Wayne County’s commissioners breezed through their weekly meeting on July 30, hearing updates on various facilities projects and other business. Jeff Plasterer and Brad Dwenger were in attendance; Aaron Roberts was absent.
Steve Higinbotham, the county administrator, said that the renovation of the courthouse’s main entrance is starting to wrap up. He noted that the bollards installed so far do not meet manufacturer specifications for spacing to adequately prevent a vehicle from passing through them. Higinbotham will work with the contractor to install additional barriers and establish financial responsibility for the additional work.
The county continues to explore bids for installing a new courthouse elevator and possibly renovating the existing elevator. Higinbotham said there’s a new vendor interested in bidding on the project that would take care of removing an existing flue in a shaft where the elevator might go, a task that was not included in the previous round of bids.
Higinbotham also reviewed a recent report on inspections performed by the county’s weights and measures office. He said they look at around 3,500 measuring devices in the course of a year. That includes fuel pumps, but also takes the staff to wrestling scales at high schools and agricultural scales in grain bins and similar structures, focused on ensuring accuracy and fairness wherever things are measured.
Commissioners heard updates from county attorney Ron Cross on various legal work being done on the county’s behalf, including acquiring and transferring parcels of land and approving a $34,350 consulting contract with Peterson Consulting for a compliance report requested by the auditor’s office.
Plasterer and Dwenger note that they anticipate lively discussion at the Wednesday, Aug. 6, public meeting about the proposed wheel tax being considered for vehicles driving on Wayne County roads. Wayne County council is considering the new usage fees to address significant new constraints and cuts imposed by the Indiana General Assembly in its recent legislative session.
A version of this article appeared in the August 6 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.