Allen County Commissioners continued conversations Tuesday morning about the creation of a Road and Bridge Committee, as well as starting once-a-month evening meetings.
At the Feb. 11 meeting, Commissioner David Lee recommended creating a citizen-led committee to assess which roads were in need of attention. He added that the group could be comprised of a couple people from each of the three districts in the county. Since then, each of the commissioners have heard from interested constituents.
The commission decided Tuesday that they will pass along these individuals’ information to Road and Bridge Director Jeremy Hopkins. “We can send the names and numbers to Jeremy and he can organize a meeting,” said Commissioner Jerry Daniels. Brocker added that he would also attend the committee meeting once it is scheduled.
The “big push” for the committee will be at the beginning of each year, said Lee. “That is so they can help outline the projects for the year,” he explained. “Because, after that, you’re in the road season and it’s more about executing the projects.”
LEE REMINDED those in attendance that the March 25 commission meeting will be held in the evening, at 6 p.m. Brocker pointed out that this gives people time to get home from work and then come to the meeting.
Commissioners have yet to decide what recurring day each month will be reserved for the evening meeting going forward. “I would like to see us do at least one a month and see how it works,” said Lee. He suggested scheduling it for the first or second Tuesday of the month. Daniels pointed out that the second Tuesday of the month is also the same evening of the Allen Community College Board of Trustees meeting. Scheduling conflicts with other meetings have been the main hiccup in determining what day will work best.
Commissioners left the conversation open-ended and noted they will decide at a future meeting what day they will designate for the evening meetings. The March 25 evening meeting will still continue as planned.
IN OTHER NEWS, Allen County 911 director Chelsie Decker reminded commissioners of the statewide tornado drill that will take place Wednesday, at 10 a.m.
She added that three Excellence in Dispatch certification classes were recently hosted Feb. 24-27 at Allen Community College. “The instructor was from Chicago and we had about 18 people in each class,” she said. “It’s three different classes to help you get one track of your certification done.” The certification is for emergency dispatchers who want to advance their skills and is sponsored by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
Decker noted that Allen County has two employees who need one more class to get their certification, and two employees who need two more classes.
“We were excited to bring students in from other areas,” she said. “We had one from Colorado, two from Nebraska, and a lot of our local agencies took advantage of having that training here locally.”
Commissioners approved spending $227,699 for an ambulance. EMS Director Michael Burnett noted that the ambulance is a Ford with a van-style chassis and a square box. He added that it could be used for some transfers and help keep some wear and tear off of the other ambulances they currently have. The money for the purchase comes from the ambulance fund which currently sits at $900,000.
