Council, commissioners approve appointments, resignations
The Brown County Council and Commissioners approved changes to two local government boards at their meetings in July.
At the July 13 county council meeting, local business owner Lance Miller was unanimously approved to fill an opening on the Brown County Convention and Visitors Commission. Miller and his wife, Tyra, own the Bird’s Nest Cafe and the bed and breakfast the Robinwood Inn. Lance Miller also taught art at Brown County High School for more than 20 years before he left the district at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.
Miller said he plans to use his experience as a local restaurant owner and innkeeper along with his art teaching to make decisions while serving on the board.
“I care deeply about the aesthetic of Brown County because of my art background. We have something that no one else, I think, in Indiana or Midwest has, that is the Brown County feel,” Miller said. “I think that really drives tourism.”
Miller’s term with the CVC will end at the end of this year.
“We really appreciate you stepping forward to serve,” council President Dave Redding said.
Miller joins Kevin Ault, Barry Herring, Jim Schultz and Derek Clifford on the board. The CVC meets the second Thursday of each month.
At the July 15 commissioners meeting, Jim Hahn’s resignation from the Brown County Parks and Recreation Board was approved by commissioners Diana Biddle and Dave Anderson. President Jerry Pittman was absent.
“He has been on the board for quite a number of years. He’s been very helpful. We will be looking for someone to take his place,” Biddle said.
Anyone interested in serving on the parks and rec board can submit letters of interest to the commissioners at [email protected].
The appointment will expire at the end of this year, but Biddle said that person could be reappointed in January if they applied again.
Council approves additional appropriations, transfers
The Brown County Council is moving $7,500 from the general fund to the coroner’s autopsy fees line after Coroner Earl Piper exhausted all of his resources for autopsies already this year.
The $7,500 will cover four more autopsies this year with toxicology tests.
Piper’s entire budget was set at $30,000 for the year, including payroll. Last year, Piper had to do six autopsies and had to ask for more money from the general fund then.
Toxicology tests for car crashes also have to come out of his autopsy fee line, which was initially $7,500 for 2020.
Toxicology tests related to overdoes are covered by a grant from the Indiana State Department of Health.
Piper said he transferred everything he could in his budget before going before the council to ask for more money. “I’m a taxpayer, too,” he said.
“We appreciate all you’ve done over the years and keeping your budget to the minimum,” said council Vice President Dave Critser.
The council also approved transferring $400 within the assessor’s budget to the department’s postage line. The council approved moving $878 from the public defender board’s psych services line to the board’s transcript line.
The council also approved a resolution from the Brown County Solid Waste Management District that moves $25,000 from the the district’s employer pay benefits and $12,000 from the special waste budget lines in the general fund to the equipment line.
The money will be used to purchase a new forklift. Solid waste received a Community Recycling grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for that piece of equipment.
“The one we have been using is over two decades old and barely does the job we need it to do. This new one can lift much heavier bales, and the low mast will allow it to move efficiently inside of our large green recycle containers, which have low ceilings,” said Phil Stephens, director of solid waste.
The grant is a 50-percent matching grant, so solid waste was awarded $18,761 to cover the total price tag of $37,523, Stephens said. Solid waste will receive the grant money after providing proof of payment.
The council made the motion to approve the resolution contingent up on the solid waste board’s approval at the July 20 meeting.
Road grant money expected by mid-August
State grant funding for road paving in Brown County is expected to come in next month and work will be able to begin on three county roads.
At the July 15 Brown County Commissioners meeting, Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner reported that he expected the Indiana Department of Transportation to transfer the 2020 Community Crossings matching grant funding to his budget within the next 35 days.
The money will come in about six weeks earlier compared to last year meaning highway crews can begin paving Becks Grove Road, Mt. Liberty Road and the southern end of Lick Creek Road quicker, Magner said.
“That’s a positive,” he said.
The highway department paved Greasy Creek Road this year using Community Crossings funding from last year, since the paving could not be done in time before cold weather hit last year.
After the county received notice it would receive a $1 million grant from INDOT through the Community Crossings program, the state announced there would not be a second round of awards this year due to COVID-19.
“We’re very fortunate we got the grant in round one. As of right now, we do not have any confirmation of when the next grant cycle will be for Community Crossings or how much. It’s a little concerning to me because we start a new state budget session at legislature in January and who knows what they’ll do to it,” commissioner Diana Biddle said.
Magner said that part of the reason for splitting the awards into two grant cycles was so the state could process more money out to counties faster.
“Now they have held back on not doing a second half of 2020. We really do not know how that will affect the first half of 2021, whether they will combine the funding or if they’ll try to do a cycle toward the end of this year,” he said.
“From the state legislature standpoint, we need to keep a close eye on that funding, that it stays in that program and hopefully if they wait until the spring of 2021, then we’ll have more funds available for more LPAs (local public agencies).”
Highway department salt dome project complete
A new dome to protect Brown County Highway Department’s salt supply has now been completed.
Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner reported at the July 15 Brown County Commissioners meeting that the dome was completed the day before.
“We’re doing some cleanup work, putting our brackets back on the building to hold our salt spreaders; then, we’ll start refilling the building with salt material, get it out of the weather and back inside the building very shortly,” he said.
The salt dome was built in 1999 when the original highway department garage complex was built. The new dome was to cost $87,420, Magner said in January. The price also includes a hatch that would allow for the salt to be unloaded using a conveyor system.
The new salt dome was to be funded partially by the highway department’s budget and the county’s capital improvement loan. In that loan, $185,000 was set aside for highway garage expenses.
County completes acquisition of property in town
The Brown County Commissioners completed the acquisition 200 Hawthorne Drive — the former Nashville Police Department building — at the end of last month.
Commissioner Diana Biddle reported in the July 15 commissioners meeting that the sale was finalized on June 30. The price of the building was not to exceed the lesser of the average of two professional appraisals or $400,000, which was the purchase price.
The county had two appraisals done. Both came in at $425,000 to $450,000, Biddle said on July 15.
“They had a range of $425,000 on one, they averaged it at $420,000. The other came in at $425,000. They were both very good appraisals. I did share those with Jane Gore at the town so she was aware,” Biddle said.
The Nashville Town Council bought the Home Helpers building at 25 Artist Drive. A purchase of that building was contingent upon selling the current police station at 200 Hawthorne Drive.
Biddle said that NPD was working on moving out of the building and would most likely be out by the end of the month. After that move is made, Biddle said the county’s maintenance crew would go over to make plans for cleaning and “freshening things up.”
Brown County Community Corrections was recently moved to 200 Hawthorne Drive and will remain there.
