Union County 911 director Jenny Brown brought an opportunity for a new 911 dispatch center to Union County Commissioners’ June 17 meeting.

Brown explained Reid Health has offered a potential dispatch center location at its new facility being planned south of Liberty. Reid is planning the construction of a medic station to serve as the headquarters for its Union County ambulance operations and contacted Brown about the possibility of building on additional square footage to lease to the county as a dispatch center. 

Commissioner Howard Curry replied he would be interested in finding out more information. Commissioner Tim Williams noted the importance of a new dispatch center to free up space in the Union County Sheriff's Department building. The State of Indiana requires county jails to have a medical room to provide service to inmates. Union County's historic structure is at capacity and commissioners have sought to move the dispatch center to another location in order to free up the needed space.

Williams asked if a new location would be able to communicate with the dispatch center's existing equipment, or if the equipment would need to be moved. Brown replied a virtual private network could be utilized to connect a new dispatch center outside of town with the existing equipment.

Brown asked one of the commissioners to join her and the county's 911 consultant Barry Edwards in a meeting with Reid to discuss the matter.

Also discussed
-Commissioners opened bids for the county's latest Community Crossings Matching Grant road resurfacing project. Bids were received from Dave O'Mara Contractor Inc of North Vernon in the amount of $1.67 million and Milestone Contractors of Richmond in the amount of $1.49 million. Milestone's bid listed a number of stipulations that are not included. Union County Highway Department superintendent Jeff Bowers had questions about the bid form, noting the stipulations have never been an issue with other contractors. The representative from Milestone replied the bid was made on a standardized form and any services and processes needed for the project would be included.

Curry asked how much grant funding was awarded for the project; Bowers replied the county will receive $1 million in grant funding from the Indiana Department of Transportation and the remainder will be the county's responsibility.

Williams asked his peers for input on the bids. Curry noted the lower bid from Milestone was appealing, but worried about the way the bid form was written resulting in hidden costs. Commissioners agreed to table the bids while Bowers reviews the bid.

Also discussed:
-Commissioners reviewed a proposal from Wayne Union Recycling for a five percent pay increase for the organization's educator and to change their internship position to a part-time position. Union County pays 10 percent of the educator's pay and would pay 10 percent of the part-time position. Commissioners agreed the pay increase would need to be approved by Union County Council in its upcoming budget workshops and agreed to discuss the part-time position their next meeting.

-Commissioners agreed to close the Union County Courthouse on July 1 and cancel their scheduled meeting in anticipation of heavy traffic preparing for the 4th of July Festival.