The Daviess County Commissioners began Tuesday’s meeting with a public hearing focused on the reorganization of rural fire protection in Daviess County. The necessary resolutions and ordinances were then passed as the first order of business of Tuesday’s meeting. The change was introduced and discussed at the August 25th meeting. The reorganization combines the Barr Township, Cannelburg, and Montgomery Volunteer Fire Departments into the Barr Fire District and the Plainville, Elnora, Elmore Township, and Steele Township Volunteer Fire Departments into the Northwest Fire District. Harrison and Reeve Townships have previously formed the Southeast Fire District, and Veale Township organized the Veale Fire District. Each fire district will be administered by its own administrative board, which will be appointed by the first of next year. The reorganization will allow the Fire Districts to have a more sustainable source for replacing equipment and providing rural fire protection in Daviess County. Only the Odon and Madison Townships’ volunteer departments elected to not participate in the reorganization. In other businesses the Commissioners approved an updated schedule of costs for the Health Department and updated policy to meet state guidelines. The commissioners also signed a contract with Ride Solutions to deliver voting machines on Election Day, and they approved a request from Faith Dalton for limited use of the county’s WTH/GIS information. County Highway Superintendent Chris Winkler told the Commissioners that the County had received the latest disbursement from the State. Winkler also reported that the county has completed this year’s tiling schedule and will begin some chip and seal projects. At the end of the meeting, Scott Schnarr reported that recent power outages had affected compressors at the courthouse and annex and that a lift station on the east side of the annex also needed repairs. The commissions approved a maintenance contract for both the Annex and Courthouse HVAC systems to mitigate similar problems in the future. The Commissioners also announced that the meeting scheduled for October 13 has been cancelled.
