Jasper County Board Discusses Opening Up County

Jasper County board members Thursday discussed whether to support reopening the county following the governor's stay-at-home orders.

Jasper County Health Department Administrator Deborah Riddle said her department has been working on a plan including safety measures. Riddle said the governor mentioned Jasper County with one of the largest numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 downstate, and said her department has showed they can contain the virus.

A proposed plan for the reopening of businesses was mentioned, with the phases of reopening being two weeks in duration rather than the four weeks in the governor's plan.

Jasper County State's Attorney Chad Miller mentioned that the Board only has authority over unincorporated areas of the county. It was also mentioned that the Board does not control the licenses under which businesses operate, so can't say businesses can be open because the board didn't say they had to close. It was also noted that it would be symbolic to pass a resolution because the State would make the decisions.

As to any business considering reopening, Miller said he does not have such authority, and that business operators should check with their own insurance companies and their own attorneys.

The matter of acting on a resolution was only on Thursday's agenda for discussion, not for a vote.

In other business, the Jasper Board set the salary for the County Coroner for the next term, increasing the salary by $500 each year of the four years of the term beginning in December that would increase the salary to $20,000 by the end of the term.

The Board also approved Mike Murbarger, Galen Mendenhall and Larry Dorn as trustees of the Wade Fire Protection District for three-year terms; appointed Ron Helmink to the Farmland Review Committee for two years; reappointed Bruce Elliott as trustee of the Montrose Fire Protection District until May 2023; and approved a bridge aid petition with Crooked Creek Township for a bridge 2-1/4 miles southwest of Rose Hill.

The Jasper Board also discussed the Sheriff's Department project, which would include the county jail. The structure would be built in phases, for a total of close to 13,000 square feet. The cost is projected at $3.3 to $3.5 million. The vote to approve the concept of the floor plan design of the sheriff's department was 8-4 in favor.