Airport expansion begets more projects

May 24—The expansion of the runway that broke ground last week at the Daviess County Airport is barely underway and already there is talk of the need for even more construction.

"All the space they have out there is full and they have a demand for just the planes coming in now," said commissioner Ron Arnold. "When you expand the runway and start landing bigger planes there will be planes coming in that the companies will not allow to be parked out in the elements. They are required to be stored in a hanger. They will rent the hangers for the time they are here, but if we are going to fully utilize the airport, they need more hanger space."

The county agreed to seek an FAA grant totaling $34,588 for drainage improvements at the airport and the commissioners approved the transfer of 32 acres of farm land the county had been holding to the airport board

The commissioners also agreed to a new ordinance regarding oversight of the Daviess County Visitors' Bureau. The ordinance is a reflection of changes instigated after a visit by the state board of accounts. Talks on the changes have been going on for months.

"It is one of those necessary boards that each county has. Ours has obviously been reinvigorated, which is great and they have a lot of aspirations for the next couple of years. It is the commissioner's responsibility to oversee everything. Having a lot of departments wanting to do a lot of things is great but we want to make sure that it is all coordinated and communicated and this ordinance spells that out," said Gabhart. "The visitor's commission has been doing just basic things over the last few years and now they want to go to the next level. A lot of positive things there about what they are wanting to do."

The commissioners took requests from eight not-for-profit organizations for funding: Daviess County 4-H ($15,000), Senior and Family Services ($12,000), Retired Senior Volunteer Programs ($7,900), Connections ($2,500), Daviess County Historical Society ($40,000). Four Rivers Family Resource Center requested an increase from $19,000 to $50,000 to help fund the remodeling of part of the facility. Ride Solutions requested an increase in support from $7,500 to $10,000. The Daviess County Fair Board wants to rebuild the livestock area at the fairgrounds in Elnora and asked for an increase from $6,000 to $20,000.

The commissioners will review those at a budget hearing.

"Last year that line item was $109,000," said Gabhart. "That is typically where we try to cap it. If someone asks for more, then we have to take it from someone else. That just helps the commissioners to not overspend."

"They all do good work. They all serve a purpose. My question is should the county subsidize them," said Arnold. "I want the county to be the last resort for some of these things."

The courthouse renovation project is still a couple of weeks away from having the design elements in place to take the project to bid.

"We are still working on design of the courtrooms in Daviess County. We are using the current judges' suggestions. They will use these courtrooms for a few years and then the next judges will take over.," said Gabhart. "We have 20 days and then we will be moving on to the next step."

Once the county establishes the timeline for construction the current

courthouse offices will begin looking for temporary new locations.

"Renovating an historic courthouse is not easy," said Judge Dean Sobecki. "We have had some hic-cups but it is moving forward and at the end of the day it will be a good project. This is going to be a marathon. There will be some difficulties we can expect as we try to relocate and figure out where we are going."

One thing the design team from RQAW has suggested is bringing the bell from the original courthouse down from the roof and to use it as an accent to the east entrance to the building.

The commissioners authorized Daviess County Community Corrections Executive Director Laura Petty to seek a fifth, $60,000 Justice Partners Addiction grant from the state.

"Originally this money was used to start the Daviess County Peer Recovery Program. Now, that program has been sustained by the hospital, this will be used for training for those peers and community outreach projects," said Petty. "We will also use some of that money for the recovery day event we have each fall."

The commissioners opened bids on work that will be undertaken through an Indiana Department of Transportation Community Crossings grant.