Monroe County commissioners elect Julie Thomas as president, approve $1M INDOT grant and routine contracts

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 15 elected Julie Thomas as board president and Jody Madera as vice president and approved a series of routine contracts, appointments and a $1,000,000 Community Crossings Matching Grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The board, meeting in the Nat U Hill Room, also heard an annual auditor presentation, received routine departmental updates and approved cost-based contracts for building repairs, fire-alarm replacement and legal monitoring services. Commissioners removed one claims item totaling about $31,800 from this week’s claims docket before approving a revised accounts-payable total of $1,551,434.99.

Why it matters: The INDOT grant funds local paving projects and will be paired with county funds; the board’s approvals set contracting and budgetary authority for repairs and county services for the coming months.

Most of the meeting’s formal votes were unanimous among the two commissioners present. The board approved contracts including a $17,917.40 flooring replacement contract for water-damaged space, a $33,720 Strauser Construction contract to make an ADA restroom at the Johnson Hardware Building, and a $17,139.32 contract to replace the fire alarm panel at the historic courthouse.

On legislative monitoring, the board approved a $42,000 agreement with law-firm Ice Miller (successor to TAM Capital Group) to monitor the Indiana General Assembly and provide written updates about bills that affect county government.

On appointments, the board reappointed members to the surveyor review board (including Todd Borgman, Eric Deckard and Jess Gwynn) and granted a waiver to allow Rachel Ozer, who lives outside Monroe County, to serve on that review board. The board also made multiple liaison and board appointments, including reappointments to the Capital Improvement Board and planning commission proxies.

Votes at a glance:
- Elect officers for 2026: Julie Thomas (president), Jody Madera (vice president) — passed 2-0.
- Approve claims docket (amended, item C removed totaling ~$31,800) — passed 2-0.
- Approve Balance Flooring Inc., floor replacement — $17,917.40 — passed 2-0.
- Approve Strauser Construction, repairs and ADA restroom — $33,720 — passed 2-0.
- Approve BTEC Fire & Security, fire alarm replacement — $17,139.32 — passed 2-0.
- Approve Ice Miller legal counsel agreement — $42,000 — passed 2-0.
- Approve Innovative Technical Solutions (financial reporting) — $200/month — passed 2-0.
- Approve BI Incorporated electronic monitoring agreement (probation) — not-to-exceed $160,000 — passed 2-0.
- Approve MOU with Parenting Solutions (JDAI programming) — $5,500 — passed 2-0.
- Approve INDOT Community Crossings Matching Grant agreement — $1,000,000 — passed 2-0.
- Multiple appointments and reappointments to county boards/liaisons — passed 2-0.

What’s next: County staff will review the four bids submitted for the INDOT-funded paving package and return recommendations to the commissioners in the coming weeks. The board also noted vacancies on several boards and committees and encouraged community members to apply.

At the close of the meeting commissioners offered condolences for the loss of long-serving Perry Township trustee Dan Carp Combs and reminded the public of upcoming office hours and a February blood drive at Ivy Tech.