The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a focus of Daviess County’s officials.
At Wednesday morning’s meeting, the Daviess County Council agreed to apply for a grant that would set up a free COVID-19 testing facility at the County Health Department. County Health Nurse Kathy Sullender asked the County to apply for a $50,000 grant from the State of Indiana to set up the program. The grant is part of a pilot project that will provide free COVID-19 screening to the public. Sullendar told the Council that the details are not fully worked out. Receiving the grant will mean a possible additional staff member and additional hours. Space in the current Health Department building is a problem, due to the inability to keep people separated. If the testing starts before the Health Department is able to get into the new Government Center, Sullender said the testing will be done on drive-up basis. until the Health Department is able to make the move to the new building, where spacing will not be a problem.
In other business:
The Council decided to delay buying back some bond issues. The Council had discussed the possiblity of paying down 10% of the outstanding bonds issued for the WestGate T.I.F. district, but decided to put the plan on hold due to the economic impact the pandemic has had on the local economy.
The Council also agreed to an additional appropriation to cover a $213,000 shortfall in the Community Corrections budget. Daviess County Community Corrections Director Diana Snyder told the Council that Community Corrections has raised user fees and made staff and spending cuts. The agency is also looking at redirecting $140,000 in work release funding that has previously gone into the County’s general fund, and using those funds in the Community Corrections budget.
