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Gibson County Board of Commissioners 4-17-2012****************************************************************************** Gibson County Board of Commissioners Regular Session April 17, 2012 **************************************************** ************************** The Gibson County Board of Commissioners met on April 17, 2012, at 6:30 PM at the North Annex Meeting Room. Members Present: Gerald Bledsoe, President, Alan Douglas, VP, Bob Townsend, Jim McDonald, County Attorney, Kay Vore, Administrative Assistant, and C.T. Montgomery, County Auditor. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited and led by Gerald Bledsoe. Minutes: The minutes from the March 20, 2012, meeting was approved through a motion by Bob Townsend and seconded by Alan Douglas. The motion passed 3-0. Claims: County General: $163,100.99 Courts: $ 11,271.35 Sheriff: $ 64,623.23 Highway: $ 83,454.83 Payroll 4-6-2012 $282,659.27 Payroll 4-20-2012 $292,466.28 Alan Douglas made a motion to approve the claims. Bob Townsend seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Old Business: Jim Hughes, CEO of SRI presented the Homestead Deduction Program to commissioners. He offered different ways commissioners could implement the program and informed commissioners that when he first presented this program to them, there were only four counties doing this program. Now there are over thirty counties using this program. He said that we owe it to taxpayers to expose these fraudulent deductions because it is not fair for everyone not to be paying their fair share. SRI can adapt the program to any way the commissioners deem it necessary, they are the customers. Gerald Bledsoe said they would not vote on the program until the next meeting. County Attorney Jim McDonald informed commissioners that four monitoring wells needed to be installed outside of the county landfill boundaries on private land. Signed leases with the owners were presented. The project will start by April 26, 2012 to allow the work to be done so that farmers can plant right after installation of the wells. Bob Townsend made a motion to approve the leases and was seconded by Alan Douglas. Motion carried 3-0. Alan Douglas told commissioners that the Visitor and Tourism Board member Priscilla Magee has resigned her position on the board. The board recommended that Ron Parke fill her position with that term expiring 12-31-2012. Alan Douglas made a motion to approve the request. Bob Townsend seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Sheriff George Ballard presented the commissioners with a DOC grant that they have signed every year since 1989. The grant is for $225,786.00 which pays for Class D Felony inmates and work release inmates. Bob Townsend made a motion to approve the request and was seconded by Alan Douglas. The motion passed 3-0. County Attorney Jim McDonald informed the commissioners that the appraisals for two lots on the 100 block of Emerson Street, owned by the United Presbyterian Church, were in. He presented a contract for approval of purchasing the two lots for $145,000.00. Alan Douglas made a motion to approve the contract to buy the two lots. Bob Townsend seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0. EMS Director Dan Alvey asked commissioners for a medical leave for one of his employees. Alan Douglas made a motion to approve the request. Bob Townsend seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Dan Alvey also asked for write-offs of $242,644.91 spanning years from 2002 to the present. Alan Douglas made a motion to approve the request and was seconded by Bob Townsend. Motion passed 3-0. Purdue Extension Agent Mary Duke presented commissioners with a handbill about a webinar which will be presented on Thursday, May 10, 2012 from 6:30-8:30 PM EDT. The additional distribution of $205 million dollars in LOIT revenues will be discussed in detail. Mariette House asked commissioners if any more information had been found out about the clean-up bill going to the owner of the Emge property in Ft. Branch. Gerald Bledsoe said the invoice had been sent to the owner but he doesn’t know the amount. Gibson County Economic Development Corporation CEO Todd Mosby, representing the Healthy Living Center Committee, explained to everyone in attendance the reason he is supporting the Healthy Living Center and explained what would be built. The building would house a swimming pool, therapeutic pool, basketball courts, fitness center and large meeting center. He would ask that $15 million from the TIF could be used to fund the building and infrastructure to the building. Then the keys would be turned over to a not-for-profit entity responsible for the day-to-day functioning and management of the facility. Community businesses would be asked to support the center in case of maintenance issues and they would also be asked to fund scholarships for families that could not afford the membership fees. Twenty-one speakers addressed the commissioners and every one of them supported the idea for the center with only three against the funding from the TIF District. One of the biggest benefits cited by the supporters stated that money that used to be spent out of the county could now be spent in Gibson County. Residents would save a tremendous amount of money by staying in the county through gas savings. Gibson county could reap benefits of future events being held at the center and could impact the economy in a dramatic manner. The health benefits would be available to all residents of the county and would be considerably more convenient. Supporters cited this is a quality of life issue that would draw more business and residents to the county. The speakers against the funding by TIF funds were against the county just handing over a $15 million dollar building to anyone not accountable to the people of Gibson County. This should be a privately funded endeavor. One speaker suggested that instead of just two townships paying for the building, why not establish a Park and Recreation Fund and tax the entire county so everyone is paying. He stated this is the only fair way to fund it. Alan Douglas made a motion to adjourn and was seconded by Bob Townsend. The motion passed 3-0. _____________________________________ __________________________________ Gerald Bledsoe, President Alan Douglas, VP _____________________________________ __________________________________ Bob Townsend, Commissioner ATTEST: C.T. Montgomery, Auditor