The Vanderburgh County Council met in session this 2^nd day of April, 2003 in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex. The meeting was called to order at 3:34 p.m. by County Council President Jim Raben.

President Raben: Good evening. I’d like to call to order the Vanderburgh County Council meeting for April 2^nd, 2003. Attendance roll call please.

COUNCILMEMBER	PRESENT	ABSENT
Councilmember Tornatta	X
Councilmember Sutton	X
Councilmember Bassemier	X
Councilmember Hoy	X
Councilmember Winnecke	X
Councilmember Wortman	X
President Raben	X

President Raben: Okay, the Chair would now entertain approval of the minutes from the March 5^th, 2003 meeting.

President Raben: Thank you. Now we’ll move on to the appropriation ordinance. At this time I’ll turn the chair over to Councilman Winnecke.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, thank you, Mr. President. Beginning with the Commissioners request for Lodging of Inmates, line item 1300-3051, I move that we set this amount in at $250,000.

Councilmember Winnecke: Clearly, given the financial statement that we all have of roughly $1.7 million that’s unappropriated in the General Fund, we have two very large requests before us. I think this body is going to have to be extremely frugal in the coming months. I think that the money that’s been expended and allocated to date – we saw a very elaborate explanation from the Sheriff’s Department last week, which was very helpful, but I think the fact of the matter is we’re going to need to live within this means of $250,000. And I think that means that the judiciary, the Prosecutor’s Office, everyone in the criminal justice community in this county are going to have to tighten their belts and figure out a way to live within their means. And, you know, if it means at some point, if they run out of these funds, the Sheriff uses commissary money, that might be a possibility that might have to be examined. But I think we need to live with this $250,000 for the balance of the year.

Councilmember Wortman: Mr. Chairman. I spoke with Judge Trockman and he’s going to get himself and some other judges, the Sheriff, the Prosecutor, and he’s going to call me, we’re going to meet and see if we can lower the population similar to what it was in 2000. Now if we can get that down, hopefully, we can. There’s a lot of problems, these inmates or not inmates now, but the people that don’t show up in court all the time, it’s a problem, the judges do have a problem. But we are going to have to try to solve this and due to the financial crisis we’re going to be facing, hopefully, we can get this going. So he’s going to call me and I’m going attend, and Mr. Raben is supposed to attend, and then we’re going to report back to the Council and hopefully we can eliminate some of these inmates being shipped out and get it down to the 329 level that they did in 2000. Thank you.

Councilmember Sutton: Councilman Wortman, what level are we at right now on the jail population?

Councilmember Wortman: I don’t know exactly where we’re at now, but I know last week – I don’t know if the Sheriff is here today?

President Raben: If you look at the information supplied by the Sheriff’s Office last week, the average number of inmates housed outside is 48 per day and the cap is at 329. So that should give you an indication of where we’re running. Is that not correct?

Eric Williams: Eric Williams, Chief Deputy. Today we have 43 inmates being housed for fee outside and that puts our population probably this afternoon right at about 320.

President Raben: Population inside our facility. You still have to add those other 43 that...

Eric Williams: Right. That doesn’t include the 15 that we could get back at any time that are out under gentlemen’s agreement with other sheriffs for other reasons that we’re not paying for.

Councilmember Wortman: Mr. Chairman, this is what kind of bothers me if we get this new jail, more beds, is it going to fill that up right away? This is one of the problems we’ve got, see. And when you’ve got that, you‘ve got more food, you’ve got more expenses, more transportation, see, we haven’t seen the end of this thing yet. So hopefully, we can get this system, the judicial system, as Mr. Winnecke mentioned, to get it down and hopefully keep it down, see.

Councilmember Sutton: Oh, and I guess as we’re going to meet with them, Councilman Wortman, I mean, are there some suggestions that you maybe have in mind? I mean, obviously, they had some things, you know, a couple of years ago they’ve been working on, that the group has been meeting, the task force has been meeting on a regular basis and talking about these matters, I mean, what new items do you have in mind that might possibly bring down this population because we’re up there approaching 375 right now if you take the numbers that were shared here, 380, you know, I mean, what number are we trying to get down to here?

Councilmember Wortman: Well, of course, 329, I think, is supposed to be the limit right now in the existing, see, is that right, Mr. Williams?

