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Jay County awards 68-acre lease to local farmer, votes to halt outside consultant’s work
Summary
The Jay County Commissioners accepted a $420-per-acre bid from Chris Muhlenkamp for a 68-acre county parcel and later voted to stop Rundell Ernstberger & Associates from further work on that property; the halt passed with President Chad Aker dissenting.
The Jay County Commissioners voted Dec. 22 to lease a 68-acre county parcel to local farmer Chris Muhlenkamp at $420 per acre, a total of $28,560 for 2026. The motion to accept Muhlenkamp’s bid was made by Commissioner Duane Monroe and seconded by Commissioner Doug Horn; the board approved it unanimously.
Later in the meeting the commissioners moved to stop Rundell Ernstberger & Associates (REA) from completing further work related to the same 68-acre tract. Commissioner Duane Monroe made the motion to end REA’s work; Doug Horn seconded. The motion passed by majority vote with President Chad Aker voting against it.
The commissioners did not elaborate in the minutes on the reasons for halting REA’s work during the public session, but the vote record shows a split between the president and the two other commissioners on that specific motion. The lease award to Muhlenkamp and the stop to REA were recorded as separate formal actions during the meeting.
The meeting packet included four farm bids: Simon Dirksen ($337/acre), Chris Muhlenkamp ($420/acre), Schoenlein Brothers ($376/acre), and Aaron Post ($330/acre). The board did not record any conditions attached to the lease in the published minutes.
The board’s actions on the parcel may affect any ongoing property assessments or consultant work tied to the site; the county did not include further instructions to staff in the minutes.
