Commissioners Recognize County Employees’ Wellness Efforts
August 19, 2020 at 3:47 a.m.
Commissioners Recognize County Employees’ Wellness Efforts
By David [email protected]
On Tuesday, the county commissioners recognized some employees for their success in a walking program.
“We’re now in the second year, and we’ve had several programs. We’ve seen some decreases in some of the numbers. And, two years in a row, we’ve done a Walk-IN that’s managed by Purdue Extension,” County Administrator Marsha McSherry told the county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.
Jaclyn Franks, Purdue Extension – Kosciusko County, Extension educator, thanked the commissioners for supporting the wellness programming.
“We see a really great response from the county employees, specifically with the Walk-IN we started back in May. It was a 12-week emailed-based program. I got 16 different emails, and in every Monday email, we asked the employees to track their steps for the previous week,” Franks said.
It was a way to hold the employees accountable and see if they could do “a little bit more than they were doing the previous week,” she said.
As for the results from that program, Franks said they had 74 individuals enrolled, walking over 39 million steps this summer. “So that’s fantastic,” she said. They averaged 56,000 steps per person per week. “So that’s really great.”
A few county employees walked over 1 million steps. Franks recognized them as Ronda Wiesehan, McSherry, Brooke Greer, Michelle Hyden, Sage Bice, Jessica Scheil, Kara Raymond, Andrea Stone, Amy Irwin and Cheryl McGettrick.
McSherry recognized the health and wellness committee for their work and presented gifts to the second- and third-place walkers: Greer and Hyden, respectively.
“That is awesome,” Commissioner Brad Jackson told them.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Acknowledged the receipt of submittals for the request for proposals (RFPs) for the county’s public safety communications project, as requested by Terry Burnworth, Pyramid Consulting.
RFPs were received from Motorola, J&K Communications, L3 – Harris, Word Systems, Nelson Systems and ERS Wireless.
Burnworth said the RFPs will be reviewed by the committee and he will be back next month with the results.
As part of the project, three communication towers will eventually be placed in the county to improve broadband internet and communication services.
• Approved a resolution for the Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant dollars the county is receiving and Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) is managing for the Small Business Relief Fund, as requested by KEDCO CEO Alan Tio.
“Another step in our process working with OCRA to be able to access those dollars,” Tio said.
• Approved a Kosciusko Area Bus Service funding amendment as requested by Cardinal Services, though no one from either organization was present Tuesday.
Commissioner Cary Groninger said, “They sent out a letter. Pretty much what they’re asking to do is just the use of the funds. They’re not asking for any additional funds, but it’s just a reallocation of some of the funds they had been given or will be given. It was going to be used for KABS, but because of CARES Act money, KABS is a little healthier from a finance perspective, so they’re wanting to use that money for their operation of the Cardinal Services.”
County Auditor Michelle Puckett said Groninger’s comments were “exactly it.”
• Approved an encroachment agreement for a shed on Sullivan Road on Sechrist Lake that was constructed in 1925, as requested by attorney Steve Snyder for his clients, the Perry family.
The agreement will allow the shed to remain on a public right of way unless the county decides “to turn Bass Street into a four-lane highway running into Sechrist Lake,” Snyder said. If there is any improvement to be made to Bass Street, the property owners are obligated to move the shed from the right of way if it interferes with the proposed expansion. The owners also must be given 90-days notice.
• Tabled a petition to vacate a public way on EMS D18A Lane, as requested by Area Plan Director Dan Richard. The petition will be heard at the commissioners’ Sept. 15 meeting.
• Appointed Area Plan Commission member Kevin McSherry to the Board of Zoning Appeals to replace Charlie Haffner, who retired.
• Signed a speed limit sign ordinance, as requested by Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty.
“It’s on Wooster Road, and it’s starting 500 feet west of Washington Road,” he said. There is an ordinance in place for Wooster Road to be 30 mph going into the town of Wooster, but the ordinance will allow the Highway Department to post the speed limit sign so drivers know what the speed is before they get into the town.
