VANDERBURGH COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

APRIL 21, 2009

The Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners met in session this 21^st day of April, 2009 at 5:02 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex with President Troy Tornatta presiding.

President Tornatta: Good afternoon. We would want to call to order the Board of Commissioners, April 21, 2009 meeting in room 301. Roll call vote, please, or roll call.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Here.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Here.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Here.

President Tornatta: Good evening. Erin, if you would come up and honor us and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Erin Norris: From here okay?

President Tornatta: That’s great.

(The Pledge of Allegiance was given.)

President Tornatta: Erin Norris is with us with Mental Health America, and, of course, she helps with other things, including Homeless Connect, we appreciate all of which you helped us with in that. Tell us about Mental Health Awareness Month.

Erin Norris: Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here and talk about Mental Health Awareness Month. I am, my name is Erin Norris, and I’m with Mental Health America. We’re an advocacy organization here in Vanderburgh County. We also provide some services in Warrick, Gibson and Posey Counties. We’re part of a state-wide organization that provides mental health services and advocacy. We’re celebrating the centennial of Mental Health America nationally this year, so, we have a lot of special events planned. Our mission at Mental Health America is to educate the community about mental health, and to promote mental health through awareness, advocacy and service. Just to give you a brief idea about some of the programs that we do at Mental Health America, we do have a supplemental medication program, that is for someone who is waiting for their disability or a prescription assistance program to kick in, or someone who’s temporarily laid off who need psychiatric medication, we can provide a one month’s supply of those medications to a person one time. Last year we served 68 adults. The need was much greater than that, but we’re just limited by fund raising that we do for that. We also have the Growing Through Loss program, which I’ll leave behind some information for you, that is a youth program dealing with grief and grieving. We do the Gift Lift program for 300 patients who have mental health issues, and we do support groups that had over 1,100 visits last year for a variety of issues, including depression, bipolar, widows and widowers, and a variety of mental health issues. We’re starting a new support group, because there’s a great need in our area for a postpartum depression support group. We were receiving so many calls that we decided that for a minimal cost we could start that support group. So, we’ll be starting that in May. I do have some information that I can leave behind, because I don’t want to take up too much of your time today, but I have a couple of folders, and if anyone needs to reach me, I can be reached at Mental Health America, 426-2640 is our phone number, and we have plenty of pamphlets if you know of a good place to display pamphlets for people who may have mental health issues. We have lots of nice materials, and being a chapter organization, we’re able to get specialized materials for just about anything, ranging all the way from dealing with stress to more severe issues. In May we’re asking for the proclamation, and we’re launching our membership drive for the year to try to build members in our organization. We have a variety of things planned, including our kick-off on May 2^nd at Eastland Mall, which will be a partnership from all the agencies we work with who provide mental health services will be in attendance to try to get the word out to people at Eastland Mall who may not come in, encounter our services otherwise. So, we will be doing that, and, like I said, we’ll kick-off the postpartum support group on May 5^th. We’ll have a senior health fair, we’ll have a vendor fair at SWIRCA, and distribute specialized information for seniors. We’ll also be doing our annual coloring contest, and essay contest, which is going to be the theme of “It’s a Jungle out There”. We’ll have essays about how people deal with mental health, and a coloring contest too. One of our board members, I see one here, Annie Groves said that she would e-mail out the coloring contest forms so that you can see them. We actually were fortunate this year, through our sponsorships we got nearly 40,000 copies of the forms, and will be able to distribute one to every child in all the counties that we serve. So, we hope to have a lot of participation from that. We’ll speak at the United Neighborhood Association meeting on May 28^th. On May 31^st we’ll be screening a movie called, Out of the Shadow, which is a story by Susan Smiley about her mother’s struggle with mental illness. So, those are sort of the events that we have planned for the month. We’re very excited about it and looking for any new opportunities to partner or spread the news about what we’re doing. So, I would welcome questions about our services too.

President Tornatta: Any questions of the Board before Erin? Are you going to read the proclamation?

Erin Norris: Sure.

President Tornatta: Okay, any questions?

Erin Norris: Do you just want me to read it all the way through?

President Tornatta: That would be great.

