County Attorney Gives Commissioners Update On National Opioid Settlement
March 2, 2022 at 2:30 a.m.
County Attorney Gives Commissioners Update On National Opioid Settlement
By David [email protected]
The opioid litigation originally was brought by states and local political subdivisions against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors - McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen - and one manufacturer - Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its parent company Johnson & Johnson.
On Tuesday, Ormsby said that on Friday, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita “announced this update of the settlement with the opioid drug distributors Johnson & Johnson. At the end of last year (Dec. 14), Kosciusko County opted into the national opioid settlement agreement.”
He said the defendants will start releasing the funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022, and “money will start flowing to state and local governments in the second quarter of 2022.”
There are splits that are specified in the settlement agreement, he said. “In Indiana, the current settlement structure splits the funds into several segments amounting to a 50/50 split between the state and local communities. The first 30% of the settlement funds can be used however local communities and states want to use those funds. Of that 30% amount, half goes to local communities and half goes to the state.”
As for the other 70%, Ormsby said that is designated for opioid abatement efforts in local communities. The state will decide how to allocate half of that amount. For the remaining 35%, local governments decide how to allocate that.
As of Tuesday, Ormsby said the allocation amounts to Kosciusko County or to other Indiana communities have not been reported by the state. The amounts are based on metrics agreed upon. He said further updates to the commissioners will be provided once the allocation of dollar amounts is known.
Commissioner Cary Groninger said he appreciated Ormsby staying on top of the settlement. “It’s an opportunity for the county,” he said.
Thanks to the state’s Community Crossings grant program, the Kosciusko County Highway Department will be able to make road improvements to Old 30 and Old 15.
Tuesday, KCHD Superintendent Steve Moriarty said bids for the Old 30 and Old 15 road projects were opened up at the Feb. 15 commissioners meeting. The Old 30 project goes from the Whitley County line to Ind. 13, while the Old 15 project goes “basically from Leesburg to Milford,” Moriarty said.
Brooks Construction, for Old 30, bid $782,464; and, for Old 15, bid $764,905. Phend & Brown bid a total of $1,410,939 for both projects; separately, the company bid $707,704 for Old 30 and $703,235 for Old 15.
Moriarty on Tuesday said the low bidder was Phend & Brown with $1,410,939. He recommended the Commissioners accept that bid and go forward.
Commissioner Bob Conley asked if that amount was under the estimate.
“It is under the estimate,” Moriarty said, adding that the county will save a little over $100,000. “I’m very excited with the bids.”
Community Crossings is a matching state grant, which means the county only pays for 50% of the cost of the project, up to $1 million, and the state pays the other 50%.
Groninger said the Community Crossings projects are another way the county is trying to stretch its dollars as much as it can.
“This project, too, if we wouldn’t have got this (grant), we wouldn’t have been able to (do it),” Moriarty said. “So we’re very fortunate to have this matching grant, and only $703,000 is coming out of our budget to do it. Out of a $1.4 million project, that’s huge.”
The Commissioners accepted Moriarty’s bid recommendation by a vote of 3-0.
Moriarty also told the Commissioners that the Indiana Department of Transportation will be doing work on Ind. 14 and INDOT needs approval from the Commissioners on the unofficial detour route.
“This means that, they’ll take state roads for the primary route for detouring, but the unofficial means that they’ll look at these roads and after they’re done, they’ll cover any expense to fix it,” Moriarty said.
The unofficial detour route is CR 1200S from Peru Road to Packerton Road.
The Commissioners approved the unofficial detour route.
County Auditor Michelle Puckett brought the 2022 Kosciusko County Convention Recreation Visitors Commission (KCCRVC) interlocal agreement up to the Commissioners. She reminded them that a month or two ago “that we would be looking at revising that current agreement as the responsibilities that I’m taking on for that Commission are changing.”
At the February County Council meeting, Puckett said the Council agreed that there should be a $500 flat annual charge for that service.
“And that is to allow us to reimburse the cost of our expenses for supplies and equipment for me performing those duties for the KCCRVC,” she said. “So if that is an amount that the Commissioners would approve, then at the next (KCCRVC) meeting, which I think is next week, I will take that to the Commission and, if they approve it, they will originally sign the agreement and then I will bring it back to the Council and Commissioners for final approval.”
Groninger asked Puckett if $500 was sufficient for all the costs, and she said she thought it was fair.
“I think it’s really fair,” Commissioner Brad Jackson stated. He motioned to approve the $500 fee and the motion was approved 3-0.
County Administrator Marsha McSherry reminded the commissioners that they had put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the fire alarm system in the Justice Building and she asked for that deadline to be extended to April 1 to give people more time to get quotes in. The deadline extension was approved unanimously.
At the Feb. 1 Commissioners meeting, the deadline had been extended to Feb. 22. The request for RFPs for the jail’s fire system was originally brought up at the Jan. 18 commissioners meeting.
