OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Commissioners & Drainage Board Meeting - July 28, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, July 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Yes.

0:01

Ryan will open those up and we'll come back at a later time at the meeting to read those into the record.

0:07

Number two, change order number one, VC 25, hyphen zero eight, hyphen zero one concrete street repairs.

0:14

This is a change order for a net increase of 48,5875 cents for the final material quantities need to complete the project.

0:22

When the project was originally bid out, additional deterioration occurred within that year.

0:27

So this accounts for the additional patching repairs that were not included in the original cost estimate.

0:32

Anything else here, John?

0:33

Nope, that summarizes it.

0:35

Okay.

0:35

Okay.

0:36

Motion to approve.

0:38

Commissioner Gable.

0:39

Yes.

0:39

Commissioner Canterbury.

0:41

Yes.

0:41

President Elpers.

0:43

Yes.

0:44

Number three, pipe fee acceptance for McCutch and Trace Section 3.

0:49

This is for a pipe acceptance fee of $3,292.

0:54

This is a subdivision off side road that was approved under the old Plan B drainage ordinance procedures.

1:00

You want to explain anything else here, John?

1:03

That uh old ordinance just said that any pipes outside the right-of-way could be covered through the developer paying the two dollar a foot fee.

1:13

So this fee will cover any future structural failures of those pipes outside the right-of-way in section three of McCutching Trace.

1:22

Okay.

1:22

I'll make the motion to approve.

1:25

Second.

1:26

Commissioner Gable.

1:27

Yes.

1:28

Commissioner Canterbury, yes.

1:29

President Elpers.

1:31

Yes.

1:32

Number four, usable shoulder width and shy line offset design exceptions for Darmstadt Road Bridge number 400 over CSX Railroad.

1:43

Because this is a federal aid project, the county must meet NDOT design standards.

1:47

However, this is a request to waive standards related to the shoulder width and shy line for this project.

1:54

John, anything else here?

1:57

The Shy Line is in DOT's way of saying that an object beyond a certain distance wouldn't be perceived as a hazard by a driver.

2:07

So in this case, uh for this bridge, that distance is five feet.

2:11

The shoulder is three feet eleven inches.

2:15

So we can't meet that without widening widening the bridge.

2:18

There's no signs of the existing bridge rail having been hit or anything.

2:23

So there's nothing that indicates that there is an existing problem.

2:26

So on that basis, that's why I would recommend that that design exception be approved.

2:32

And the other one in DOTS design standards call for the shoulder width to be eight feet.

2:38

And again, we can't provide that without substantial widening of that bridge.

2:43

The scope of work for that bridge was just a rehab.

2:46

So if we tried to widen the existing 3 foot eleven shoulders to make those eight feet, we'd have massive cost increases.

2:54

And again, there's no sign that there's a hazard that we need to be concerned about.

2:58

So recommend approval of that design exception as well.

3:02

So we're fitting the bridge with the existing road width, essentially.

3:08

Right?

3:08

Right.

3:08

Okay.

3:09

This is just the county's acknowledgement that these two N DOT standards won't be met.

3:15

That being said, with these there is no sign that these standards, the lack of meeting these standards is creating any existing problems that the county needs to be concerned about.

3:25

Right.

3:26

So we have a record if there were hazards or bad things that have happened there.

3:33

We might need to accommodate that, but you're saying here that everything looks safe and it meets standard.

3:40

So correct.

3:42

And this bridge got a rehab back in the mid-90s, and again, nothing was changed at that point either.

3:49

So this would be this will be the second rehab of that bridge.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████26%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████████22%
Public Safety██████████████14%
Procedural████████████12%
Intergovernmental Cooperation████████8%
Mental Health Awareness█████5%
Data Center Infrastructure████4%
Zoning Variance████4%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners & Drainage Board Meeting - July 28, 2026

The Board of County Commissioners and the Drainage Board met on July 28, 2026, at 9:38 A.M. The combined meeting addressed infrastructure contracts, design exceptions, a sidewalk waiver, funding commitments for bridge replacement, sheriff’s office agreements, a settlement agreement, rezonings, and several drainage board approvals. All votes were unanimous unless noted.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of July 14, 2026, Board of Commissioners meeting minutes (approved)
  • Employment changes (approved)
  • Auditor claims vouchers: July 13–17, 2026, and July 20–24, 2026 (approved)
  • Commissioners: transfer and appropriation requests (approved)
  • Engineer: report and claims (approved)
  • Old National Events Plaza waiver requests: Clerk’s Audit of Elections and Clerk’s Election Training (approved)
  • Treasurer: June 2026 monthly report (approved)
  • Sheriff: road closure request for Evansville Wartime Museum (approved)
  • 2nd Quarter 2026 EMS Response Time Compliance (approved)
  • All consent items were approved by a unanimous vote (Commissioners Elpers, Canterbury, Goebel).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public signed up to speak. No public comment was offered.