Erin Norris: Okay;

“Whereas, Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being; and, Whereas, mental health problems can affect all areas of a person’s life, including school, home and work; and, Whereas, mental health problems will strike one in five adults each year regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or economic status; and, Whereas, nearly 30,000 American lives are lost each year to suicide and mental illness; and, Whereas, all Americans, from combat veterans to hurricane victims, are vulnerable to chronic mental health problems associated with trauma and can benefit greatly from early identification and treatment; and, Whereas, people can recover from mental illness and lead full, productive lives in the community; and, Whereas, an estimated two-thirds of adults and young people with mental health problems go without the help they need; and, Whereas, the cost of untreated and mistreated mental health and substance abuse problems to American businesses, governments and families has grown to $105 billion annually; and, Whereas, each business, school, government agency, healthcare provider, organization and citizen bears the burden of mental health problems and has a responsibility to promote mental wellness.”

Should I go on?

President Tornatta: Yeah.

Erin Norris:

“Therefore, We, Troy Tornatta, Stephen Melcher and Lloyd Winnecke do hereby proclaim May 2009 Mental Health Month in Vanderburgh County. As the Board of Commissioners, we also call upon the citizens, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses and schools in Vanderburgh County to recommit our community to increasing awareness and understanding of mental health and the need for appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental illnesses.”

President Tornatta: Wonderful, you did a great job. Can I have a motion on that?

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Any questions? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Thank you, Erin–

Erin Norris: Thank you.

President Tornatta: –for all your information and the reading of the proclamation.

Erin Norris: Thank you. Thanks for your time.

President Tornatta: Okay. Do we want to sign that for her? Erin, we’ll sign this for you, and you can take it with you.

Erin Norris: Okay.

President Tornatta: Moving on, permission to award VC09-03-01, Sensmeier Road bridge number 1970 rehabilitation to Deig Brothers Lumber and Construction Company for $14,472. If there’s no other questions of John Stoll, I would entertain a motion.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Alright, first reading, CO.04-09-009, revision of the MBE/WBE ordinance. Under the current ordinance it is composed of ten members, three appointed by the Mayor, two appointed by the City Council, three appointed by the County Commissioners, and two appointed by the County Council. Under the revised ordinance, the number of board members will be reduced to nine, two appointed by the Mayor, one appointed by the County Council, two appointed by the County Commissioners, one appointed by the County Council, and three appointed by EVSC.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I’ll move approval, on first reading, of CO.04-09-009.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Thank you. Roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Also, first reading, CO.04-09-010, an ordinance amending the ordinance entitled Information Technology Governance Structure. It amends the Information Technology Governance Structure ordinance, chapter 2.48, relative to standardized addressing for official records for all city and county agencies, departments and elected offices. These changes are recommended by the ITAC Advisory Council.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I’ll move approval, on the first reading, of CO.04-09-010.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: First reading, CO.04-09-011, ordinance amending the ordinance entitled administration and enforcement. Amends the Building Commission’s administration and enforcement ordinance, chapter 15.08, relative to the appeals process. These changes are recommended by the Building Commissioner’s office.

Commissioner Melcher: Mr. President, I would make a motion to accept on first reading CO.04-09-011.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Contracts, agreements and leases. The Sheriff, amendment number two to operating agreement with Aramark for food services.

Commissioner Melcher: I’ll move to accept.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Any discussion? Of these contracts and leases, they were before the Commissioners in e-mail form over the course of this week.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, maybe, probably for the record we should indicate the change, the only change to that is the price, the slight price increase from $1.17 to $1.22 a meal.

President Tornatta: And that’s for a period of January 16, 2009 through January 15, 2010. Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Number two, Commissioners supplemental agreement number one with Structurepoint, Incorporated for consulting engineering services for the hydraulic modeling, legal drain realignment and bank stabilization drawings for Hirsch Ditch. That is...the application increases the price of the original agreement by $2,500 from $74,700 to $77,200.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I’ll move approval.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Number three, Commissioners Old Courthouse lease agreement with Cultural Resources Analysts, Incorporated. The lease is a one year deal with a tenant to extend for two additional years.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I’ll move approval.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Commissioners, Old Courthouse lease agreement with Fosse and Associates. Lease is for three years in the Old Courthouse.

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion?

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I would just, before we vote on this, say these are the first two leases under our new agreement with F.C. Tucker Commercial, and kudos to them for getting new tenants in so quickly.

