Pulaski County Attorney Kevin Tankersley wanted to clear up some confusion about the policy used when deciding to shut down the county buildings and courthouse following the discovery of an alleged suspicious device in the garbage can at the courthouse on Friday, Sept. 6.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners opened a public hearing Monday morning to gather comments on a proposed grant application to help build a new fire station in Medaryville.
Continue readingA Medaryville resident asked the Pulaski County Commissioners last week to help curb the use of golf carts on County Road 1075 W. between 100 N. and 175 N.
Approval has been given to the Pulaski County Community Development Commission (CDC) to contract with Valparaiso-based Regional Development Company (RDC) to handle the financial administration aspect of the revolving loan fund.
Pulaski County CDC Executive Director Nathan Origer told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that the RDC will receive the application and run a credit report plus gather personal or business tax forms. The county will then receive a credit memo as part of the process in applying for a revolving loan. The RDC will give a ranking to a committee set up by the Pulaski County CDC. Other aspects will be considered in an overall ranking which will be presented to the Commissioners for approval or denial of a loan.
A public hearing is set for June 1 to discuss the demolition and clean up of the debris from the Sportsman’s Bar and Grill in Monterey.
The structure that housed the business at the corner of Walnut and Main Streets collapsed during the evening hours of Thursday, April 23. An asbestos study was completed on the rubble where testing found the debris positive for the presence of asbestos.
The owner, Courtney Hardin, has 30 days to clean up the property. She will need to appear before the commissioners for the public hearing and comply with the demolition order.
Personnel policy handbook training sessions for department heads and employees in Pulaski County are scheduled for this month.
County Attorney Kevin Tankersley explained to the commissioners last week that a revision is complete which provides more detail and required forms. Workers compensation, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) information, overtime, and more is included in the 98-page document. Tankersley said the new manual is more user-friendly. A policy has been in place in Pulaski County since 2012.
If it’s not a county-owned road, then the county highway should not be doing any work on it.
Pulaski County Attorney Kevin Tankersley gave that advice to Terry Ruff from the highway department when a question of road work on Swayze Drive, a private lane, was initiated. Ruff said he’s gotten some calls to help plow the road, fix the road, and help a truck that is stuck on the road. He added that he’s concerned about the residents on that road for the purpose of getting emergency vehicles to those who live on that lane.
The Pulaski County Council members will need more information from the state to see if any severance pay can be issued to the employees at Pleasant View Rest Home.
The council members discussed the issue briefly Monday night.
The county home is expected to close on March 31, and the commissioners had discussed the possibility of severance pay last week. County Attorney Kevin Tankersley previously said the county can’t give bonuses. The money isn’t theirs to spend in that kind of fashion. Tankersley also said the county can’t pay for work that isn’t done.
Severance pay for the employees at the Pleasant View Rest Home will need to be brought before the State Board of Accounts before any formal action on the issue can be taken.
The request was made to the Commissioners by Larry Rausch at Monday night’s meeting. Commissioner Terry Young had mentioned the possibility of severance pay in a previous commissioners meeting. Rausch said the employees will be out of a job at the end of the month and will be searching for work that is creating a hardship for their families. He is concerned that some employees may not be able to draw unemployment as they may not qualify.
The Pulaski County Commissioners discussed the last Revolving Loan Fund request until Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer revamps the process.
Origer was before the commissioners last night with Sheila Jimenez, who requested a $10,000 loan for fixtures in order to open a new restaurant on Main Street in Winamac. Jimenez said the Warrior Den will be a finer family dining facility at 121 W. Main Street. She hopes to open in May.
The Pulaski County Commissioners voted 2-1 to place an employee into the general foreman position at the highway department.
Traditionally, the superintendent appoints the employees in his department, but Commissioner Bud Krohn, Jr. said he wanted a “political change”.
“It’s time for a change. I got elected, and that’s what I’d like to do,” said Krohn.
The Pulaski County Commissioners voted to close the Pleasant View Rest Home during a specially-called meeting Tuesday afternoon.
County Attorney Kevin Tankersley explained that the commissioners really didn’t have a choice since the county council voted to not include the county home in the 2015 budget.
“The council was not going to provide funding for it,” said Tankersley. “The commissioners are going to have to take over the role of closing it because quite honestly the council’s not really set up for that. This is the executive board and the statutes all contemplate that the commissioners are going to take action.”
The Pulaski County Commissioners will meet in special session today to address issues in closing the Pleasant View Rest Home.
By a majority vote, the Pulaski County Council voted to defund the county home in October and that decision was reaffirmed earlier this month by a majority vote.
County Attorney Kevin Tankersley informed the Pulaski County Commissioners last week that there is a lot to go through to close the facility. He met with an attorney in Plymouth last week to see if that attorney would take over the responsibility of overseeing the process as he thought that would be a better practice.
A meeting is set for today to move forward with the closure of the Pleasant View Rest Home in Pulaski County.
Pulaski County Attorney Kevin Tankersley will be meeting with an attorney in Plymouth to discuss the matter and to see if the attorney would be willing to take over legal issues in the closure of the county home. Tankersley will not be taking over the legal issues in this matter as it was thought an outside agency would be a better choice in the process. If the attorney agrees to work with the county, the commissioners would need to approve a retainer for the attorney’s services.
Members of the Pleasant View Rest Home Board, employees of the facility and family members of the residents in the county home appeared before the Pulaski County Commissioners last night to ask for the commissioners’ support to keep the county home open.
The Pulaski County Council members voted last week by a majority vote to eliminate the funding for the county home in the 2015 budget.
Pleasant View Rest Home Board President Bob White read a letter to the commissioners submitted by the residents to keep the county home open. He asked that the county home board and the county work together to keep the facility operational. Employees made an impassioned plea to support the people in their effort.
The Pulaski County Commissioners learned from the director of the recycling and transfer station that he hopes to retire at the end of the year.
Ed Clark told the commissioners that he will be retiring Dec. 31 and asked them to advertise for the opening. He said he’d stay on as long as the new person would need to be trained. They approved the request.
The Pulaski County Commissioners gave the maintenance director permission to seek an additional appropriation from the county council to replace the aging equipment at the Pulaski County Justice Center.
Some of the equipment is already starting to fail, according to Jeff Johnston. He said he’d like to take care of the equipment while there is money yet in this year’s budget.
Pulaski County attorney Kevin Tankersley presented his 2015 contract to the commissioners for review.
He explained that his rate is $150 an hour and is paid a quarterly retainer of $1,500. He said the legal issues of the county are not easy to undertake and requires time to devote to make sure the law is followed. He also acts as a human resources director to some department heads who need employee-based questions answered.
The Pulaski County Commissioners and Pulaski County Council members met in joint session to clarify some questions that have arisen concerning the airport.
The issues that the council members discussed during their meeting last week was if Airport Manager Bud Wagner’s position with the county needs to be full time and about the revenue coming into the airport.
The Pulaski County Council heard from Laura Bailey, the vice chairperson of the Pulaski County Election Board, about changes that will be made to put municipal elections more in line with the law.
Bailey explained that paperwork for a financial agreement pertaining to municipal elections has not been signed.