• Approved an amendment to an agreement with KONE for elevator maintenance service, as requested by McSherry. It’ll only save the county about $5 but KONE will be able to monitor the county’s elevators electronically remotely.
On Tuesday, the county commissioners recognized some employees for their success in a walking program.
“We’re now in the second year, and we’ve had several programs. We’ve seen some decreases in some of the numbers. And, two years in a row, we’ve done a Walk-IN that’s managed by Purdue Extension,” County Administrator Marsha McSherry told the county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.
Jaclyn Franks, Purdue Extension – Kosciusko County, Extension educator, thanked the commissioners for supporting the wellness programming.
“We see a really great response from the county employees, specifically with the Walk-IN we started back in May. It was a 12-week emailed-based program. I got 16 different emails, and in every Monday email, we asked the employees to track their steps for the previous week,” Franks said.
It was a way to hold the employees accountable and see if they could do “a little bit more than they were doing the previous week,” she said.
As for the results from that program, Franks said they had 74 individuals enrolled, walking over 39 million steps this summer. “So that’s fantastic,” she said. They averaged 56,000 steps per person per week. “So that’s really great.”
A few county employees walked over 1 million steps. Franks recognized them as Ronda Wiesehan, McSherry, Brooke Greer, Michelle Hyden, Sage Bice, Jessica Scheil, Kara Raymond, Andrea Stone, Amy Irwin and Cheryl McGettrick.
McSherry recognized the health and wellness committee for their work and presented gifts to the second- and third-place walkers: Greer and Hyden, respectively.
“That is awesome,” Commissioner Brad Jackson told them.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Acknowledged the receipt of submittals for the request for proposals (RFPs) for the county’s public safety communications project, as requested by Terry Burnworth, Pyramid Consulting.
RFPs were received from Motorola, J&K Communications, L3 – Harris, Word Systems, Nelson Systems and ERS Wireless.
Burnworth said the RFPs will be reviewed by the committee and he will be back next month with the results.
As part of the project, three communication towers will eventually be placed in the county to improve broadband internet and communication services.
• Approved a resolution for the Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant dollars the county is receiving and Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) is managing for the Small Business Relief Fund, as requested by KEDCO CEO Alan Tio.
“Another step in our process working with OCRA to be able to access those dollars,” Tio said.
• Approved a Kosciusko Area Bus Service funding amendment as requested by Cardinal Services, though no one from either organization was present Tuesday.
Commissioner Cary Groninger said, “They sent out a letter. Pretty much what they’re asking to do is just the use of the funds. They’re not asking for any additional funds, but it’s just a reallocation of some of the funds they had been given or will be given. It was going to be used for KABS, but because of CARES Act money, KABS is a little healthier from a finance perspective, so they’re wanting to use that money for their operation of the Cardinal Services.”
County Auditor Michelle Puckett said Groninger’s comments were “exactly it.”
• Approved an encroachment agreement for a shed on Sullivan Road on Sechrist Lake that was constructed in 1925, as requested by attorney Steve Snyder for his clients, the Perry family.
The agreement will allow the shed to remain on a public right of way unless the county decides “to turn Bass Street into a four-lane highway running into Sechrist Lake,” Snyder said. If there is any improvement to be made to Bass Street, the property owners are obligated to move the shed from the right of way if it interferes with the proposed expansion. The owners also must be given 90-days notice.
• Tabled a petition to vacate a public way on EMS D18A Lane, as requested by Area Plan Director Dan Richard. The petition will be heard at the commissioners’ Sept. 15 meeting.
• Appointed Area Plan Commission member Kevin McSherry to the Board of Zoning Appeals to replace Charlie Haffner, who retired.
• Signed a speed limit sign ordinance, as requested by Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty.
“It’s on Wooster Road, and it’s starting 500 feet west of Washington Road,” he said. There is an ordinance in place for Wooster Road to be 30 mph going into the town of Wooster, but the ordinance will allow the Highway Department to post the speed limit sign so drivers know what the speed is before they get into the town.
• Approved an amendment to an agreement with KONE for elevator maintenance service, as requested by McSherry. It’ll only save the county about $5 but KONE will be able to monitor the county’s elevators electronically remotely.
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