Commissioners Hear From Fire District Coordinator, OK Grant
August 6, 2019 at 11:32 p.m.
By David [email protected]
District 2 is made up of seven counties, including Kosciusko County. The 2020 grant, which the commissioners approved, is for $61,860.
County Auditor Michelle Puckett said she asked Eiler to speak to the commissioners. She said she’s worked with him for “many, many years” since the beginning of the grant.
Eiler, a South Bend firefighter who has been in the fire service for 35 years, said he’s been working with Puckett and Kosciusko County for 10 of the last 12 years on fire training.
“It’s been a phenomenal program. It’s allowed training to come back locally. When I got into the fire service, we had to find classes and travel the state to do the training. With this money, we’ve been able to assist in your county, with Warsaw, build a training center. Provide lumber for building props,” Eiler said.
He spoke with Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Battalion Chief Aaron Bolinger before the commissioners meeting Tuesday. He said Bolinger told him that they’re getting ready to start a firefighter class with 26 students, and instructors will be paid out of the ICJI grant, as well as the books and training materials.
“So it’s been phenomenal. Not only for your county but the seven counties in the district that we cover,” Eiler said.
He said Goshen just finished training 28 firefighters, and Rochester is getting ready for a class of 26 firefighters from 11 different departments. The classes are for volunteer, part-time and full-time firefighters. The District 2 classes also serve some firefighter students from District 3.
“This grant has been very important and positive for the fire students,” Eiler said.
Puckett said the grant has fluctuated up and down over the years but has been “pretty consistent.”
Emergency Management Services Director Ed Rock asked for the commissioners’ approval of three Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant applications he had already sent out because they were due Aug. 2. He had previously emailed each of the commissioners a request to apply for the grants. The commissioners unanimously approved the applications.
One grant was for $95,000 for monitoring equipment that “detect volatile organic compounds (VOC), LEL, O2, CO, H2S and Gamma,” as well as backup batteries, software, cables and calibration gas.
The second was for 33 dual band radios at $3,052.50 each, for a total of $100,732.50. The individual portable radio transceivers have the capability to receive and transmit on VHF and the state system.
The last grant was for three small unmanned aircraft systems at $37,277 each, for a total of $111,831.
Rock apologized for getting approval to submit the grants after the fact.
“What happened was that I got word that a grant was going to be available. And the way the grants had been before, you were able to apply for one grant and that was pretty much it. And so I had applied for that after making a request to everybody that I needed to. And what had ended up happening, I already had submitted the grant before I actually had gotten the guidance from the state. Once I received it, it said you can submit for multiples,” Rock said.
He had already put it out to the response agencies and asked what they really needed. He got a response back. Once he submitted the first grant application, which the county knew it was already going to do, Rock decided to go ahead and apply for other grants to “meet the needs the responders were telling me about,” he said.
The three grants total over $300,000, and Rock said there are no guarantees the county will be awarded them. All three are “100% reimbursable grants.”
Rock said he received notification of the grants on July 26 and they had to be submitted by Aug. 2.
The commissioners thanked Rock for doing his due diligence in seeking out the grants.
In other business, the commissioners approved:
• Two ordinance amendments permitting the tipping of servers when the courts take petit and grand juries and those involved in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative out for meals.
Superior Court I Judge David Cates said, “If I have a jury, I want to get them out, I want to get them fed, I want to get them back in the courtroom and I want to get back to work.”
He said servers go a long way in helping that. “Those downtown do a good job of getting them in and out, and I think it’s appropriate and customary to include tip,” Cates said.
He said the county’s five judges got together and put together a jury plan, which included the ordinances permitting tipping.
• The second-quarter claims and limited power of attorney for Kosciusko Area Bus Service as requested by General Manager Amanda Landis.
She said the claims will go to the Indiana Department of Transportation for state and federal funding. KABS provided 15,366 rides in the last quarter, and Landis said that’s up a little bit this year compared to last year.
The limited power of attorney allows Landis to fill out the registration and other BMV paperwork for the two new buses KABS received recently.
• Three ordinances on establishing donation funds for the Camp HERO, Jail Chemical Addictions Program, and Teen Court.
County attorney Chad Miner said, “These are so private citizens, businesses or whatever parties (can) make donations into these programs.”
• A letter of understanding with the Indiana Department of Transportation regarding an unofficial detour route due to an intersection improvement at U.S. 6 and Ind. 13 with a junction of CR 33 in Elkhart County, as requested by Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden.
• An ordinance establishing a speed limit of 35 mph on CR 850E between CR 150N and Adams Road, and on Adams Road between CR 850E and CR 900E. The speed limit reduction from 55 mph is due to a sharp S curve and a 90-degree curve.
• An ordinance for a “no trucks” sign in the town of Atwood, on Wray Street between Main and Hovey streets. Tilden said right now trucks try to go down Wray Street, have trouble making turns at the end of the street, and drive way out into people’s yards.
