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The Kosciusko County Opioid Committee met on Thursday, April 16 to reorganize with Tony Ciriello and Joe Irwin appointed by the Kosciusko County Council and Sue Ann Mitchell appointed by the Kosciusko County Commissioners for one-year terms.
The first order of business was to recognize Resolution 25-02-25-01 authorizing the Opioid Litigation Settlement Funds Committee. The committee is charged with establishing an application for grant funding requests along with being responsible for a non-binding review recommendation that will be submitted to the Kosciusko County Council for their final approval and appropriation of funding.
The committee provided the balance of funds available to spend as follows:
• Restricted Fund #1237 - $374,571 with $95,000 already appropriated for KCSO Peer Recovery leaving an available balance to spend of $249,571.94.
• Unrestricted Fund #1238 - $194,635 with $30,000 appropriation for jail counseling and $22,500 appropriation for family counseling. Family counseling is not going to happen so that money will be transferred to another purpose. With the existing appropriations, the balance left to spend is $142,135.
Sheriff Jim Smith, Chief Deputy Chris McKeand and Jail Commander Kevin Gehlbaugh presented information on the requested funding of the new body scanner for the jail with the unrestricted funding. Smith already received approval to apply for the opioid grant by the commissioners and county council following adopted standards. Smith said the original body scanner purchased in 2018 was like an x-ray machine, which was state of the art equipment when it was purchased. Technology has advanced since the original purchase and the new scanner operates with AI, which is much more accurate and intuitive in identifying opioids.
The scanner has been licensed, registered and is already in service. The equipment is in place with advanced capabilities including foot and hand placement deviations register and are noted in reports that could identify abnormal issues. There is a K9 dog in the jail as an additional deterrent.
The total cost for the scanner was $172,500. The jail commissary fund paid one third of the cost ($57,500) at the end of 2025 to avoid a substantial increase in cost leaving a balance due of $115,000. A K21 Health Foundation grant was applied for but was not approved. Discussion at the time that permission was granted to apply for the K21 grant was that if not approved using opioid funds would be considered.
Further discussion was held on the system’s technology, which includes software updates being performed remotely through a secured internet connection. Gelbaugh answered technical questions related to the scanner. He stated that interruptions of usage of the scanner due to updates to the system are expected to be minimal. Issues and questions can be answered with remote service. Maintenance and updates will require an annual subscription rate of $12,500. By comparison, the old system’s annual subscription rate was $19,500. Any issues related to the operation of the scanner will be addressed by the company. The life span of the equipment was questioned. It was noted that technological changes of the future are unknown.
Smith said repeat offenders will have an ID number issued. If they return to jail, any other scans with the new equipment will be compared with other scans to further evaluate what is normal. Those images have never been available previously.
Two employees in the jail have been assigned to be responsible for each inmate at intake having a body scan done to ensure drugs are not coming into the jail on their person. The scanner and the K9 that is used in the jail will provide greater protection to stop drugs from being brought into the jail. McKeand noted the scanner will reduce the county’s liability for drug overdoses within the jail. He said the cost of the scanner compared to one issue with drugs in the jail would be a cost savings.
The committee unanimously approved recommending to the commissioners and council that the expenditure of $115,000 from Fund 1238 Unrestricted Fund is approved by the opioid committee.
A standard application to be used for applying for opioid grants was presented and discussed before approving the document unanimously with the application to be posted on the county website as a fillable pdf. The understanding is that the application will be reviewed periodically to determine if the form meets the needs of the committee. The application can be located on the Kosciusko County Government website at www.kcgov.gov then scrolling to the bottom left corner to Recent News under 2026 Opioid Grant Application.
The committee worked on a schedule for future meetings to address additional grant funding. It was agreed that Thursday, May 14 will be the deadline for submission for the next round of applications for the opioid committee meeting to be held May 21 at 8 a.m. in the old courthouse. Applications are to be submitted to the Kosciusko County Auditor’s Office either in person or via email at aschmucker@kosciusko.in.gov. Questions can be directed to Mithell at 1-574-265-1788 or smitchell@kosciusko.in.gov.
Additional meeting application deadlines and meeting dates are scheduled as follows pending the availability of funding:
• Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, deadline for grant application submission to the auditor with meeting scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026 at 8 a.m. in the courthouse, third floor courtroom.
• Thursday, Dec. 10, 2026, deadline for grant application submission to the auditor with meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 17, 2026, in the courthouse, third floor courtroom.
The meeting of the opioid committee can be viewed on the Kosciusko County website at www.kcgov.gov then select “Click Here To View All Meetings” and you will be able to select the opioid committee meeting. All county meetings are displayed in this location.
