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After receiving only one bid for the Chinworth Bridge rehabilitation project, the county will rebid it with a larger scope.
Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Troy Kintzel reminded the County Commissioners Monday recently they received one bid for the project. The bid on Sept. 22 was from Milestone Construction for $915,412.19.
“The County Highway Department is denying this bid as we are expanding the scope of this project and we are going to rebid this project, so I would like your permission to deny the bid, per expanding the scope, and we will rebid this. And I would like your permission also to advertise this again in the paper for bids and we will reopen this as we get bids again,” Kintzel said.
Commissioner Cary Groninger made a motion to deny the current bid and readvertise for new ones with an increase in the scope of the project, and that motion passed 3-0.
Groninger also gave an update on the Justice Building repairs.
On Aug. 29, 2025, exterior limestone panels on the east side (facing Lake Street) of the Justice Building fell suddenly and unexpectedly, but luckily no one was hurt. On July 14, 2026, the commissioners approved the low bid of $698,000 from Structural Waterproofing and Restoration LLC, out of Memphis, Tenn., to do the repair work to the damaged area of the Justice Building. On Aug. 25, 2026, the commissioners approved the contract with Design Collaborative for $212,000 for the architectural side of the roof replacement.
Monday in his update, Groninger said, “We have been at a couple of meetings with our contractor over the last couple weeks and our engineer, and what looks like is going to happen here ... with weather conditions and where we’re at in the season, I think a lot of the physical work on the building will not start until spring just because some of their products are temperature related and they can’t complete that work before the winter. But there are lots of things that will be happening, as far as people around the building. We’ve got to measure, do as-builds or shop drawings for all the limestone pieces that are getting replaced. There’s some construction testing. There’s some things that are going to be happening, but the bulk of the repairs of the building will not start until spring 2027.”
He said they wanted the job done well and they wanted to make sure it was completed in conditions that the manufacturers would stand behind.
Commissioner Bob Conley said, “We all like to work in conditions that are favorable for a good outcome. That’s what we’re hoping for. As much as we hate to have to do that, we think it’s prudent to take that action.”
Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell said the limestone piece of the facade part is the critical part. “Trying to get that to be the same color, trying to make it look like a cohesive building and that’s going to take some time to get those materials lined up and ready to go,” she stated.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Opened the 2027 annual highway bids for everything from diesel fuel to gravel and pipes. Twenty-six companies provided sealed bids, which Kintzel requested they be taken under advisement and he would be back before the commissioners at their Nov. 17 meeting to make a recommendation. The commissioners approved for all the bids to be taken under advisement for review.
• Approved an amendment to the patrol services agreement between the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and the town of Etna Green, as presented by Lt. Mike Mulligan.
“We offer dedicated services to them on a monthly basis. The reason for today is your permission for the sheriff to sign an amendment to this agreement going from $40 an hour to $50,” Mulligan explained.
• Approved for Director of Technology Eric Sorensen to apply for the 2027 Court Reform Grant for $40,000.
“We’ve been talking for over a year about technology upgrades on a court room and the state offers grants. This would be a $40,000 reimbursable grant. That would cover probably half of a court room, so I’m just asking for permission on that today,” he explained.
• Approved five Health First Indiana (HFI) memorandums of understanding (MOU) between the Kosciusko County Health Department and several organizations for 2027 grants from HFI dollars, as requested by Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver.
He said the requests have passed through the county’s process for approval, including the health officer, pre-approval from the commissioners, the Board of Health and Monday were back before the commissioners for their full approval.
The funding, he said, included $61,563 for Northern Indiana Maternal and Child Health Network, which is involved with reproductive health counseling and STI, HIV and hepatitis testing; $15,000 for Healthy Communities Coalition, doing business as Live Well, for a support role with Parkview’s mammography mobile unit; $95,000 for Live Well for management of chronic diseases and to assist Indiana University with their mobile lung cancer screening unit; $95,000 for Warsaw Community Schools’ health liaison; and $5,400 for Purdue Extension for teaching about Type II Diabetes and heart disease, with a focus on proper eating habits and activity levels.
After that was approved, Mitchell said Health First had asked that if the commissioners were in favor of supporting the program - “and, obviously, the money is being used, I believe, very well and it’s funding a lot of things in the county that we wouldn’t have otherwise” - there was a letter drafted for the commissioners to sign in support of the Health First funding for “the applications what we might get in future use.”
She made a motion to approve the letter, Groninger seconded the motion and it passed 3-0.
• Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe gave the commissioners her third quarter Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program (HELP) report.