The next Commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. March 15 in the old courtroom of the old county courthouse.
The opioid litigation originally was brought by states and local political subdivisions against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors - McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen - and one manufacturer - Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its parent company Johnson & Johnson.
On Tuesday, Ormsby said that on Friday, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita “announced this update of the settlement with the opioid drug distributors Johnson & Johnson. At the end of last year (Dec. 14), Kosciusko County opted into the national opioid settlement agreement.”
He said the defendants will start releasing the funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022, and “money will start flowing to state and local governments in the second quarter of 2022.”
There are splits that are specified in the settlement agreement, he said. “In Indiana, the current settlement structure splits the funds into several segments amounting to a 50/50 split between the state and local communities. The first 30% of the settlement funds can be used however local communities and states want to use those funds. Of that 30% amount, half goes to local communities and half goes to the state.”
As for the other 70%, Ormsby said that is designated for opioid abatement efforts in local communities. The state will decide how to allocate half of that amount. For the remaining 35%, local governments decide how to allocate that.
As of Tuesday, Ormsby said the allocation amounts to Kosciusko County or to other Indiana communities have not been reported by the state. The amounts are based on metrics agreed upon. He said further updates to the commissioners will be provided once the allocation of dollar amounts is known.
Commissioner Cary Groninger said he appreciated Ormsby staying on top of the settlement. “It’s an opportunity for the county,” he said.
Thanks to the state’s Community Crossings grant program, the Kosciusko County Highway Department will be able to make road improvements to Old 30 and Old 15.
Tuesday, KCHD Superintendent Steve Moriarty said bids for the Old 30 and Old 15 road projects were opened up at the Feb. 15 commissioners meeting. The Old 30 project goes from the Whitley County line to Ind. 13, while the Old 15 project goes “basically from Leesburg to Milford,” Moriarty said.
Brooks Construction, for Old 30, bid $782,464; and, for Old 15, bid $764,905. Phend & Brown bid a total of $1,410,939 for both projects; separately, the company bid $707,704 for Old 30 and $703,235 for Old 15.
Moriarty on Tuesday said the low bidder was Phend & Brown with $1,410,939. He recommended the Commissioners accept that bid and go forward.
Commissioner Bob Conley asked if that amount was under the estimate.
“It is under the estimate,” Moriarty said, adding that the county will save a little over $100,000. “I’m very excited with the bids.”
Community Crossings is a matching state grant, which means the county only pays for 50% of the cost of the project, up to $1 million, and the state pays the other 50%.
Groninger said the Community Crossings projects are another way the county is trying to stretch its dollars as much as it can.
“This project, too, if we wouldn’t have got this (grant), we wouldn’t have been able to (do it),” Moriarty said. “So we’re very fortunate to have this matching grant, and only $703,000 is coming out of our budget to do it. Out of a $1.4 million project, that’s huge.”
The Commissioners accepted Moriarty’s bid recommendation by a vote of 3-0.
Moriarty also told the Commissioners that the Indiana Department of Transportation will be doing work on Ind. 14 and INDOT needs approval from the Commissioners on the unofficial detour route.
“This means that, they’ll take state roads for the primary route for detouring, but the unofficial means that they’ll look at these roads and after they’re done, they’ll cover any expense to fix it,” Moriarty said.
The unofficial detour route is CR 1200S from Peru Road to Packerton Road.
The Commissioners approved the unofficial detour route.
County Auditor Michelle Puckett brought the 2022 Kosciusko County Convention Recreation Visitors Commission (KCCRVC) interlocal agreement up to the Commissioners. She reminded them that a month or two ago “that we would be looking at revising that current agreement as the responsibilities that I’m taking on for that Commission are changing.”
At the February County Council meeting, Puckett said the Council agreed that there should be a $500 flat annual charge for that service.
“And that is to allow us to reimburse the cost of our expenses for supplies and equipment for me performing those duties for the KCCRVC,” she said. “So if that is an amount that the Commissioners would approve, then at the next (KCCRVC) meeting, which I think is next week, I will take that to the Commission and, if they approve it, they will originally sign the agreement and then I will bring it back to the Council and Commissioners for final approval.”
Groninger asked Puckett if $500 was sufficient for all the costs, and she said she thought it was fair.
“I think it’s really fair,” Commissioner Brad Jackson stated. He motioned to approve the $500 fee and the motion was approved 3-0.
County Administrator Marsha McSherry reminded the commissioners that they had put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the fire alarm system in the Justice Building and she asked for that deadline to be extended to April 1 to give people more time to get quotes in. The deadline extension was approved unanimously.
At the Feb. 1 Commissioners meeting, the deadline had been extended to Feb. 22. The request for RFPs for the jail’s fire system was originally brought up at the Jan. 18 commissioners meeting.
The next Commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. March 15 in the old courtroom of the old county courthouse.
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