Discussion Items

  • Change Order #1 (VC25-08-01) “Concrete Street Repairs”: A net increase of $48,587.50 for final material quantities due to additional deterioration discovered after original bidding. Approved unanimously.
  • Pipe Fee Acceptance for McCutchan Trace Section 3: A $3,292 fee ($2/foot) to cover future structural failures of pipes outside the right-of-way under the old Plan B drainage ordinance. Approved unanimously.
  • Design Exceptions for Darmstadt Road Bridge #400 over CSX Railroad: Waiver of INDOT standards for usable shoulder width (existing 3 feet 11 inches vs. required 8 feet) and shy line offset (existing 5 feet vs. required). County Engineer John justified no history of accidents or strikes. Approved unanimously.
  • Sidewalk Waiver Request – Greystone Estates at 5925 Covert Avenue: The Area Plan Commission (APC) first recommended denial of a full waiver (6-2 vote), then recommended approval of a partial waiver (8-0) along the north side of the proposed east-west road. Developer’s engineer Scott Beadle presented a diagram showing sidewalks only on the south side. Commissioner Canterbury expressed concern about walkability and safety, noting the proximity to Harrison Fields and Price Park, but ultimately moved to approve the partial waiver along the north side as recommended by APC. The motion passed unanimously (Commissioners Gable, Canterbury, Elpers). A subsequent clarification noted that sidewalks on Shoshone Lane may also be required; the board will revisit coordination with APC and the developer.
  • Financial Commitment Letter for Hogue Road Bridge #860: Commitment to fund 100% of design and right-of-way costs plus 20% local share of construction for a federal aid application (federal fiscal year 2032, earliest bid July 2031). Total project cost estimated over $4 million. Application deadline August 7, 2026. Approved unanimously.
  • Acceptance of Street Improvements: Saddle Creek Estates Sections 2-4: Approved unanimously.
  • Circuit Court – TRECS Agreement: Memorandum of Understanding with Association of Indiana Counties for delinquent fee collection via Tax Refund Exchange and Compliance System. Approved unanimously.
  • Sheriff – Wind Down and Transition Agreement with SWIRE: Southwest Indiana Recovery and Empowerment, Inc. will be absorbed by Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare, continuing re-entry and peer support services in the jail. Approved unanimously.
  • Sheriff – First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement with Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare: Conforming amendment to allow billing for services previously provided by SWIRE. Approved unanimously.
  • Settlement Agreement: Resolves a “misunderstanding” regarding pension payments involving the Sheriff’s Department and county. Approved unanimously.
  • Resolution No. CO.R-07-26-018 (Commissioner Meeting Dates for 2027): Tabled to next meeting for further work on dates. Motion to table passed unanimously.
  • Redevelopment Commission Resolution No. 2026-VCRC-03 (TIF Payment for Poet Square Apartments): Payment contingent on completion of apartment foundations; developer is on schedule for end-of-year completion. Approved unanimously.
  • Vacation Ordinance CO.V-08-26-006 (9634 Hedden Road): First reading approved; public hearing scheduled for August 10, 2026, at 9:30 A.M. Approved unanimously.
  • Ordinance CO.05-26-011 (Off-Street Parking and Loading, Title 17): Tabled to next meeting for further work. Motion to table passed unanimously.
  • Rezonings (First Readings):
    • VC-6-2026 (Iron River Trucking, 2711 Allens Lane): M-2 w/UDC to M-2 w/UDC (removing UDC). Sent to APC for August 6, 2026.
    • VC-7-2026 (MMTT, LLC, 1710 Allens Lane): Ag to R-3. Sent to APC.
    • VC-8-2026 (Celeste I Roberts Living Trust, 2900 Schlensker Road): Ag to R-3 w/UDC. Sent to APC.
    • VC-9-2026 (Jeffrey and Nancy Effinger, 1530 Schenk Road): Ag to C-2 w/UDC. Sent to APC. All four rezonings approved unanimously on first reading.

