholt said Ferdinand Road East would be completed July 15–16 and listed follow-on paving segments; he presented plans to apply for the Community Crossing Matching Grant (CCMG) 2024-02 to request the county's maximum available award for several roads (including 600 East, Meridian Road and 190 North). The transcript shows the county—5s local match obligation for the CCMG request is about $170,581.08; the County Council previously appropriated $170,000 from LIT-ED toward that match and MVH funds are expected to cover the remaining balance. The board voted unanimously to proceed and sign the required financial commitment letter.

Budget and equipment actions Highway Superintendent Berg requested two additional appropriations to cover higher repair and materials costs—$60,000 for MVH Equipment Repair and $30,000 for Cum Bridge materials. The board moved to approve those requests pending County Council approval and the motion carried unanimously. Berg also requested $95,000 to build a replacement heavy-duty tandem truck (Truck 212) and the board gave consensus to proceed pending County Council funding. Separately, Berg recommended delaying replacement of the superintendent—5s truck to 2025.

Health and facilities Health Administrative Director Shawn Werner presented a $7,000 change order to remodel the 911 area in the Health Department funded by the Cooperative Agreement School Crisis Grant; the board approved the change order unanimously. Werner also requested two security panic buttons (approved at $175) and a Secura-key door access controller (Astro Security quote $3,175); both were approved and Werner was authorized to sign the quotes and change order, with payments charged to the St. Charles Annex Maintenance Fund.

Employee benefits and administrative measures Human Resources Generalist Markie Rhodes presented Resolution 2024-10 to terminate Dubois County—57B Plan #654100001 with Corebridge effective July 15, 2024; the board approved the termination unanimously. Auditor Sandra L. Morton requested purchase of a Panafax UF-800 fax machine for the courthouse mail room not to exceed $1,000 using LATCF funds; the board approved the purchase and trade-in unanimously.

Procurement and card limits Auditor Morton reported Amazon agreed to raise the county's credit limit to $16,000 (previous limit $8,000); the board discussed earlier efforts to seek an $18,000 limit and concerns about purchasing from Amazon instead of local vendors. The board approved increasing the credit limit to $16,000 by a 2—vote, with Commissioner Nick Hostetter recorded as the dissenting vote. Morton also provided an update on a county credit card trial for hotel stays, noting there were issues with sales tax being charged.

Other actions and announcements The board repealed Resolution 2024-09 and adopted Resolution 2024-11, thereby removing the planned transfer of a 2019 Dodge Charger (VIN: 2C3CDXKT1KH617668) to Scott County and keeping the vehicle on Dubois County—5s inventory; the repeal was adopted unanimously. Tourism Executive Director Whitney Lubbers reviewed 2022 tourism figures (tourism sales per capita $2,687.86; visitor spending $117 million; 16.4% growth) and launched a Tourism Capital Improvement Fund (1:1 matching grants, $10,000—$75,000, applications due in September). Commissioner Nick Hostetter reported the Property Tax Abatement Committee reviewed an application from Fischer Farms Natural Foods, LLC.

What comes next The board scheduled its next regular meeting for Monday, Aug. 5, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. in the Commissioner/Council Room of the Courthouse Annex. Several funding requests and the proposed truck build were approved only pending County Council action; the CCMG financial commitment letter will be signed and submitted as recorded.