Majority of county CARES requests funded

With Putnam County slated to receive the remainder of its $1.2 million in CARES Act funding soon, local officials will have no trouble in spending the money on a variety of uses.

In a special meeting Monday afternoon, the Putnam County Council allotted all but a small amount of the money, chiefly to emergency services within the county.

In order to allocate the money, the council approved a resolution noting that the money, received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by the federal government earlier this year, could go toward salaries for public safety officials.

The resolution, which the council approved 5-0, had also been unanimously approved by the Putnam County Commissioners on Monday morning.

However, the funds will not technically go toward salaries. This was simply a move recommended by state officials so that fewer receipts would have to flow to the state for the individual purchases of various items related to coronavirus response.

With the state having already having reimbursed the county for $234,946.42 in expenditures, this left an amount of $990,746.48 for the county to spend. Council member Jill Bridgewater and Commissioner Rick Woodall were prepared to send this claim to the state on Tuesday.

Once the funds are in hand, the county will be able to fund a variety of expenditures in response to coronavirus, many of which will provide upgrades for Putnam County EMS and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

Among the projects funded for Putnam County EMS are:

• $194,458.02 to turn the administrative side of EMS headquarters into a negative air space quarantine location for first responders. It also benefits the county in that it will fix moisture and mold problems in that part of the building.

• $192,809.91 for 10 Lucas Devices, which are mechanical CPR devices. Three will go EMS, while seven others will go to fire departments that have certified EMTs.

• $66,620 for two new Chevrolet Tahoes for the department. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these can serve as a transport vehicle for patients who may need to go to the hospital but do not need the level of care an ambulance provides. The State of Indiana has passed a waiver for such cases during the pandemic.

Additionally, they will serve the ongoing service of being an advanced life support intercept vehicle in the county, as Chief Kelly Russ and Assistant Chief Anthony are both paramedics who, in some situations, may be able to respond to a scene more quickly than an ambulance crew.

• $16,413.56 for four stair chairs, which will help transport patients up or down stairs when walking is not an option.

• $11,107.08 for four video systems that allow paramedics to intubate patients via video, thus reducing their risk of contracting COVID-19 or other contagious diseases.

• $1,095 for a merit bag system that will provide an easy-to-carry response tool tailored to the needs of specific dispatches.

Two sizable expenditures will also provide upgraded equipment for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

• $154,000 for a new camera system in the jail.

Jail Commander Ashley Smith explained that the camera system in the jail is one of the main areas of concern when jail inspectors visit, with blind spots at various points and 20-year-old cameras that simply don’t provide clear images.

“Some cameras, you can see the inmates’ faces. Others you have to guess who it is,” Smith said.

It will also upgrade all of the cameras to digital technology, as 90 percent of what is currently in place is analog.

• $69,451 for upgraded radios for all merit deputies.

This will get new radios for all full-time deputies, replacing the old models, which are no longer serviced by the manufacturer.

Various leaders gathered noted that the old sheriff’s radios could also help bridge the gap until new radios are able to be purchased for all fire departments in the county, as that is a big expense that will need to be paid in the coming years.

One other major expense coming out of the fund will be $400,000 to the Rainy Day Fund. This will cover debt already incurred by Putnam County EMS during the transition from the non-profit Putnam County Operation Life to the current county-owned entity.

Other entities receiving approval for various COVID-related expenses included:

• Putnam County Health Department: $19,999.04

• South Putnam Schools: $10,225.90

• North Putnam Schools: $9,437.52

• Area 30 Career Center: $4,744.87

• Cloverdale Township Fire Department: $4,800.76

• Reelsville Fire Department: $1,146.33

• Roachdale Fire Department: $487.79

• Bainbridge Fire Department: $439.83

The funded fire department requests were mainly for PPE items already purchased.

With a few other small items having already been approved by the state, Monday’s approvals left the county with around $60,000 of the original $1,224,693 in CARES funds.

The council approved the expenditures 4-1 on Monday evening, with Phil Gick, Dave Fuhrman, Keith Berry and Danny Wallace providing the affirmative votes.

Bridgewater dissented, saying she believed the process was rushed and the council had not had time to review some of the requests. Councilmen Gene Beck and Larry Parker were not present.

Among the items not funded were a requests by the Madison Township Fire Department ($5,100) and Reelsville Fire Department ($2,100), as well as two other county departments whose requests will be funded from other sources.

A request by the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency for $79,833.88 to its mobile command vehicle is likely to be funded from Public Safety Local Income Tax money.

Meanwhile, a request from EMS to pay the remaining payments totalling $94,164.01 was denied, as the money is already budgeted to be paid in the coming years.