President Tornatta: And, I will say that, thank you for bringing that up, they have, there has been action, and there has not been as much action in the past. I will also say, for those of you who think the Courthouse is for sale, it is not. It is just a sign up outside, trying to get people to come in and rent the Courthouse. So, anybody that needs office space may inquire with F.C. Tucker at that time. We have a motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Commissioners, Crowe Horwath engagement letter for phase two software certification testing. The revised form of the engagement letter from Crowe Horwath which contains the amendments requested by the County Attorney regarding indemnification provisions and adding an insurance provision.

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Health Department, alright, Local Health Maintenance Fund application packet. The Health Department Local Health Maintenance Fund application packet for a grant of $72,672 to the Vanderburgh County Health Department for a number of 2010 health education objectives.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: The Health Department, agreement with South Central Media for radio spots to advertise certain Health Department programs. This new agreement is for the months of June, July, August and September, and costs $1,000 per month, for a total of $4,000.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: The County Surveyor, Local Funded Engineering agreement for Aiken Ditch. The compensation for the services is described in Appendix D and shall not exceed $92,900.

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Burdette Park, agreement with USI for use of aquatic center. This agreement with the County and USI for Burdette Park’s use of the USI pool for lifesaving instructions. But for changes in dates, etcetera, is identical and similar to last year’s proposal.

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: County Assessor, amendments to A&S Associates, Incorporated and AS2 agreement. Ted, if you have any comments on that?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Well, the original agreement with both entities provided that they would provide the county with a performance bond. We’re advised that the cost to the vendors for providing that bond would cost them between $12,000 and $20,000 depending on which contract you’re talking about. We’re advised by the County Assessor that, as to the A&S Associates agreement, A&S Associates has had that contract in both the years 2007 and 2008 and performed on a timely basis. In fact, ahead of time under each contract. As to the Assessment Software Solutions, Inc, which is referred to as the AS2, there work was essentially completed when they provided the required software on January 27, 2009, within 14 days after approval of the contract by the Commissioners. Because of those two facts, the County Assessor recommends that we not require the performance bond, and that, therefore, we amend both agreements to eliminate the requirements of paragraph eight in both contracts, which would require them to provide a performance bond. If those agreements are approved, the requirement for a performance bond will no longer be applicable.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President? I’m sorry.

President Tornatta: Oh, go ahead.

Commissioner Winnecke: I think that’s a dangerous precedent to start. I think there’s a lot at stake. I would hate for the county to enter into agreements without performance bonds for projects such as these.

Commissioner Melcher: I was going to agree too, and I was going to ask the attorney what he thought about it.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: I think that, first of all the requirements for a performance bond were put in there in the first place because DLGF provided the county with a form agreement, which contained that provision. DLGF has now advised us that if the county wishes to waive that requirement, it may. It would require both contractors to, and I don’t know which is which, but one, it would cost them $12,000 to provide the performance bond, and the other would require $20,000 for a performance bond. On the recommendation of the County Assessor, it would seem to us that it’s reasonable, in these cases, not to set a precedent, but in these cases to waive the requirement for a performance bond. So, we don’t have any objection to that. We’re relying on the County Assessor’s recommendation.

President Tornatta: I would say, we have been down this road once before, on other issues, and have taken the advice of that office holder, because that office holder, obviously, is bonded as well, and they have a fiduciary duty to provide services in that office. My only comment would be, on the recommendation of some of the, not some of them, of an office holder, I would be more inclined to lean their direction if they so feel that that’s in their best interest.

Commissioner Winnecke: I understand that, I guess, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be this Board that’s ultimately responsible, as the party that signs contracts for the county, versus that office holder. Off the top of my head, I don’t recall the size of these contracts. Does anyone know that? In terms of dollars?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Yes. The contract with A&S Associates, I’ll have to look, but just a second, the contract with A&S Associates is for $98,000. That was the low bid for that work. As I say, A&S Associates had a similar contract with the county in 2007 and 2008 and fully performed to the satisfaction of the County Assessor in each of those years. So, the County Assessor recommends that we not require the performance bond in the case of A&S Associates. In the case of AS2, that contract is for, if you will bear with me, a lump sum of $8,500, and the Assessor advises that 98 percent of the work to be done by that contractor under the contract was completed on January 27, 2009, 14 days after they signed the contract. I guess, if you take each contract on its face, and to require the contractor to spend $12,000 for a performance bond on a contract that’s worth $8,000 seems, maybe unreasonable.

Commissioner Winnecke: I would agree with that.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: On the other contract, we’re relying on the advice of the County Assessor that the work has been done, always ahead of time.

