Published: June 17, 2008 10:21 am         

Officials change direction on repairs

Fountain commissioners seek jail repair bids

COVINGTON, Ind. — The Fountain County Commissioners changed directions on seeking bids for jail repairs after hearing from Joseph Pash of Performance Services of Indianapolis Monday night.

Pash told commissioners that if the work is more than $75,000 they will have to get an architect to draw up specifications for the project.

“I suggest you use the new energy savings legislation which calls for an architect first,” he said.

Commissioners voted to go that route, advertising the project during the next two weeks, conduct site visits on July 2 and take bids on Aug. 4.

“I think we need to move forward and take care of this,” commissioner Janet Shoaf said. “Every bid would be an engineering firm.”

Commissioners voted unanimously for the change, which eliminates the generic bid proposal that Shoaf and Highway Superintendent Walt Wilson prepared.

Commissioners asked County Attorney Richard Holmes to write a letter to the Department of Corrections explaining the new timeline. The DOC is mandating improvements at the jail.

In other business, commissioners:

-- Heard Dani Snider, director of the West Central Community Corrections program, give a report. In 2007, community corrections, which is based in Veedersburg, handled 367 cases in Fountain, Warren Vermillion, Parke and Montgomery counties. Seventy-one were from Fountain County with a 67 percent success rate.

Commissioners approved the second year of a grant for $423,971 for the program.

-- Will go the county council for an additional $16,000 for a new car to replace the sheriff’s car that was totaled in a road washout. Chief Deputy Sheriff Dana Jeffries said insurance is only giving $11,515 on the car.

-- Heard from Wilson that 60 trees have been cleared from county roads in the last three weeks and that numerous culverts have been washed out.

Bridge 175 on Zackmire Road south of Wallace has been closed.

-- Gave Sunset’s Covington Chapel permission to give out hot dogs and popcorn on the courthouse lawn on Aug. 22.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Fountain County Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. EDT July 7 at the courthouse.