Eric Williams: I think it’s always important to remember that there are physically 268 beds in the current facility. The ICLU agreement calls for a soft cap of 329.

Councilmember Wortman: But some of the things Judge Trockman and I talked about is beepers, which he uses in his drug program, ankle bracelets, speedy trials, having the attorneys come up there and have a good case and be ready to go instead of delay, delay, delay. I think this is one of the problems and, of course, the other problem the judges face is going out and these people don’t show up for court. And then we’ve got this seat belt violation. Are we going to put them in jail for that? I suggested maybe if they don’t show up in 30 days, I don’t know if we’d ever get it through or not, but take their driver’s license away or put it in their property tax, fine them, put the bail so high that they have to come in, see. Something of that nature, just do anything to get this population so we can handle it. That’s, I guess, but we haven’t really got into the nitty gritty of it yet. But you was on that committee, I think, --

Councilmember Sutton: Yeah, and I was just to, what – from the committee, I mean, they’re discussing all of these things, I mean, aren’t some of these things already in motion?

Eric Williams: The Criminal Justice Planning Committee meets the fourth Thursday of every month and I believe I send notice to everybody here and we have various items on the agenda depending on what people want to bring to the table. There is some resistance to continue to rehash that which has been discussed through the PMSI study and the Blue Ribbon Commission because we continue to fall on the same results, but we do talk about procedures. There have been a lot of items that have been brought forth from the city police or our office in dealing with the Prosecutor’s Office to streamline case management and get good quality information to the courts as quickly as we can so they get moving on issues, but so many of the things that used to be (inaudible) that we’re going to talk about are things that we’ve talked about, and talked about and talked about. And the Blue Ribbon Commission rendered its findings, PMSI rendered its findings. That’s where we’re at now with this new jail is trying to act upon those findings. I mean, from my perspective, and this is strictly a personal opinion, but I’ve been doing this a while, there are more than 329 in Vanderburgh County that need to be in jail. And that’s just the nature of it, the size of our population, the fact that we’re a regional hub, we have a lot of people that come in and out of this community, we need a space bigger than 329. And 329 is a soft cap, we really only have room for 268, so we are dramatically crowded at 329.

Councilmember Sutton: Well, and I guess that’s what concerns me as we’re moving into these warmer months. The population, the amount of crime tends to go up as the weather gets warmer and if we’re dealing with these issues right now, and we’ve talked about these particular types of resolutions in the past, I’m just concerned about the ability to be able to make much of a dent in this. I really would like to see us do that, I really would.

Eric Williams: From the Sheriff’s perspective, we are all for trying to make the system as efficient as we possibly can and getting all the stakeholders and players in the criminal justice system to continue to communicate, to continue to do the right things and make it work efficiently, but you reach a point where you are running at 100 miles an hour all the time and there’s nothing else you can do within what we’ve been given to work with. I know the judges will tell you that more courtroom space will make a difference for them, being able to actually set trial dates and there is a lot of other things out there but they all revolve around dollars and that’s the truth of the matter.

President Raben: Councilman Sutton, would you like to be part of those conversations, though, with Judge Trockman?

Councilmember Wortman: Like I spoke to Judge Trockman and I spoke last week when I was at that meeting Friday, the general public don’t care about how many prisoners you’ve got, but at the same time, if the judges put them on house arrest and they go out and shoot somebody or some crime, then the public will get uptight, see.

Eric Williams: I think that is a true statement up until the point that somebody is personally affected by a crime and then the story changes. They want that criminal locked up, you know, its until you’re personally affected and that’s when it becomes an issue for people or it becomes an issue when it is one of your loved ones that is incarcerated within the overcrowded facility and they are sleeping on the floor. Then it becomes an issue. But for the vast majority of the general public, they’d just as soon never build a jail, never know it existed.

Councilmember Wortman: Now how about seat violators, are they arrested or put in jail? Do you know of any case like that?

Eric Williams: Absolutely not, until they fail to appear upon a court order and the court issues a bench warrant for their arrest. We issue citations and right now the policy is then they issue a certified summons after they fail to appear the first time. By the second time they fail to appear, which shows a total lack of regard for the courts and the authority they have, at that point in time generally they will issue a bench warrant for their arrest. At this point in time, Vanderburgh County has over 13,000 outstanding bench warrants for people’s arrest.

