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Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith had hoped to switch the medical services provider for the county jail from Quality Correctional Care (QCC) to TK Health by Jan. 1.
Tuesday morning, he presented an inmate health services contract for Turn Key Health Clinics LLC, doing business as TK Health, to the County Commissioners, effective Nov. 1, a full two months sooner.
“The request is for us to go into contract beginning Nov. 1 with this company. I spoke to the (county) council at the budget hearing. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, in terms of cost with our current provider, my team and I feel that this is the best way moving forward. We’ve done our due diligence,” Smith said.
With the way TK Health does the billing compared to the way the sheriff’s office is used QCC doing it, he said, it’ll stay within the budgeted line item.
Commissioner Bob Conley said he totally understood what Smith was up against and appreciated he took the in-depth look at it as he had.
Commissioner Cary Groninger made the motion to approve the contract with TK Health, Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell seconded it and it was approved 3-0.
After the meeting, Smith said the switch was going to be Jan. 1, but “the decision was made to (go forward now) because TK Health is prepared to start early, and we have the ability within our current contract to get out before the end of the year, so we decided to go ahead and make this happen now, Nov. 1, due to the unforeseen expenses and stuff that we talked about. That’s the reason behind it, that we’re going to expediate it two months.”
The cost for the contract with TK Health is $64,610.60 annually. Smith said they have a medical budget that they’ll be able to use to support the new contract.
“However, due to some of those unforeseens, like I told the council, we may be coming in to ask for an appropriation,” he said. “I have a medical budget and 90% of that budget is the contract. So, there’s a cushion. That’s all your prescriptions, that’s all your unforeseens, so if someone goes to the hospital, those type of things. That’s why you have that cushion and we’ve expended that due to the new measures that the current provider has.”
He didn’t know at this time how much of an appropriation his office will be asking the county council for to get them through the end of the year.
QCC will be given 30 days notice of the contract being discontinued. Smith said Nov. 1 is the target date for TK Health taking over.
The last day for Steve Moriarty as the Kosciusko County Highway Department superintendent was Aug. 28, as he left the county to pursue another career opportunity.
On Tuesday, the commissioners officially appointed Troy Kintzel as the superintendent. He had served as the assistant superintendent under Moriarty.
They also appointed Kintzel to the Emergency Preparedness Board, the Safety Board and the Strategic Planning Board.
Kintzel then requested permission to advertise for the 2027 annual Kosciusko County Highway bids on Oct. 7 and 14. “These are for our annual bids for fuel, aggregates, bituminous materials that we use all year,” he said.
The request to advertise was approved.
Kintzel then requested to apply for the Community Crossings Matching Grant (CCMG) for fiscal year 2027.
“Earlier this year, we received Lane Mile distribution to make up the difference. We have $322,500, was our portion that we could apply for. Double that for the 50/50 grant, that would be $645,000 for the 50/50 grant for 2027,” he said.
Kintzel said they received the CCMG for at least the last 10 years.
“That is a grant we use mostly for paving projects throughout our county. It doubles our mileage that we get to do, more or less. We pay a 50% portion, and the state pays a 50% portion of that,” Kintzel explained.
The grant application was unanimously approved.
In other business, the commissioners approved:
• KCSO Lt. Mike Mulligan’s request to purchase a 2026 Ford F150 XLT with trade-in for $35,502 from Kerlin Motors. It’ll be an administrative vehicle.
• Kosciusko County Drug Court Coordinator Abigail Fiandt’s request to apply for a $9,000 grant through the Kosciusko Coalition on Drug Education (KCODE).
Of that grant, $4,000 would be used to pay for staff to go to an annual conference; $1,500 would be utilized for drug screening supplies; $1,500 would go toward incentives for Drug Court participants; and $2,000 would be used for client emergencies such as transportation and clothing when coming out of incarceration, she explained.
The next commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. Sept. 22 in the old courtroom of the county courthouse.