District 2 is made up of seven counties, including Kosciusko County. The 2020 grant, which the commissioners approved, is for $61,860.
County Auditor Michelle Puckett said she asked Eiler to speak to the commissioners. She said she’s worked with him for “many, many years” since the beginning of the grant.
Eiler, a South Bend firefighter who has been in the fire service for 35 years, said he’s been working with Puckett and Kosciusko County for 10 of the last 12 years on fire training.
“It’s been a phenomenal program. It’s allowed training to come back locally. When I got into the fire service, we had to find classes and travel the state to do the training. With this money, we’ve been able to assist in your county, with Warsaw, build a training center. Provide lumber for building props,” Eiler said.
He spoke with Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Battalion Chief Aaron Bolinger before the commissioners meeting Tuesday. He said Bolinger told him that they’re getting ready to start a firefighter class with 26 students, and instructors will be paid out of the ICJI grant, as well as the books and training materials.
“So it’s been phenomenal. Not only for your county but the seven counties in the district that we cover,” Eiler said.
He said Goshen just finished training 28 firefighters, and Rochester is getting ready for a class of 26 firefighters from 11 different departments. The classes are for volunteer, part-time and full-time firefighters. The District 2 classes also serve some firefighter students from District 3.
“This grant has been very important and positive for the fire students,” Eiler said.
Puckett said the grant has fluctuated up and down over the years but has been “pretty consistent.”
Emergency Management Services Director Ed Rock asked for the commissioners’ approval of three Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant applications he had already sent out because they were due Aug. 2. He had previously emailed each of the commissioners a request to apply for the grants. The commissioners unanimously approved the applications.
One grant was for $95,000 for monitoring equipment that “detect volatile organic compounds (VOC), LEL, O2, CO, H2S and Gamma,” as well as backup batteries, software, cables and calibration gas.
The second was for 33 dual band radios at $3,052.50 each, for a total of $100,732.50. The individual portable radio transceivers have the capability to receive and transmit on VHF and the state system.
The last grant was for three small unmanned aircraft systems at $37,277 each, for a total of $111,831.
Rock apologized for getting approval to submit the grants after the fact.
“What happened was that I got word that a grant was going to be available. And the way the grants had been before, you were able to apply for one grant and that was pretty much it. And so I had applied for that after making a request to everybody that I needed to. And what had ended up happening, I already had submitted the grant before I actually had gotten the guidance from the state. Once I received it, it said you can submit for multiples,” Rock said.
He had already put it out to the response agencies and asked what they really needed. He got a response back. Once he submitted the first grant application, which the county knew it was already going to do, Rock decided to go ahead and apply for other grants to “meet the needs the responders were telling me about,” he said.
The three grants total over $300,000, and Rock said there are no guarantees the county will be awarded them. All three are “100% reimbursable grants.”
Rock said he received notification of the grants on July 26 and they had to be submitted by Aug. 2.
The commissioners thanked Rock for doing his due diligence in seeking out the grants.
In other business, the commissioners approved:
• Two ordinance amendments permitting the tipping of servers when the courts take petit and grand juries and those involved in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative out for meals.
Superior Court I Judge David Cates said, “If I have a jury, I want to get them out, I want to get them fed, I want to get them back in the courtroom and I want to get back to work.”
He said servers go a long way in helping that. “Those downtown do a good job of getting them in and out, and I think it’s appropriate and customary to include tip,” Cates said.
He said the county’s five judges got together and put together a jury plan, which included the ordinances permitting tipping.
• The second-quarter claims and limited power of attorney for Kosciusko Area Bus Service as requested by General Manager Amanda Landis.
She said the claims will go to the Indiana Department of Transportation for state and federal funding. KABS provided 15,366 rides in the last quarter, and Landis said that’s up a little bit this year compared to last year.
The limited power of attorney allows Landis to fill out the registration and other BMV paperwork for the two new buses KABS received recently.
• Three ordinances on establishing donation funds for the Camp HERO, Jail Chemical Addictions Program, and Teen Court.
County attorney Chad Miner said, “These are so private citizens, businesses or whatever parties (can) make donations into these programs.”
• A letter of understanding with the Indiana Department of Transportation regarding an unofficial detour route due to an intersection improvement at U.S. 6 and Ind. 13 with a junction of CR 33 in Elkhart County, as requested by Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden.
• An ordinance establishing a speed limit of 35 mph on CR 850E between CR 150N and Adams Road, and on Adams Road between CR 850E and CR 900E. The speed limit reduction from 55 mph is due to a sharp S curve and a 90-degree curve.
• An ordinance for a “no trucks” sign in the town of Atwood, on Wray Street between Main and Hovey streets. Tilden said right now trucks try to go down Wray Street, have trouble making turns at the end of the street, and drive way out into people’s yards.
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