Pulaski County Receives Insurance Refund

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Miguel Salazar and Dave Bennett from 1st Source Insurance approached the Pulaski County Commissioners with some good news this week—the county has received a refund of $97,744 on their health insurance.

This refund comes from the Signa program, which allows two-thirds of any surplus in the claims fund not used to pay claims to be refunded to the county, and will more than cover the county’s premium for November. Salazar went on to remind the commissioners that they would not have received this refund from Anthem.

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Pulaski Sheriff’s Department Breaks Seal on 2012 Budget

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Sheriff's Department

The Pulaski Sheriff’s Department has found itself with some more vehicle-related problems. A 2006 Ford Taurus has recently developed an issue with a low oil pressure light, and two different mechanics gave the same grim news: the motor needs rebuilt or replaced.

While this is not good news for any time of the year, it’s especially bad news this late. With the end of this year’s budget approaching, the county’s pockets are close to empty. After getting two quotes on used cars, Sheriff Mike Gayer asked the commissioners to approve $9,900 to purchase a used Buick Lacrosse, but the request comes with a twist—the funds would come from the 2012 budget.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Sign Grant Application for Narrow-Band EMA Radios

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County EMA Director Larry Hoover was given confirmation by the county commissioners to go ahead with the application process for their narrow-band radio grant.

According to Hoover, the EMA has been on this grant for over a month and they’re still in the application stage. Signatures are required by the commissioners in order to ensure the grant, which involves a 50/50 match by the county, will be paid for.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Approve Land-Use Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

In a unanimous decision by the Pulaski County Commissioners, Pulaski County now has at least some form of zoning regulation now with the Commissioners’ approval of the land-use ordinances and maps as presented by the planning commission.

According to Planning Commission President Don Good, the documents are based primarily on how the land is being used in terms of businesses, cemeteries, residential areas, and agricultural areas. Good also indicated that the land-use ordinances and maps will not require people to go through a lot of “red tape,” but are instead focused on protecting landowners.

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Pulaski County Planning Commission to Present Zoning Maps to Commissioners

Posted on Author WKVI

As one of a handful of counties north of Indianapolis still without zoning regulation, Pulaski County is under some pressure to get their zoning under control. As a solution, the Planning Commission has put together a presentation of all the planning documents, including maps of Pulaski County that detail how the land is being used in terms of businesses, cemeteries, residential areas, and agricultural areas.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Deny Request for Occupancy at Pleasant View Rest Home

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The “No Vacancy” sign at the Pleasant View Rest Home in Pulaski County is officially lit. With their capacity of 15 residents completely full, the county commissioners this week denied a request from an individual who wanted to stay at the home.

The state ombudsman asked if the county would be willing to take someone in with an income of only $700– a little under the $1148 the home normally charges. Previously, the ARCH program offered by the state would make up that difference, but that program has been frozen for two years, offering elderly people with low income fewer places to turn.

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Pulaski County Auditor Questions Computer Repair Budget

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County Auditor Sheila Garling posed a question to the county commissioners at their meeting yesterday. When computers need maintenance, who pays for it?

Garling had recently had two computers fixed on-site by DeGroot Technology, with the costs of $149.99 and $184.99. Because of the fact that she never knows when this kind of work is necessary and she understands that not all departments can afford those kind of bills, Garling was not sure whether the bill could be paid out of the budget set aside for DeGroot or if a different budget is used.

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Pulaski County Bridges Undergoing Some Work

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

A bridge inventory was presented to the Pulaski County Commissioners this week. According to the inventory, there are currently 74 bridges in Pulaski County. One bridge is fracture critical, meaning that is needs to be looked at to determine its need of repair immediately, and six underwater inspections will be due in 2014. On the plus side, the majority of bridges in Pulaski County are considered to be in great condition, with most issues on the minor side.

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Recorder’s Office to Receive New Software

Posted on Author WKVI

A major upgrade to the software used in the Pulaski County Recorder’s office is underway. The county commissioners approved a request from Recorder Lynn Wilder, who highly recommended an upgrade to software provided by Computer Systems, Inc. CEO/President Kevin Cook and Account Manager John Wood were also present to speak about the software.