President Tornatta: I think it’s a fair question. I mean, I definitely think it’s a fair question.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: The County Attorney is relying on the advice of the County Assessor. We have no recommendation one way or the other.

Commissioner Melcher: I’ve always felt like I like to go with the County Attorney, because he’s the one that’s going to bail us out, or whatever, when it happens. So, all of my tenure, I’ve done that, whatever the attorney says it probably what I’ve followed.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: The County Attorney is not going to recommend–

President Tornatta: I was waiting for that one.

Commissioner Melcher: I do too, that’s why I said it.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: However, it is the recommendation of the County Assessor, and he’s relying on two years of history. This is Chuck Simons, Simons is the chief person that actually does the work for A&S Associates, Inc. He is A&S Associates, Inc.

President Tornatta: Ted, if there’s a breach of contract in some way, shape or form–

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: We would have to go against A&S Associates to recover, and we would be relying on the solvency of A&S Associates, without a performance bond.

President Tornatta: Okay.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Again, we’ve prepared this. I will tell you that Charles Traylor, the attorney at DLGF who is responsible for our contracts to get approved by DLGF, is willing to accept the recommendation of the County Commissioners in this regard.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, maybe, I would appreciate it if we would consider the amendments to each contract separately.

President Tornatta: Okay. Alright, we’ll do the amendment, and this is essentially taking out the provision for a security bond.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: A performance bond.

President Tornatta: Oh, a performance bond. So, we’ll do the amendments to A&S Associates, Incorporated, and the amendment is removing the performance bond. They are the–

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: That’s the $98,000 contract.

President Tornatta: Okay.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Those people, A&S Associates have had the contract for the last two years , and according to the Assessor, have performed ahead of time, and that’s why he was anxious to contract with A&S Associates.

President Tornatta: So, we will take that one first. I need a motion.

Commissioner Melcher: Okay, I’ll go ahead and make the motion for do pass.

President Tornatta: I will second it. Any other discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: No.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: No.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion denied 2-1. Commissioners Winnecke and Melcher opposed.)

President Tornatta: Okay, we have an amendment for AS2 agreement, and, that, I believe is for $8,000 waiving the performance bond?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: That is correct.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. Chairman, I’ll move that we waive the performance bond on AS2.

Commissioner Melcher: I’ll second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Alright, Commissioners, supplemental agreement number two to BLA. Agreement for First Avenue bridge rehab over Pigeon Creek. For this additional work BLA will receive an additional $7,000, thereby increasing the not-to-exceed price to $81,850.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: That’s an increase of $7,000.

Commissioner Winnecke: I’ll move approval.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Commissioners, Morley and Associates agreement for consulting engineering services on a portion of bike path to Burdette Park. The portion where the work is to be done is about one tenth of a mile. The cost of the work will not exceed $25,600.

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Alright, department head reports. Ted, anything else?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: No.

President Tornatta: Okay. John Stoll?

John Stoll: The first item I have is to request your approval to advertise the IDEM Notice of Intent for the Burdette-USI bike path. You authorized submitting that to IDEM last week, last meeting, but I failed to request your approval to run the legal ad. So, I’m asking for that now, and the Auditor’s office can take care of it.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

John Stoll: The next thing I have is a request from Deig Brothers. This is a time extension request for the Mohr Road bridge project. Due to all the rain they are requesting a three week extension to complete the repairs. This would extend the contract from May 1^st to May 22^nd. It’s recommended that this be approved.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Next I have a change order on the Oak Hill and Bergdolt project. Along the west side of Oak Hill Road, north of Bergdolt, an eight inch pipe was found that wasn’t shown on the plans, nobody knew it was there. We needed to tie an inlet into that pipe, and this change order is an increase of $2,015 to cover the cost of that inlet.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Winnecke: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

John Stoll: The last item is also a change order on Oak Hill and Bergdolt. This is change order number five. This is for an increase of $6,160. The reason for this increase is once the old pavement was removed, they found unsuitable soil conditions that they’ve had to turn around and excavate out, replace with rock. Based on what they are seeing they think that they are winding down the increased areas that had to be excavated, but this is only an estimate, but it’s recommended that this be approved as well.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

John Stoll: That’s all I have, unless you’ve got any questions.

President Tornatta: Questions? Thank you, sir.

Commissioner Winnecke: Thanks, John.

