By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – The kitchen at the Wabash County Jail will soon be cooking on a brand-new stove.
“Over the last few years, on our inspection, our kitchen stove has not been to their satisfaction,” Wabash County Sheriff Bob Land said at the Monday, June 5, meeting of the county commissioners.
Land told the commissioners that the lowest quote he received for a new stove and convection oven came in at $15,200.30, from C&T Design and Equipment of Fort Wayne.
“That’s installed and everything taken care of,” Land said.
The commissioners unanimously approved the purchase.
“We’ve discussed it in the past and we’ve had some issues with it. This is a large expense for a stove, but for a commercial stove I don’t think we have much choice,” Chairman Scott Givens said.
The board also approved a motion to designate more than $30,000 as a match for a grant to raze the old Roann school building.
Roan Clerk-Treasurer Bob Fergusson presented three options for matching funds to the commissioners: a 10 percent at $19,444, a 15 percent at $30,882, and a 20 percent at $43,750.
“The higher the match, the better chance you have of getting the grant,” Fergusson said.
“We would all like to see it at the lowest, that’s where we want it. The problem with advertising it that way – if we advertise at 15 percent and later on we see that [the grants] were not going to be that competitive, we can always drop it to 10 percent. If we start it at 10 percent and then all of a sudden we find out that it is very competitive, we can’t take it up to the 15 percent from 10 percent because that would be more money out of our funds.”
The commissioners previously agreed to be co-applicants for a grant through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) in order to have the funds to demolish the structure.
The 15 percent match, at $30,882 per entity for a $330,764 grant, was approved.
“For purposes of moving ahead and for the hearing, I think 15 percent would be a good place to start, giving us the flexibility of moving to 10 if we see that it would be appropriate to do so,” Commissioner Barry Eppley said.
Fergusson also recommended using Indianapolis-based SME to handle the actual razing of the facility. He offered two other options, BCA and Cisco Group.
“SME developed the demolition specifications; I think they should carry on and go forward, unless they determine that it’s not appropriate work for them,” Eppley said.
There will be a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, at the Roann Town Hall regarding the project.
Additional news from the commissioners’ meeting included a board appointment and the weekly sheriff’s report.
The commissioners appointed Dan Dale, who farms land south of the City of Wabash, to replace Don Roser on the Wabash County Board of Zoning Appeals.
Sheriff Bob Land reported that, as of Monday, June 5, there are 82 inmates in the Wabash County Jail, with an additional 49 being held in Miami County, five in Elkhart County and six in Wells County. He said that in the last week, there were 29 new book-ins.