With a cost of $45,452, the new software will be a vast improvement over the old software, which hasn’t been updated since 2003. The new software will be funded 100% out of the perpetuation fund, which is a fund which is primarily used for the preservation of documents through electronic means. After a storm caused a large server crash in her office, Wilder decided it was time to upgrade. She received three quotes for software: one from Manatron, which was too expensive and offered an inferior product; one from Fidlar, which was top-notch but extremely expensive; and one from Computer Systems, Inc., who offered the perfect price and excellent software.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Waive Building Fees for KIRPC Housing Improvement Project

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

A warmer winter than usual is in the works for eight low-income homeowners in Pulaski County, thanks to a grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Shawn Cain from the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission appeared before the county commissioners to request they approve a waiver of building fees for these eight homes that have been selected to receive much-needed improvements at no cost to the owners.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Approve Request for Four-Way Stop in Star City

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Commissioners approved Cathy Fritz’s request for a four-way stop at the corner of Main Street and Warrick Street in Star City.

Fritz explained to the Commissioners that this is located by the First United Methodist Church in Star City. The church provides tutoring services for children after school once a week and the area is always busy with children playing and it’s also by the park. She presented the Commissioners with a petition signed by more than 100 residents, church members, police officers and other concerned citizens to create a four-way stop at that intersection. The Commissioners agreed and voted to erect a four-way stop.

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Pulaski County Website Recently Hacked

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Pulaski County website was recently hacked, and Nathan Origer from the CDC approached the Commissioners with an idea to prevent it from happening again.

Origer recently requested a quote from Golden Technologies in Valparaiso for security upgrades to address some obvious security issues on the website. Golden Technologies handled most of the work of building the website originally, and they also host and maintain the website for the county.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Agree to Provide Learning Center with Free Room

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Adult Learning Program of Pulaski County has been assured office space by the commissioners after being approached by Miche Grant, vice president of the Center of Workforce Innovation in Valparaiso, and Robert Hronum, teacher at the adult learning center.

The county currently provides office space at no cost to the center, allowing them to put more revenue into teacher resources and material instead of paying rent. Grant said the commissioners have been supportive of the program since the beginning, and that support has really paid off: since September, nine individuals have earned their GED, and two people left the program because they gained employment.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Refuse to Reimburse Sales Tax

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak found herself in the hot seat in front of the Commissioners as she requested reimbursement for sales tax that was paid on some items bought from Sam’s Club and Walmart. When the chairs were purchased, one of the employees of the Prosecutor’s office did not use the tax exempt form, requiring them to pay the sales tax. Mrak said that sales tax has been reimbursed before, and she was unable to use any tax exempt forms at Walmart because the item was purchased online and shipped to the store.

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Pulaski County Recycling Center to Purchase Mower

Posted on Author WKVI

Knee-high grass is a thing of the past for the Pulaski County Recycling Center, thanks to the upcoming purchase of a Dixie Chopper from Bill’s Circle Mowers in Francesville, IN. While the grass wasn’t yet knee-high, it could have potentially grown that tall if the commissioners didn’t approve the purchase of a mower. Ed Clark of the recycling center has been using his personal mower to keep the grass trimmed, but Commissioner Kenneth Boswell felt uneasy about allowing county employees to use personal equipment.

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Server Crash Causes Pulaski County Recorder’s Office to Seek New Software

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County Recorder Lynn Wilder received approval from the Commissioners to get quotes on a new recording system for her office because of issues with the current software. Wilder explained that a server crash completely disabled their main server, which provides service to many of the county offices. A temporary server has been in use since the crash, but this server is newer than the software on the computers accessing it, causing the recorder’s office to experience various issues in the service.

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Pulaski County Recycling Center Seeks Grant Money for Repairs

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Ed Clark of the Pulaski County Recycling Center approached the county commissioners yesterday, seeking approval of a $20,000 grant for the recycling center. The grant, which is actually the second installment of a $40,000 grant that is received each year, can be transferred to the recycling center at the discretion of the commissioners and the recycling center manager. The other half goes to fuel, tire repairs and other expenses. Clark said that there are several problems that the recycling center needs to fix, and the $20,000 would go to repairing these issues.

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Airport Data Issues Presented to Pulaski County Commissioners

Posted on Author WKVI

Several citizens of Pulaski County approached the Commissioners with a slide presentation detailing many issues and potentially false figures with the proposed airport expansion project. The presentation also argued the reasoning behind the proposal.

One of the reasons that was given for the airport expansion project was that increasing the length of the Arens Field runway to 5,005 feet would decrease insurance premiums for corporate aircraft. In the presentation, insurance premiums are “based on pilot age and experience, history of claims, expected hours of operations.” Also, the Airport Layout Plan states that the proposed action would have no effect on business or economic activity in the project area or local public service demands.

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