President Tornatta: New business? Do you have any? Under new business I did have a couple of things. I wanted to ask this Board about, we had talked about getting the Redevelopment Commission to commit some of the TIF dollars for the I-164-Millersburg exchange study. If that’s something that we want to go ahead and entertain, then we need to commence a meeting and get that together so they can entertain a vote on providing the funds.

Commissioner Winnecke: I think that’s a prudent move.

President Tornatta: If we do that, we would need a motion.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second to convene the Redevelopment Commission for monies associated with the I-164-Millersburg exchange study. Any discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: I would also like to bring up at this time Redevelopment meets periodically, but nothing in an on-going manner, and had proposed, potentially, the Wednesday after our first Tuesday meeting, setting that as a date every month that the Redevelopment Commission would meet. That would allow them to go over any of the, any TIF’s, would allow them to be able to go over anything on a monthly basis, instead of calling them on a whim, maybe allow them to work out some schedules as well. This was on the recommendation of the board members on the Redevelopment Commission.

Commissioner Melcher: So, they recommended that Wednesday, is what you’re saying?

President Tornatta: Well, the Wednesday would probably be the best. We would recommend that Wednesday, because for our timing, we would have a Commissioners meeting, be able to send any requests that we would have to them, at that time they would be able to work on, work with the agenda on that Wednesday, and then put that off to the attorneys to work through until our next Commissioners meeting in a couple of weeks. So, it’s more of a timing issue, to make sure that what we request would have proper timing to get back on our desk.

Commissioner Winnecke: Is there, do they have enough business to meet regularly like that?

President Tornatta: Well, if they don’t, they would like to cancel initially, if they find that they are not going to have the meetings, then next year they would go a different process. But, this would allow them, we have talented people on that board, and my thought if they want to try and address issues relative to the Commissioners best interests, then we would definitely like to entertain it.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Mr. President, the only thing I would say is, obviously, if there is no business, there’s no point in having a meeting of that group. Who is going to make that decision as to whether a meeting should be cancelled or not, because there is no business?

President Tornatta: Well, they have a president of that board, so, at that point I would anticipate that the president of that board would call the three commissioners and ask that they not have the meeting on a particular day. Upon the agreement, consensus of those commissioners, talking to them individually, then we would, obviously, he would have a heads up on whether that was something they would go through with.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Okay.

President Tornatta: If that’s a recommendation of the Board, let’s go ahead and make a motion on that, and we would send that to them merely as a recommendation.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second on a recommendation that the Redevelopment Commission meet every–

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: I think we said the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday of each month.

President Tornatta: The first Wednesday after the first Tuesday, which would be right after our first Commissioners meeting of the month. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Okay, Economic Development Coalition, Greg Wathen, were you requesting an Executive Session?

Greg Wathen: Yes, I was. We’re working on a project specific for Vanderburgh County, and we need the opportunity to discuss with you, in Executive Session, some of the details of the project as to what levels of assistance the county may offer.

President Tornatta: Is there a list of dates that you might have?

Greg Wathen: I have my PDA, if you’ve got something that you want to be able to schedule. It’s time sensitive, so, I thought I would be prepared if we wanted to discuss a specific date now we can. Anything?

Commissioner Winnecke: I didn’t bring my with me. So, I’m sorry.

President Tornatta: Okay.

Greg Wathen: I can meet in the evening or after hours.

President Tornatta: We would get our dates, if that’s okay, to Marissa–

Greg Wathen: Okay, that would be fine.

President Tornatta: –and Marissa could give you a few dates and then see if that works with your schedule.

Greg Wathen: Absolutely, we can do that.

Commissioner Melcher: Can you give us some kind of a deadline, so we’re not picking three weeks out, or four weeks out.

Greg Wathen: We really can’t pick three weeks out. We need to try to wrap this up in the next two weeks.

Commissioner Melcher: Okay.

Greg Wathen: The sooner the better, preferably.

President Tornatta: Between now and next Friday?

Greg Wathen: If we could, that would be super, based on everybody’s schedule. I’m available in the evenings, early mornings, so, it’s, I’ll adapt my schedule based on that.

President Tornatta: So, between now and the end of the month?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Yeah, all we need to be sure of is that we have 48 hours of notice time, not counting weekends–

Commissioner Melcher: Right.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: –to give notice to the media of the Executive Session of the Commissioners.