Drainage Board Action Items

  • Amended Drainage Plan & Encroachment Agreement (2712 Willow Creek Drive, West Ridge Commons): Approval of a drainage easement encroachment agreement for installation of a 70-foot-long retaining wall (3'x3'x6' blocks, 12 feet tall, entirely underground) to address creek bank erosion. The agreement holds the developer/owner solely responsible for design, maintenance, and liability; the county provides no endorsement of the wall’s design. Despite the petitioner not having reviewed the final agreement, the board approved it unanimously, giving the developer two weeks to accept the terms and record it before beginning construction.
  • Preliminary Drainage Plan Approval – Deerfield Section 5 (with Variance): Variance for undetained runoff exceeding 10% (21% of 7.98-acre project area). County engineer and surveyor concurred. Approved unanimously after a brief comment from adjacent property owner Neil Dawsett (10344 Burke Crest Drive, building at 501 Whitetail Court), who expressed concerns; engineer Jim Morley noted they will ensure no adverse effects.
  • Drainage Plan Approval & Variance – 1700 Fry Road: Variance to allow a 6-inch deep V-bottom swale (instead of minimum 1-foot depth and width). Approved unanimously.
  • Application to Affect Regulated Drain – Crawford Brandeis Extension (2340 North Burkhart Road): Relaxation of statutory right-of-entry from 75 feet to 35 feet from top of bank, consistent with adjacent property. Approved unanimously.
  • Mark Norman Obstruction Update: Informational only. County sent letter to US Army Corps of Engineers; contact made with Megan Knuckles, who will advise on permissible actions for downed trees and debris in the channel.
  • Ditch Claims: 23 claims totaling $24,058.63 for work awarded in 2026. Approved retroactively.

Key Outcomes

  • All action items were approved unanimously except the Commissioner Meeting Dates resolution and Off-Street Parking ordinance, which were tabled.
  • The August 11, 2026, meeting was moved to August 10, 2026, to allow commissioners to attend a data center study session.
  • The next Pigeon Creek Watershed Development Commission meeting is scheduled for August 24, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. in the same room.
  • Three bids were received for the “Concrete Street Repairs” contract (VC26-08-01): River Town Construction ($769,428.25), JBI Construction ($74,241.20), and Blankenberger Brothers Inc. ($847,937.20). The bids were taken under advisement.

Meeting Transcript

Yes. Ryan will open those up and we'll come back at a later time at the meeting to read those into the record. Number two, change order number one, VC 25, hyphen zero eight, hyphen zero one concrete street repairs. This is a change order for a net increase of 48,5875 cents for the final material quantities need to complete the project. When the project was originally bid out, additional deterioration occurred within that year. So this accounts for the additional patching repairs that were not included in the original cost estimate. Anything else here, John? Nope, that summarizes it. Okay. Okay. Motion to approve. Commissioner Gable. Yes. Commissioner Canterbury. Yes. President Elpers. Yes. Number three, pipe fee acceptance for McCutch and Trace Section 3. This is for a pipe acceptance fee of $3,292. This is a subdivision off side road that was approved under the old Plan B drainage ordinance procedures. You want to explain anything else here, John? That uh old ordinance just said that any pipes outside the right-of-way could be covered through the developer paying the two dollar a foot fee. So this fee will cover any future structural failures of those pipes outside the right-of-way in section three of McCutching Trace. Okay. I'll make the motion to approve. Second. Commissioner Gable. Yes. Commissioner Canterbury, yes. President Elpers. Yes. Number four, usable shoulder width and shy line offset design exceptions for Darmstadt Road Bridge number 400 over CSX Railroad. Because this is a federal aid project, the county must meet NDOT design standards. However, this is a request to waive standards related to the shoulder width and shy line for this project. John, anything else here? The Shy Line is in DOT's way of saying that an object beyond a certain distance wouldn't be perceived as a hazard by a driver. So in this case, uh for this bridge, that distance is five feet. The shoulder is three feet eleven inches. So we can't meet that without widening widening the bridge. There's no signs of the existing bridge rail having been hit or anything. So there's nothing that indicates that there is an existing problem. So on that basis, that's why I would recommend that that design exception be approved. And the other one in DOTS design standards call for the shoulder width to be eight feet. And again, we can't provide that without substantial widening of that bridge. The scope of work for that bridge was just a rehab. So if we tried to widen the existing 3 foot eleven shoulders to make those eight feet, we'd have massive cost increases. And again, there's no sign that there's a hazard that we need to be concerned about. So recommend approval of that design exception as well. So we're fitting the bridge with the existing road width, essentially. Right?

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