Commissioners approve routine payments, contracts and grant applications; public raises interchange cost concerns and data-center moratorium request

St. Joseph County commissioners on Feb. 3 approved a slate of routine items — including payments, ordinances, a personnel appointment and multiple contract and grant actions — and heard public comment on a proposed diverging-diamond interchange and a requested moratorium on data-center development.

Items approved by motion and vote included: the accounts-payable docket; three ordinances previously passed by the County Council (ordinance numbers 1-26, 2-23 and 3-26); the appointment of James Greenfield to the Bridal Control Commission (the appointment requires canine experience per the chair); renewal of a security-services agreement with Per Mar for burglary and fire-alarm monitoring at county locations; authorization for the Health Department to apply for an American Heart Association "Meeting People Where They Are" grant intended to fund additional cartridges and outreach (the department requested $1,500); and authorization for the prosecutor's office to apply for a new two-year VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant to support certified victim advocates.

Bree Roberts, director of physical assets, presented the Per Mar renewal, listing covered locations including the County City Building, the Mishawaka County Services Building on Olive Street and the archives and records center, and noted that Per Mar's hardware is already installed. "Per Mar has been doing these services for us for a number of years," Roberts said, and physical assets recommended approval.

Renata Williams of the Health Department described the American Heart Association grant as aligned with an existing initiative to deliver free community health screenings in rural community centers and churches and to connect residents with primary-care resources. Williams listed screenings the program would offer — cholesterol panels, A1C (a diabetes blood test), BMI and blood pressure — and said the $1,500 request would help buy additional test cartridges for continued community screening.

A representative from the prosecutor's office (identified in the transcript as Bob Rysen Hoover) asked the board to authorize a VOCA grant application to fund victim services, noting the office's certified victim advocates and Spanish-speaking staff who accompany victims through the judicial process.

During public comment, Dan Caruso (New Carlisle) said a prior leaf-collection refund had been resolved and urged anyone with similar issues to contact county staff. Caruso also criticized the planned diverging-diamond interchange at State Road 2 and Larrison — arguing a different design could cost far less — and asked the board to support a one-year moratorium on data-center developments in St. Joseph County. County staff responded that the interchange selection followed traffic-count forecasts and level-of-service criteria involving multiple stakeholders, including the state DOT, and that the county's outlay would be funded by Amazon dollars with design requirements driven by state-approved traffic analysis.

All motions on the consent and routine items were moved, seconded and recorded as carried by the board.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the Per Mar contract renewal and proceed with grant applications as authorized; the county said further public education will accompany any interchange implementation.