One of the last cemeteries in Kosciusko not owned by a township has been transferred over from the county to Franklin Township.
County attorney Ed Ormsby presented a resolution to the Kosciusko Commissioners Tuesday to transfer Hammon Cemetery from the commissioners to Franklin Township.
The commissioners held the simple title to the Hammon Cemetery, but Franklin Township maintains it. In order for township funds to be spent to maintain the cemetery, the township is required to hold the simple title to it, according to the resolution. In consideration of the township continuing to maintain the Hammon Cemetery, the board of commissioners “desires to transfer the Hammon Cemetery to the township for no monetary consideration,” the resolution states.
Commissioner Cary Groninger, in seconding Commissioner Bob Conley’s motion to approve the resolution, said, “This is one of the last ones, one of the last cemeteries we had in the county that weren’t owned by the trustees.”
Ormsby also presented the commissioners with the Economic Growth Workforce Development Elected Officials agreement.
“This is an agreement that designates the elected official in Kosciusko County that is responsible for workforce development, pursuant to the Indiana Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. A designated official for Kosciusko County is the president of the commissioners, so that would mean you, Brad (Jackson),” Ormsby explained.
The agreement is executed along with others in the region, he said, including the cities of Elkhart, Goshen, Mishawaka, Nappanee, Plymouth, Rochester, South Bend and Warsaw and the counties of Elkhart, Fulton, Marshall and St. Joe.
The commissioners unanimously approved the agreement.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved for Ann Torpy, clerk for the circuit and superior courts, to apply for a $21,000 grant from the Indiana secretary of state. She said the funds will be used for voter outreach and education.
“So I’m asking to apply for that $21,000 to help us with a texting program that they can use, an app that they can use to communicate with our office on election-based questions, get links to information that they need and then we’re working with a local studio - DreamOn Studios - to help us create training videos and voter outreach videos to put on our website,” Torpy explained.
She said the texting service isn’t automatically. “They have to interact with it in order to receive information,” she said. Huntington County is starting the program this fall for the November election. If she gets the grant, Torpy hopes to have it in place for the 2024 election.
• Approved the Emergency Preparedness Planning Committee, as presented by County Administrator Marsha McSherry.
The committee includes Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty; Kosciusko County Sheriff’s designated appointee, Chief Deputy Chris McKeand; Clerk of the Circuit and Superior Courts Ann Torpy; County Auditor Rhonda Helser; Groninger; McSherry; and Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter.
• Approved an August claim from the Kosciusko Area Bus Service that got missed. Helser said the claim was for KABS to purchase a bus for $211,600. “It didn’t get presented at the time,” she said.
• Heard a regular update from Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation CEO Alan Tio. He said KEDCO was still compiling data on their results for the third quarter to be presented to the county later.
Tio said KEDCO is at five years since their relaunch in 2019, with him being named CEO in fall 2018.
• Announced the next commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. Oct. 24 in the old courtroom of the old courthouse.