By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – Tattoo and body piercing establishments in Wabash County may soon see a decrease in their yearly permit fees.
The Wabash County Board of Commissioners adopted General Ordinance 2017-85-03 at its Monday, July 24, meeting, which amends GO 2015-85-3 Sections 23.1.2 and 23.2.4 to lower permit fees for businesses with no violations.
“The Health Department asked that you change some permit fees,” County Attorney Steve Downs said at the meeting.
“Rather than the same fee every year to renew, if the tattoo facility does not have a violation within a 12-month period, the fee is reduced for subsequent years.”
The original ordinance established a $750 yearly permit for a facility (Section 23.1.2), and a $250 “Tattoo Artist Permit/Body Piercing Permit” for those not working under a permitted facility (Section 23.2.1). Both types of permits expire on Dec. 31 of the receiving year.
The new ordinance raises the initial fee for a facility to $1,000, but decreases it to $500 per year if the facility has no health code violations.
Artist permits remain at $250 initially, then drop to $200 if the artist has no health code violations in the permitted year.
Both changes state that violations will revert the permit cost to the full amount.
The commissioners adopted the ordinance after suspending the rules to approve a first and second reading.
Additional news from the commissioners’ meeting included the second quarter report from Wabash County Transit, a request for a new ordinance regarding detours and county roads, and the weekly jail report.
Bev Ferry, of Living Well in Wabash County, informed the commissioners that Wabash County Transit is on track for its 2017 budget, and that the organization’s biggest challenge currently is the detours on major roadways throughout the county.
Additionally, she said that demand is changing the way that Wabash County Transit does business.
“We have opened up our route a little bit in the morning. There’s so much ride demand for employment going from Wabash to North Manchester that we now start picking up at 5:40 in the morning,” Ferry said.
“These are people that do not have reliable vehicles. In some instances, you have somebody who’s still working who is a senior, and they ride by donation, but the other people are paying the full fare.”
She also noted that the organization will begin using its new deviated fixed point routes between North Manchester and Wabash, rather than just within in the city as it previously intended.
“We think, right now, it will help us serve people better if we focus on the North Manchester and back route first,” she said, noting that demand from the town is primarily a result of employment, medical and educational transportation needs.
Additionally, Ferry said that, per state regulations, she and Commissioner Barry Epply will meet in August to take a detailed look at the organization’s financials, rather than doing so at the commissioners’ meeting.
Sheriff Bob Land asked that the commissioners adopt a blanket ordinance requiring semi trucks and other large vehicles to abide by posted detour routes, rather than using county roads.
Land said that he and County Highway Superintendent John Martin have both received multiple calls regarding semis using county roads rather than the posted detours for State Roads 13 and 15.
“If we could just do a blanket ordinance stating that if there are any detours in Wabash County, you have to follow that way,” Land said.
Givens said that he has also received calls regarding semis unnecessarily using county roads, and that he agreed with the idea.
Downs said that he would have to talk to Land and Martin regarding the specifics of the proposal before saying whether such an ordinance could legally be adopted.
For the jail report, Land said that, as of July 24, there are 85 inmates being held in the Wabash County Jail, with an additional 43 in Miami County, seven in Wells County and nine in Elkhart County, for a total of 144.