Vigo County Council honors Miller's work for new shelter

​Vigo County Council President Rick Burger announced during the meeting at the annex building this evening that the council will begin regularly recognizing people who've made a difference in the community.

He presented Becky Miller of Ivy Tech Community College  with a certificate for her "leadership and skills" in making the new Terre Haute Humane Society building become a reality. Burger said the new shelter -- open to the public for one week now -- was a good investment for the community. 

Miller said she couldn't have done it alone.

"This is definitely a community-wide effort," Miller said, noting the people working at the shelter every day are the ones who make a difference.

In other council business:
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Also during the council meeting, Vigo County Treasurer Jim Bramble explained to the members that the county has purchased  $6 million in bond anticipation  5-year -notes to help the City of Terre Haute in tackling its financial challenges. Half of the money will reportedly go towards the sanitary district.

"It gives the city a little breathing room to solve some of their problems," he said.

Councilman Mark Bird questioned the city's ability to repay the debt.

"Anything we can do to help them is a plus, I just have questions on whether we'll get paid back the money," Bird said.

The council took action on the following items:

• The council approved an appropriation for $397,000 for the Vigo County Public Defender's office for payroll. Gretchen Etling, chief public defender, explained  that the request is due to restructuring to maintain compliance with state guidelines and to meet reimbursement rules.
• The council approved appropriation for  Vigo County Parks & Recreation to hire additional staff  for maintenance (Wabashiki) $10 per hour Extra Help, Maintenance (Barn) $10 per hour.

• The council approved an appropriation for a part-time deputy recorder position at $10 per hour.
• The council approved meeting date for March 2 with a March 31 deadline for personnel requests, as recommended by Councilwoman Kathy Miller for the personnel committee. She said the the meeting will be for  planning the 2017 budget, to discuss job classifications and salaries.

     "I like that, it gives us some structure as we work the system out," Burger said, after the council vote.

Community updates:
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• Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson informed the council that several design proposals have been received for the planned renovation of Hulman Civic Center. She said the project is on schedule and that they are currently working on creating a community board for the project.

• Vigo County Sheriff Greg Ewing addressed the council with population reports. He said that 65 inmates are being housed in jails at neighboring communities, due to overcrowding. Currently the inmate population is at 266 at the Cherry Street jail, with a capacity of 268.

          "I think a lot of people don't realize just how busy that county jail is," Ewing said, adding that          the cost of "farming" the inmates out is nearly $1 million a year.