President Tornatta: Do we need a motion to do anything at this point to set up that meeting? Okay. Just a notice?

Commissioner Winnecke: Just for clarification, this does fall under the guidelines of an Executive Session?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: I don’t exactly know what the nature of the business is, but–

Greg Wathen: It should, yes.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: –under the new law, the Commissioners are allowed to hold a special, I mean, an Executive Session of the Commissioners to discuss redevelopment matters.

Commissioner Winnecke: Okay, thank you.

Greg Wathen: Any formal action you would take would come by an official meeting.

Commissioner Winnecke: Right.

Greg Wathen: Anything else?

President Tornatta: We’ll just confirm the dates and get back to you.

Greg Wathen: Thank you very much.

President Tornatta: Okay, old business? Anything?

President Tornatta: Alright, public comment? First off, I know we have Jim Vincent here.

Jim Vincent: Thank you. I just had a simple request. I think there’s some information on the agenda. We’ve got a house that was a remnant of the Menard’s project there on Green River, and we’re working to move that from the location there on Green River over to Burkhardt. It’s about a two mile move. It appears the path of lease resistance, it’s a ranch so it’s not very tall, is to move it north on Green River and then east on Lynch, then back south on Burkhardt. It’s the second street off of Burkhardt and Lynch, called Fitzgerald. So, like I said, it’s pretty straight forward. We’re working with Mounts Electric to deal with any type of overhead interference, and they’ve driven the route. Rick is going to handle it for Mounts, and everybody feels confident. The contractor is MCF, they’re bonded with the county.

President Tornatta: Do they handle all of the traffic detail?

Jim Vincent: To some degree. I mean, in essence, they’re really focused on the move and the stability of the house itself. But, Mounts will be involved, I’ve communicated with John with the county, and we will probably work through Jim Martin with the Sheriff’s Department when we confirm the date.

Commissioner Melcher: So, this is the house that has just been sitting there on the side of the road up on wheels for a long time?

Jim Vincent: Yeah, I was really hoping somebody would buy it. That didn’t transpire.

Commissioner Melcher: Obviously, they didn’t.

Jim Vincent: Well, it’s a nice home. John and Rosie Hirsch built that house. We had two other homes that were removed and destroyed as part of that, but we’ve tried to, partly with John and Rosie, I made a commitment to them that we would try to save that house and move it. I think we’ve found a good home for it over there in that Burkhardt area. The long term planning is for residential in that area where Peacock and Fitzgerald are located. So, it fits the age of the other homes that are in that neighborhood, and it looks like it’s going to be a good move.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Won’t it go over any city streets?

Jim Vincent: No, it won’t actually.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Okay. I mean, you would need the Police Department involved if you were going to go over city streets.

Jim Vincent: At this point, no.

Commissioner Winnecke: Do you have an idea of when this will be?

Jim Vincent: We’re shooting for May 2^nd, which would be a Saturday morning, early.

Commissioner Winnecke: Like how early?

Jim Vincent: For a reference, it’s about a two and a half hour move to complete it.

Commissioner Winnecke: And, do you have any idea, you said early, what does that mean?

Jim Vincent: Daylight. Once daylight breaks. You know, to be honest with you, there’s no perfect time to do something like that. But, you know, traffic is going to be somewhat minimal, compared to a work day, with school in that area. So, if we did it during a weekday, I think we would probably do it mid-afternoon.

President Tornatta: Yeah, Saturday, would probably be better.

Jim Vincent: That’s kind of my consensus.

Commissioner Winnecke: The plan is to work with the Sheriff? I mean, I see the Sheriff back there, you said maybe we would work with Jim Martin.

Jim Vincent: Well, it’s kind of odd, I mean, to be honest with you, there’s not a, there’s a permit requirement, and I think this happens so infrequently that with the different bodies, I’ve already gotten the site plan approval from the Planning Commission and the Building Commission is involved. The next step after getting an approval here would be to get a move permit and a house permit issued from them. I’ve asked along the way, there’s really not a requirement that there be a police escort or anything like that, but just for my own safety’s sake I’m going to ask if they would be willing to work with us on that. A fairly short period of time, but I don’t think historically they normally do that.

Commissioner Winnecke: Well, if nothing else, they need to be aware of it.

Jim Vincent: Sure. I’m sure we’re not going to be going the speed limit.

President Tornatta: I didn’t know what the speed for a house is.