Councilmember Wortman: I thought that a plea agreement is about 90% of the cases.

Eric Williams: I believe the majority of the one’s that go through the system get resolved through plea agreements or some other –

Councilmember Wortman: But see, that’s why you need speedy trials, have everybody prepared, even the attorneys, have the cases ready, see, and quit delay, delay, delay, that’s what costs the system, and who get’s rich? The attorneys, representing everybody.

Councilmember Hoy: I just wanted to make one suggestion. I used to be on that committee that you and Councilman Sutton are on. The purpose of that committee in my estimation is to continue to keep the conversations going, and frankly, the pressure going on the system because it’s not much of a system. If we really get honest, if any of us were operating anything that worked as badly as the criminal justice system, then we’d all be out of business. And that’s what this is doing to the county. I’ve talked to two senior judges who feel like a large number of people who are in the jail don’t even need to be there, they’re not a danger to us. Those are the only people I want locked up. But those conversations need to keep going, Mr. President, and also I know one young man who’s been there, I don’t know, 400 days or something like this. It’s absurd, that case should have been settled a long, long time ago. And he’s mostly a danger to himself.

Councilmember Tornatta: Okay, I just want to make one comment real quick, that I’m okay with giving the 250 now. I would like to revisit that at some point when that comes back around. I vote yes.

President Raben: Before I vote, my vote – when I make my vote it’s not under the assumption that they will be back. My vote should be a signal that hey, this is it. This is all this county can bear. Judges, start doing your homework, you know, work evenings, do what you have to do just as you would in the private sector to get caught up. I vote yes.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, I move line 1310-4120 Buildings in the amount of $16,903 be approved.

President Raben: We have a motion and a second. Questions, comments? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Councilmember Sutton: And if there are any other grants or opportunities out there bringing money to the coffers, we’ll accept those, too. Yes.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, County Highway, line 2010-1850 Union Overtime, I move that we set this in at $20,000.

President Raben: We have a motion and a second. Any questions, comments? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, County Assessor/Reassessment funds. We have two requests here unlike last month when we – let me just restate that. I’m going to break these up into two different motions. I’ll move that line 2492-1090-1960 Special Stipend in the amount of $4,000 be approved.

Councilmember Sutton: Yes, now how is this different from what we saw last month?

Councilmember Winnecke: There is no difference and later in the meeting I will propose a motion to prevent this from occurring again.

Councilmember Sutton: Well, I can remember the tax abatement issue, that coming back, which we definitely need to address this.

(Motion fails 2-5/Councilmembers Tornatta, Sutton, Hoy, Wortman & Raben opposed)

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, the other request is for a Hearing Officer. I will move that line 2492-1090-1310 be set in at $25,144; line item 2492-1090-1900 FICA at $2,230; line item 2492-1090-1910 PERF be set in at $1,531; and line item 2492-1090-1920 Insurance be set in at $10,000 – I’ve read these wrong, haven’t I?

Councilmember Winnecke: FICA and PERF, yeah. Actually, 2492-1090-1900 FICA is $1,924; 2492-1090-1910 PERF is $1,321 and line item 2492-1090-1920 Insurance is $2,714, for a total appropriation of $31,106. I move approval and then I have a comment.

Councilmember Winnecke: I would just say, prior to last week I was opposed to this. But based on the information that Mr. Barter and others provided last week about the length of time for training, they indicated it would take six weeks to get a new hearing officer up to speed. By that time it might put that office so far behind the eight ball, and really, that impacts our taxpayers coming to make appeals. I would ask that if this is approved, that the Assessor appear before us next month and ask for a transfer, which she had indicated to us two or three months ago, is that she would be willing to promote or move into this hearing officer position an existing employee and so that we don’t add a permanent new body for that office, I would ask that she come in and transfer the line item that the person is in now, into Temporary Replacement help until such time as the hearing officer’s work is complete.

President Raben: Okay, is everybody clear? Any questions, comments? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Councilmember Tornatta: We’re speculating at this point that we’re going to have this abundance just because that’s been thrown out there, we don’t have any idea.

