Commissioners OK Bridge Repair Bid
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The bid for rehabilitation of Bridge 7, on CR 225E over Deeds Creek, came from Northern Indiana Construction Co. Inc., Mishawaka. County Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden recommended the bid after reviewing it during a brief intermission in the meeting to ensure it meets all specifications.
The other two bids opened this morning came from Pioneer Associates Inc., for $241,000, and LaPorte Construction Co., for $149,801.
Tilden noted the engineer’s estimate was $96,879. He expects the work to begin within 30 days and be completed about 45 days after that.
Also during the meeting, commissioners approved a change in the price for death certificates from the County Health Department. Previously, $5 was charged for the first copy of a certificate and $2 for each additional copy. Under the change requested by Bob Weaver, Health Department administrator, additional copies will cost $5.
And they signed the contract with Pictometry International Corp., which was approved by County Council Thursday. The $214,869.20 contract for up to three flyovers over the next six years will provide the county assessor’s office with updated imagery of properties in the county.
And commissioners heard a poor relief appeal request from Arthur and Laura Wiggs, Scott Township residents who wanted to know why Township Trustee Fred Slabaugh denied their request for aid. The couple said they are unsure if they will receive unemployment benefits and they are facing eviction.
They said they have since sought assistance from other agencies in the county such as Combined Community Services and Salvation Army but were either denied or told the agency was not accepting applications. The churches they contacted turned them down because they weren’t members, Laura Wiggs added.
They weren’t told there were other agencies they could seek out until the same day their request to the trustee’s office was denied, she said, nor can they afford gas to drive to aid services or seek work.
County Commissioner Ron Truex told the couple the township trustee is meant to serve as a last resort for financial aid, and county attorney Mike Miner added that the trustee’s denial was merely procedural, because they had not documented that they went to other agencies first.
The couple was advised that they should apply again after having the agencies who turned them down contact Slabaugh to confirm.
Commissioners also heard from Ted Gillem, an Enchanted Hills resident concerned with a number of abandoned and poorly kept properties surrounding his. He also requested the county sheriff’s department do regular patrols of the neighborhood.
Truex told Gillem that the board of health is doing what it can on abandoned properties, but that some property owners have proved hard to find. But he said the county will work more aggressively on the issue.[[In-content Ad]]
The bid for rehabilitation of Bridge 7, on CR 225E over Deeds Creek, came from Northern Indiana Construction Co. Inc., Mishawaka. County Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden recommended the bid after reviewing it during a brief intermission in the meeting to ensure it meets all specifications.
The other two bids opened this morning came from Pioneer Associates Inc., for $241,000, and LaPorte Construction Co., for $149,801.
Tilden noted the engineer’s estimate was $96,879. He expects the work to begin within 30 days and be completed about 45 days after that.
Also during the meeting, commissioners approved a change in the price for death certificates from the County Health Department. Previously, $5 was charged for the first copy of a certificate and $2 for each additional copy. Under the change requested by Bob Weaver, Health Department administrator, additional copies will cost $5.
And they signed the contract with Pictometry International Corp., which was approved by County Council Thursday. The $214,869.20 contract for up to three flyovers over the next six years will provide the county assessor’s office with updated imagery of properties in the county.
And commissioners heard a poor relief appeal request from Arthur and Laura Wiggs, Scott Township residents who wanted to know why Township Trustee Fred Slabaugh denied their request for aid. The couple said they are unsure if they will receive unemployment benefits and they are facing eviction.
They said they have since sought assistance from other agencies in the county such as Combined Community Services and Salvation Army but were either denied or told the agency was not accepting applications. The churches they contacted turned them down because they weren’t members, Laura Wiggs added.
They weren’t told there were other agencies they could seek out until the same day their request to the trustee’s office was denied, she said, nor can they afford gas to drive to aid services or seek work.
County Commissioner Ron Truex told the couple the township trustee is meant to serve as a last resort for financial aid, and county attorney Mike Miner added that the trustee’s denial was merely procedural, because they had not documented that they went to other agencies first.
The couple was advised that they should apply again after having the agencies who turned them down contact Slabaugh to confirm.
Commissioners also heard from Ted Gillem, an Enchanted Hills resident concerned with a number of abandoned and poorly kept properties surrounding his. He also requested the county sheriff’s department do regular patrols of the neighborhood.
Truex told Gillem that the board of health is doing what it can on abandoned properties, but that some property owners have proved hard to find. But he said the county will work more aggressively on the issue.[[In-content Ad]]
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