Jim Vincent: If we did two miles an hour, we would probably be going too fast.

President Tornatta: Okay. Do we have a motion.

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: Thank you, Jim.

Jim Vincent: Thank you. I appreciate it.

President Tornatta: Alright, anybody else for public comment?

Eric Williams: I was really going to come up here unrelated to that, but we’ll work with him. Those are three of the busiest roads in the county. We’ll make sure that gets done safely. There was an article in the newspaper and some t.v. coverage about a police to police data thing, and in the article it said that I would be coming before you to discuss it. I have the contract, but I wasn’t sure that the funding was in place, so, I didn’t present it. But, I didn’t want you to be wondering where this contract went. It will be on your next....I’ve got the money now. So, I wanted to make sure that it was going to be on your agenda next time.

President Tornatta: Okay.

Eric Williams: Just to clear that out.

President Tornatta: Thank you.

Eric Williams: The other thing I would add–

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: We don’t have that do we?

Eric Williams: You don’t have it. I’ve got it with me right now. The other thing is, I had my staff meeting at Burdette Park this week. We do that periodically and have kind of an away from the office, I just wanted to say it on the record that Steve and his staff were gracious hosts, and it actually made a very nice place to have a small meeting where you needed some time away from your office and the phones that people couldn’t find you so you could really discuss things. So, to the other office holders in the county, if that’s something you’re looking for, that is a great location for doing that.

President Tornatta: Thank you. Steve, could you come up here for a moment? While you’re there. The quick version about kids who want to be employed out at Burdette Park, if there’s any job openings, how the pools are doing? We talked about, in the State of the County there’s a couple of new pieces that you’ve identified, and just kind of give us an update.

Steve Craig: Excuse me. Steve Craig, Manager of Burdette Park. We still have a few job openings. We haven’t hired everybody for our ground crew. We’re getting full in the lifeguard and at the aquatic centers. I think all of our day camp counselors have been hired. We had a great influx of applications this year, more than normal. We had a lot of adults that probably applied that would not have applied for jobs like these, but we do have a lot of applications on hand. We are in the process of getting a plan, we’ve had some pictures of it about planning two playgrounds. One of them is a dry structure, which would be out in the park, replacing our batter’s cages. The other one would be a wet structure, which we are looking at to replace our two slides that are over 20 years old. They’re showing their wear and we’ve had them repaired several times, and they may have a year or two left, but we’re looking at putting new water attractions in. We had a very informative meeting with Structrepoint last Thursday. That was on the 30 acres that we purchased last year. We did an overall layout on the 30 acres of where the roads are going to go, installation of the electric, where our future buildings are going to go. It was very informative to sit down and do it on a topo map. There’s not a lot of places to do a lot of things, it’s pretty rough terrain, but what we put back there will be very beautiful. We had a place where we can put some new chalets overlooking a valley. Had a very good meeting with them. They brought a guy down that was one of those artists like you see on t.v. that draws the things on the thing as you go, and he made it look more real. You know, when you look at it, it’s hard to envision. But, he did a real good job, and look forward to moving forward with that project also. Other than that, we’re moving right along trying to get the park ready. Had a lot of damage from the ice storm. It still comes up and bites us, every time we have another storm it blows more tree limbs and trees that were damaged, stuff falls out of them and we start all over cleaning them up again. But, other than that, everything’s going, you know, as well as can be expected in the spring.

President Tornatta: Steve, we had adjusted some of the rates, I believe the chalets are, for the most part the same, but we adjusted some of the rates on the other operating units that we rent out. Have we seen a positive look out of those units right now? More rentals? Or where do we stand?

Steve Craig: Well, I think it’s very positive. We’re actually a little bit ahead of last year in several categories. With the state of the economy right now, you know, I didn’t know what to look forward to, you know, if people are going to be having, you know, big weddings and renting parties and that. I think it’s helped where we could rent probably twice as many buildings. We’ve got, everyday we have people calling wanting to rent buildings and that. I think it was a good move and we’ve picked up some weekly rentals and stuff during the year. So, I think that’s a move in the right direction.

President Tornatta: A weekly rental for say the Discovery Lodge, what would that be?

Steve Craig: I think we put it at $875 or something, $850 or $875.

President Tornatta: How many square feet?

Steve Craig: 16,000 square foot, will accommodate up to 700 people.