Councilmember Winnecke: I spoke to one member of the PTABOA, I mean, I think, quite frankly, the members of that board are very nervous about, as are members of the professional staff in the Assessor’s Office, are very nervous about the amount of appeals that will hit that office. If they don’t hit, that we’ve not created a permanent position. I don’t see any harm in putting this money in place, getting the training going, so if the appeals hit at least that office is prepared for such an onslaught.

President Raben: I, too, have had an opportunity to speak with two board members and they’re extremely confident that the numbers are going to be significant and I guess the State Board of Tax Commissioners are also stating that they expect the numbers to be significant, so you know, again, I’d say we probably need to do everything we can to ensure that our collections come in, in a timely fashion and without this, we risk that. So I don’t like it either, but it –

Councilmember Tornatta: Have we not in the past given somebody the okay to look for an individual whether in the office, preferably in the office, and then with the hope that if something would go down, that this would be set aside for an individual, or we could appropriate monies at a certain time? I mean, I just think, first off, I mean, there’s probably, I would have to say, looking at somebody inside the office would be the best person to look for to handle this because they have the most knowledge of the assessments and then there was one particular name that was thrown out that used to do this particular job, so both those would not qualify. You really would have no training period, so at that point we could vote on it in a month, in two months, and if we didn’t need it, then we wouldn’t have to vote on it at all.

Councilmember Winnecke: I hear where you’re going, but I think what the Assessor’s Office and the members of the PTABOA feel, that while the thought now is to promote someone from within the office for the hearing officer, that’s not what that person does now. And the hearing officer position is specialized enough that the training period is such that they would need that time, and then the training period also encompasses training for getting a temporary replacement in that person’s role.

President Raben: And again, I might add that, you know, property taxes are the fuel, that’s what fires this county and if we can ensure that we’re going to make those collections in a timely manner because it means everything. So I hate to appropriate new monies but I think this one is probably a necessity.

Councilmember Sutton: So this position, what’s the time line on it in terms of the usefulness, I’ll just put it that way, of this position? How long of a time are we talking about? Are we talking about a permanent position we’re putting in place here? Are we talking about something that at the end of the year we go back and that’s it?

President Raben: We would have the opportunity, as a Council, to approve this annually during each budget, this position, just as any other salary line. You can zero it out or appropriate the funds. But I think we’ll have to look at it and see. If the numbers are the, you know, we’ve heard as many as $10,000 appeals are what they estimate being filed. If it’s anywhere close to that, you know, realistically we probably need to look at a year anyway, maybe in excess of that. But if we find that the appeals aren’t as heavy as they originally anticipated, in August we can make the adjustment to this line that we need to make for next year.

Councilmember Sutton: Well, I guess when you add a position and you make it a permanent full-time position, sometimes these positions are awful hard to go away that are supposed to be temporary positions. And I don’t think you’re going to get any officeholder in this building making a pitch once they have an employee to – there are very few that make a pitch to say well, I no longer need that employee anymore. And I guess, given our financial situation right now as a county, adding additional employees, I know where we are, probably we are going to get some appeals but I’m just concerned about costs on this situation, and this concerns me.

Councilmember Hoy: I agree with my colleague except in the case of this officeholder who, as I recall when she was elected, she did – did she not remove two positions, Mrs. Deig?

Councilmember Hoy: Yes, that was a promise and she did, she reduced her staff. And at some point I think we have to trust that again. I know that – I know my taxes are going to go up because I live in an older home that I think has been undervalued and the old system was crazy, as we all know. And once market value comes in, I probably won’t contest mine because I expect it to come, but I think a lot of people living in the kind of housing I do, will. And you could have a deluge, we need to be ready for that so that our cash flow continues. We are going to be in all kinds of difficulty as it is with what’s coming down the pike and with the economic situation.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, Local Emergency Plan Commission, line item 2861-3310 Training, I’ll move approval in the amount of $12,000.

President Raben: We have a motion and a second. Any questions, comments? Councilman Wortman?

Councilmember Wortman: She called me and this is really just a formality. In other words, there’s no money involved with us pro or con, so in other words, just approval is all she’s asking, isn’t that right?

Councilmember Hoy: That’s correct. This comes out of a special fund and it is required training, and thirdly, the state will reimburse this fund. It’s kind of an in and out thing.

