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Commissioners approve multiple plats and zoning changes; engineer outlines bridge NOFA and procurement decisions
Summary
Harrison County commissioners approved a secondary plat and multiple zoning changes and a preliminary plat, denied two minor plat dockets, authorized highway agreements and hiring, and reviewed Bridge #81 funding guidance and crack-sealing bids.
At their Nov. 17 meeting, Harrison County commissioners approved several planning items forwarded by the plan commission, reviewed county engineer recommendations related to road and bridge projects, and took a series of operational actions.
Plan commission director Chris Kincade presented a secondary plat for JG Manor and the commissioners approved and signed the secondary plat. The board approved a change of zone request from Shireman Construction to move a parcel from R‑2 to B‑2 with the explicit note that no equipment or supplies would be stored on the property and no major renovations were planned. Commissioners also approved a change of zone from R‑1 to B‑2 for property owned by Melissa Bush and approved a preliminary plat for Poplar Trace. A minor plat submitted by GHI Incorporated had been denied by the plan commission; later in the meeting County Attorney Chris Byrd recommended commissioners take action on the matter and the board denied docket #850 and docket #851.
County engineer Kevin Russel reported an average paved‑road age of 13.07 years and discussed a federal notice of funding availability (NOFA) for Bridge #81 on Tunnel Hill Road. Mr. Russel said United Consulting provided a detailed scope of work and cost estimate to improve the county’s application; he also noted that a preventative maintenance project would require an INDOT‑approved bridge asset management plan and that he had prepared and obtained INDOT approval of such a plan in case it is needed for the application.
The commissioners reviewed a crack‑sealing bid from Scodeller Construction at $3,880.00 per ton (substantially lower than two other bids of $5,800.00 and $5,200.00). Rather than roll the 2025 bid into 2026 at that rate, the board elected to include crack sealing in the 2026 annual bids.
On highway operations, the board authorized Kevin Russel to sign an unofficial detour agreement with INDOT for State Road 62, approved hiring Bill Mahoney as a highway crewman, and approved carryover of unused vacation time for Glen Bube and Kevin Russel into 2026. Each motion recorded in the minutes carried 3 ayes and 0 nays.
The minutes record the actions taken and the recorded motions and votes but do not include underlying plan commission reports, engineering cost estimates, or the INDOT NOFA documents. Follow-up steps for Bridge #81 funding and the schedule for including crack sealing in next year’s bids were not specified.