President Tornatta: With a kitchen and–

Steve Craig: It’s got a catering kitchen, bar, fireplace, a beautiful setting, I mean, it’s a beautiful place to have an event. Especially, Eric’s talking about, you know, having six or seven people out there, but it’s also, the Discovery Lodge would be a good place to have a larger function and get it out away from the city. It’s only five minutes off the Lloyd Expressway. So, it’s not like it’s out of the way or anything.

President Tornatta: Then, the other buildings that we’ve got, the prices were dropped during the week as well?

Steve Craig: No. It was only the Discovery Lodge–

President Tornatta: Okay.

Steve Craig: –that was dropped during the week.

President Tornatta: Okay. Alright.

Steve Craig: Any other questions?

President Tornatta: Any other questions of the Board? Thank you.

Steve Craig: Thank you, and you all have a good evening.

President Tornatta: Okay. Alright, Steve.

President Tornatta: We have consent items. Do I have a motion for approval?

Commissioner Melcher: Well, they have to be read.

Madelyn Grayson: The consent items for the April 21^st meeting are as follows; approval of the April 7, 2009 Commission meeting minutes; employment changes from the various offices; travel requests, there’s seven from the Health Department, one from the Auditor, three from the County Clerk, and one from the County Engineer; the County Engineer has pay request number 77 for Burkhardt-Green River TIF projects in the amount of $392,228.32; the Commissioners have pay requisition number 89 associated with the jail construction project; IBAP Gatekeeper periodic report for March 31, 2009; the Health Department has a request to transfer Cisco phone system equipment to Computer Services; the Health Department has a request to surplus various office equipment; the County Auditor, April 2009 A/P vouchers; the Legal Aid Society non-city/county United Way budget funds and activity report of March 31, 2009; Hillcrest Washington Youth Home first quarter fees; the Knight Township Trustee’s 2009 standards; Weights and Measures monthly report from March 15^th through April 15, 2009; the Substance Abuse Council request for payment of $40 remaining in Drug Free Communities Fund to the Substance Abuse Council; the Commissioners approval of payment of back taxes and fees on 1335 East Illinois; and department head reports from the County Highway, County Engineer, Burdette Park and the Ozone Officer.

Commissioner Winnecke: Mr. President, I’ll move approval of the consent items.

Commissioner Melcher: I’ll second it.

President Tornatta: A motion and a second. Discussion? Roll call vote, please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Winnecke?

Commissioner Winnecke: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Tornatta?

President Tornatta: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Tornatta: At this time, if we have nothing else, motion to adjourn?

Commissioner Winnecke: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Tornatta: All those in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

(The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.)

CONSENT ITEMS:

Commissioners:

Approval of the April 7, 2009 Commission Meeting Minutes.

Pay Request No. 89: Associated with the Jail Construction Project: $11,796.

IBAP Gatekeeper: Periodic Report: March 31, 2009.

Legal Aid: Non City/County United Way Budget Funds & Activity Report: 3/31/09.

Hillcrest Washington Youth Home: 1^st Quarter Fees.

Knight Township Trustee: 2009 Poor Relief Standards.

Substance Abuse Council: Request for Payment $40: Drug Free Comm. Fund.

Approval of Payment of Back Taxes and Fees: 1335 E. Illinois.

Employment Changes:

Coroner (2)                               Burdette Park (13)                    Health Dept (4)

Sheriff (3)                                  VCCC (4)                                  Prosecutor (1)

County Highway (1)                  County Assessor (2)                 County Clerk (1)

Treasurer (1)

Travel Requests:

Health Dept (7)                         Auditor (1)                                 County Clerk (3)

County Engineer (1)

County Engineer: Pay Request No. 77: Green River-Burkhardt TIF Projects.

Health Department:

Request to transfer CISCO phone system to Computer Services.

Request to surplus various office equipment.

Auditor: April 2009 A/P Vouchers.

Weights & Measures: Monthly Report: 3/15/09-4/15/09.

Department Head Reports:

Burdette Park                           County Engineer                       County Highway

Ozone Office

Those in Attendance:

Troy Tornatta                            Stephen Melcher                      Lloyd Winnecke

Bill Fluty                                    Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.          Madelyn Grayson

Erin Norris                                John Stoll                                  Greg Wathen

Jim Vincent                               Eric Williams                             Steve Craig

Others Unidentified                   Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Troy Tornatta, President

Stephen Melcher, Vice President

Lloyd Winnecke, Member

(Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.)