Councilmember Bassemier: Mr. President, as I mentioned last week, this is a very good course with all the new meth labs and all the hazardous materials up and down the highways and over the rails, this training could save lives. So I highly recommend it.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, line item 3600-4060 Transportation Center/Pagoda, this comes from the Tourism Capital Improvement fund, I move approval in the amount of $225,000.

Councilmember Winnecke: Mr. President, I would just note that Marilee Fowler and Mr. Dunn from the Convention Bureau are here. I believe they have other guests, although it’s not on today’s agenda, it certainly, I think has been presented to us to consider at next month’s meeting on the soccer request. I don’t know what your pleasure is, but several people, I know, have come, I suspect, in support and to speak in support of that, to at least acknowledge them.

President Raben: Okay, I tell you, we can allow five minutes if you want to speak to that matter.

David Dunn: Good afternoon, my name s David Dunn, and I’m a member of the board of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. And, Mr. President and members of the Council, we appreciate this opportunity to share information on a very exciting project and an extremely exciting opportunity that we have before us. Also in the audience, we have members from the soccer community that are able to answer questions about the project specifically, if there may be. The purpose of us taking this opportunity this afternoon is to try to communicate as effectively as we can with this body. As you know, our board cannot appropriate funds without your approval as well and we will be coming before you next month with a million dollar request as we would like to be able to assist in the funding of the soccer complex that’s going to be constructed out on North Green River Road. And the information that we’ve shared with you at this time is basically a site plan, a layout of how that project is going to be designed as well as support signatures of every major soccer group that’s in Evansville in support of not only the complex but also of a unique element that we would like to assist with. This is a grand opportunity for Evansville to build a wonderful park facility. As you can see, there’s going to be ten fields associated with this complex and we also propose that there be a championship field that’s going to be constructed of an artificial turf product. It’s a product that’s called field turf and with that product it does several things for us, but mainly what it will do is it will allow us to market this soccer complex as one of the most unique facilities in the tri-state area. At this time there are no other artificial turf soccer fields in the state of Indiana and we will have the first and only one of its kind. We all know the impact that soccer has on tourism and we estimate that this facility by itself will have somewhere between an 8 and 10 million dollar economic impact on the community on an annual basis with the number of tournaments that we anticipate recruiting over the years, as well as those that are currently active in our community. By having this championship field, again, it does allow us to create something most unique in our area and allow us to market our facility against other major soccer complexes in the area that we compete against and we feel very strongly about this addition. And as part of our funding request next month, we have appropriated funds to allow that championship field to be constructed as part of this complex. Again, we’ve got members of the soccer community that are here that are expert in the turf itself if there are any questions at this point. Next month we will be before you and make a formal proposal, but this was to be as much of an informative session as we possibly could to get this in front of you as quickly as we can just so that if there are any questions or concerns that this body may have, we’ve got plenty of time to work through those before next month when we do come for a formal appropriation request.

Councilmember Sutton: I’m not of a soccer background, I’m more of a basketball and track man, so maybe you can help educate me a little bit.

Councilmember Sutton: Too much running without rest. I was going to ask you, you know, this layout that you provided for us, a typical soccer tournament using a facility like this, you know, how do you draw, I mean, how many are you – how wide of a draw do you get for something like this when you’ve got a facility of this type?

Councilmember Sutton: A tournament that might be – I guess, is that what you have in mind?

David Dunn: Well, the most recent tournament that Evansville hosted was the Veterans Memorial Tournament that was, actually it’s a brand new event that was just created this part year and it will be an annual event. And I believe they had 110 teams from five different states and they used 21 fields. They did use 21 different fields to try to accommodate that tournament so with a complex like this where you see that there’s 10 fields, it by itself won’t be enough, but what it does is it consolidates a majority of the play into one facility and then what we’ll be able to do is to utilize Price Park and maybe another facility in conjunction with that to accommodate the overall need. This facility, as well as the championship field, allows us to accommodate even greater numbers. We anticipate that the Veterans tournament could grow to 200 teams. This complex will have many lit fields so that we can play later into the day and with the championship field being of artificial turf product, there’s no effect to the field itself and we are able to play 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whereas on a natural turf field, there are limitations to the amount of play that that field can endure before it needs some rehabilitation. The other thing that’s a benefit to this artificial turf field is, many clubs that manage fields are very hesitant to encourage older kids and even adult play because of the wear and tear that kids of that size and adults will put on a field, on a natural turf field. By having this artificial field, it can withstand the wear and tear of adults and of mature teenagers and certainly allow us to be able to attract and encourage that type of activity as well.

