-The Daviess County Commissioners on Tuesday heard from Paul Williams of Hoosier Insurance. Williams reported that workman’s comp claims were running high, but that other insurance claims were much lower than expected. After Williams’ report the Commissioners voted to continue I.P.E.P. for workman’s comp and One Beacon as the carrier for the county’s general liability policies.
—The Commissioners also approved an inter-local agreement with the City of Washington to administer the County’s Zoning Ordinance. The city will receive $5,800 a month to administer the program.. Commissioner Michael Taylor said that it is a better to have one location to receive permits and zoning information since many projects involve land straddling the city and county lines. Taylor also said that paying the City was cheaper than establishing a sewerage county zoning office.
—The Commissioners also heard a report that Solar Sources will reopen the Billings Mine and expand mining activity at the Antioch Mine which propted a discussion about how coal trucks impact county roads especially County Road 350 E. Highway Superintendent Phil Cornelius suggested asking the coal company to provide the match money for this year’s Community Crossings Grant to upgrade 350 E
— County engineer Jason Heile presented a report showing savings on phase II of the Odon-Cannelburg Road project by doing inspections in-house. Heile reported that a typical project would have inspection costs of just over $638,000, but by having the County Engineer do inspections, the costs came in at $378,500. Overall, Heile reported $157,296 in total savings to the county on the project.
