During Monday’s County Council meeting the Commissioners asked for an additional of $1,350,000 for the COVID-19 Pandemic line item, the amount of the reimbursable left from the initial $1.5 million. Commissioner Kevin Overmyer discussed a couple of the projects that have been approved for reimbursement funding through the CARES Act.
The commissioners will be opening bids for a morgue during their meeting on Monday, September 21st. Overmyer said the purchase of a Winnebago by the Marshall County Health Department has also been approved by the Indiana Finance Authority. He estimated these two projects would cost about $600,000. Overmyer said there are several other requests including laptops and recording equipment for the courts. He said they wouldn’t seek reimbursement of these projects until they have bids back from the mobile medical unit and the morgue. The commissioner said some requests should be funded by the county and not through the CARES Act.
Overmyer was asked several questions about the Winnebago for the Health Department. He said that Dr. Holm, the County Health Director had worked to reduce the price to $383,000. Overmyer told the council that some equipment was removed from the initial discussions. Dr. Holm said he would apply for state grants to purchase the equipment and seek assistance from Saint Joseph Health Systems. Overmyer said he didn’t have all the answers and suggested council members speak with Holm on their questions. The proposed Winnebago would offer vaccines and testing opportunities in all the communities in the county including onsite at the various schools, the Amish community and for the senior population in the county. The goal is to raise the immunization rates and overall health care in Marshall County.
Councilman Jack Roose said maintenance on the Winnebago would be a “money pit” for no more hours than it will be used over the next 10 years. He also wanted to see a list of the equipment and other projects being requested for reimbursement through the CARES Act.
Overmyer told council members a list would be made available to them. It was also noted that the $1.5 million in CARES Act funding for Marshall County needs to be used by the end of this year.
The Marshall County Council will conduct a special meeting to talk about the CARES Act funding with Dr. Holm this Friday, September 18th at 6 p.m. in the second floor meeting room of the Building.