Councilmember Sutton: So the complex itself, owned by the city and maintained by the soccer group? I guess, is that –

David Dunn: The city is going to maintain it as well. It will be incorporated into the Parks Department.

Councilmember Sutton: So these tournaments that are going to be put on, the soccer group will primarily coordinate those? And how many do you probably anticipate? How many tournaments per year on average would you anticipate with a complex like this that you’d like to have?

David Dunn: I think conservatively we will have four major tournaments in any given year but in addition to that, it’s a term that they call “friendly’s” where a club by itself will invite teams, somewhere between six and eight different teams, to come in and play what’s called a friendly tournament. And that goes on constantly in addition to the four major tournaments. We also are in conversations with collegiate groups and we will aggressively pursue that through the Convention & Visitors Bureau to attempt to attract that type of athletic tournament into the Evansville area. We will aggressively pursue high school tournament play, whether it be semi-state, regional, state finals, and we hope to be able to utilize our championship field for many of the high school games as well.

President Raben: Okay, and David, I apologize, I called you by your uncle, John.

Councilmember Wortman: Mr. Dunn, will there be any professional teams in here on that?

Councilmember Wortman: Not aware of it, okay. And it’s all going to be – are all the fields going to be lighted or not?

David Dunn: No, not all the fields. Somewhere between four and five fields total will be lit. The championship field, obviously, will be lit and as part of the package that the soccer community has been able to negotiate, lighting, goals, equipment all comes with that total package and then in addition to that, there will be about four other fields that will be lit.

Councilmember Wortman: Okay. You’ll be looking for an electrician then, too. And the fee, who is going to be in charge of this and what you’re going to charge and all this? Is there going to be a fee and charge and who is going to manage it?

David Dunn: The Parks Department will be in charge of the complex itself, and whether there’s fees associated with it or not, they’re still working out those details. As a time table, though, I might add and maybe to share with you a sense of urgency, construction of this facility is scheduled to begin the first of June and that’s a critical date for us because in order to get the seating in place, actually it’s sprigging that they’re going to do. That has to be done no later than August with the special turf that they are going to sprig in there, it has to be done in the summer months. If we miss that window of opportunity, then we won’t be able to use this complex at all for next year either. So there is a sense of urgency in us being able to move as quickly as we can, that’s why we felt it important to bring this before you now even though we know that you can’t take action, just so that you have plenty of opportunity to review it and formulate your questions to us and give us time to work through those issues.

Councilmember Hoy: Yeah, Mr. Wortman is interested in the electrical and I’m interested in keeping a window open on Sunday mornings for my profession.

President Raben: David, thank you. We need to move on and change the tape. Thank you.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President. I move that we set in line item 4131-1450-4120 Buildings & Structures in at zero and I’ll have an explanation if there is a second.

Councilmember Winnecke: I was out there, spent about an hour and a half out there last week and this is going to be a beautiful facility. I guess I would tee this up in a similar vein that I did with the Lodging of Inmates request. This is a large request, I think we need to look, as I said last month, at other funding sources. Last month I suggested the CCD account. The Commissioners indicated that they don’t feel there’s enough money in that because of other projects they’d like to do there. There’s over $600,000 in unappropriated Riverboat money. I would hope that the Convention & Visitors Bureau would be open to helping finish this, but I think, like all of us, we have to make some priorities and I believe that Burdette, along with the Commissioners need to look at these other funding sources and that’s why I made my motion the way I did.

Councilmember Tornatta: We have a Commissioner out there. Do you want to ask him about the appropriations he’s got on the books?

David Mosby: David Mosby, President of the County Commissioners. I know last week, I think it was recommended or last month that we take this out of CCD. I believe the CCD, if I’m not mistaken has got a little over $800,000 in it. I talked with John Stoll about the one project, on the intersection projects where there was $500,000 went back in that last year because we didn’t have a construction contract yet. As of about yesterday, John informed me that project is going to run about $700,000, so that’s what’s left in your CCD.

