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Jasper County commissioners approve ambulance invoice, several EMS and facility measures and fund peer-recovery pilot
Summary
At a Feb. 17 special meeting, Jasper County commissioners approved a $339,974.34 ambulance invoice, multiple service and repair contracts, and a $20,000 opioid-restricted award to Valley Oaks for a peer recovery specialist; the board also heard plans to expand the sheriff’s K9 unit and reviewed right-of-way permits.
The Jasper County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 17 approved a suite of purchases and funding measures focused on emergency services and county facilities.
Commissioners approved an invoice for a new ambulance totaling $339,974.34 and agreed to coordinate with County Council leadership to appropriate the payment from local LIT EMS funds, Commissioner Rein Bontreger said. Corrie Myers, EMS director, told the board staff morale is high and the new truck was scheduled for delivery the next day. "Things are going well; employee satisfaction is high," Myers said.
The board also approved the first $11,000 invoice for a county fire-service study by K2M to fund data collection and accepted a quote for renovations at the Remington EMS building with final funding allocation to be determined by County Council. Commissioners approved an overhead-door repair quote of $2,914.28 for highway-shop buildings and authorized a set of right-of-way permits for MCC Network, NIPSCO, the City of Rensselaer and Comcast.
Health Department director Kate Barrett received authorization to sign electronically on a three-year postal-services extension, and County Attorney Eric Beaver said invoices should be routed to the Auditor’s office for payment processing. Beaver also told commissioners he will draft an ordinance to reflect a health-department user-fee increase approved by the Health Board.
On social-service programming, commissioners approved $20,000 from the county’s opioid-restricted fund to support a Valley Oaks peer recovery specialist who will provide outreach, home visits and jail/corrections engagement; Valley Oaks representatives agreed to submit a formal funding request and provide quarterly updates to the commissioners.
The meeting also included a briefing from Chief Brandon Napier about plans to add a fourth K9 to the sheriff’s office and a discussion about whether sheriff's officers should serve as signatories or witnesses on EMS refusal reports while the county transitions policies from Lexipol to the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association. County Attorney Beaver said he would review the policy language and advise whether a hold-harmless clause would make officers comfortable with signing refusal paperwork.
There was no public comment. The board adjourned after routine closing motions.