President Raben: Okay, now just real quick and I was not present last Wednesday, but the current balance with encumbrances, which is what you’ve stated is actually 4.4 million. The unappropriated balance is $800,000, so that 500 should be part of the encumbrances that you’re referring to.

David Mosby: According to John, it’s not. It’s not a part of the encumbrances. We didn’t encumber it because we didn’t have a contract to go off of. We were in the design phase of that with RQAW. So that money is not encumbered, so it went back in and he said he’s going to have to come ask for that out of the cash balance. Bill is shaking his head yes. And John did tell me it’s going to run over the $500,000. It’s going to be close to 700.

Bill Fluty: I think what was encumbered was the design for Bernardin Lochmueller.

David Mosby: The design was encumbered for RQAW, but that’s all we could encumber because that’s all we had a contract for.

David Mosby: No, it was St. George and Oak Hill, I believe. This one here is St. George and Oak Hill.

Bill Fluty: I believe some of that money can come out of the Cum Bridge, is that not correct?

David Mosby: Well, we’re hoping that there’s a possibility we might be able to take between 75 and 100 thousand out of the bridge. John got to looking at what was going to be the overall cost which is going to run close to 7 – he’s thinking we could take 75 to 100,000 out of the bridge fund because of the two culverts we’re dealing with. But the rest of it, I mean, we cannot find a way to take out of bridge; we’ve tried.

President Raben: On another matter, David, do the Commissioners plan to do anything in regards to beginning anything for widening Green River Road?

David Mosby: We are looking at design. We hope to go out for a design on that – you’re talking about the third phase? Yeah, we’re looking at trying to do something with that third phase out there. Hopefully, bring some of it on board yet this year. I mean, we had a design at one point for that. It’s probably, I’m going to guess, four or five years old now and it’s going to have to be redesigned or updated anyhow.

President Raben: Because there is like 400,000, I think, in Local Roads & Streets that’s been set for doing design work for Green River Road, and if that’s a project we’re not going to start this year, we could possibly use that for the balance of what you need for the intersection.

David Mosby: That one is going to be let go of here relatively soon. That’s the one John’s wanting to get on top of real quick.

Councilmember Hoy: I want this funded but I am worried about our balances so I am going to vote yes.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, Legal Aid/United Way line 4290-3410 Printing in the amount of $1,700; line item 4290-3990 Miscellaneous in the amount of $10,019, for a total appropriation of $11,719. I’ll move approval.

President Raben: We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Councilmember Winnecke: Okay, Mr. President, if there are no objections I’ll take the three transfers together.

Councilmember Winnecke: Any objections to that? Okay, first in the Auditor’s Office, transfer from line item 1020-1420-1020 Bookkeeper in the amount of $3,941 to 1020-1320-1020 Systems Supervisor in like amount. County Highway from line item 2010-3410 Printing $5,000 to like item 2010-3370 Computer (Data Management) in like amount. And from Cumulative Bridge, from line item 2030-4405 Heppler Road Bridge in the amount of $10,000 to line item 2030-4407 St. Wendel Road Bridge in like amount. I’ll move approval.

President Raben: We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

1300-3051	Lodging of Inmates	500,000.00	250,000.00
Total		500,000.00	250,000.00

1310-4120	Buildings	16,903.00	16,903.00
Total		16,903.00	16,903.00

2010-1850	Union Overtime	25,000.00	20,000.00
Total		25,000.00	20,000.00

2492-1090-1310	Hearing Officer	25,144.00
2492-1090-1900	FICA	2,230.00
2492-1090-1910	PERF	1,531.00
2492-1090-1920	Insurance	10,000.00
Total		42,905.00

2861-3310	Training	12,000.00	12,000.00
Total		12,000.00	12,000.00

3600-4060	Transportation Ctr/Pagoda	225,000.00	225,000.00
Total		225,000.00	225,000.00

4131-1450-4120	Buildings & Structures	236,500.00	0.00
Total		236,500.00	0.00

4290-3410	Printing	1,700.00	1,700.00
4290-3990	Miscellaneous	10,019.00	10,019.00
Total		11,719.00	11,719.00