Building Together transforms houses, people

The Building Together program has transformed a burned-out Crosshall Street house into a beautiful home while it tries to guide transformations within the men working on the renovation.

Jeff Holthouse, the primary instructor, and Tim Pierson of Bridges for Life provided a Building Together update Dec. 18 to Wayne County’s commissioners. The commissioners provided $200,000 in opioid settlement money and three houses — the Crosshall house and two on a Butler Street property — eligible for a deed sale so Building Together could begin.

The program takes individuals who have struggled with addiction and arranges housing for them while they learn marketable building-trades skills working on the job sites. Holthouse said it’s been a roller coaster, but the results are evident, both with the houses and the participants. The houses are the vehicle to impact lives.

“I highly recommend the program,” Holthouse said. “I think that as we move forward, we get better and better at the teamwork side and the cooperation side and the positive environment and all of the things that they have been missing as individuals.”

The program had a goal of becoming self-sustaining; however, Holthouse said requesting more opioid settlement money in 2025 will be necessary “so we can keep pedaling the bike.”

The program originally planned to house participants at the project locations, then continue using rent to fund the program. There’s been a pivot, however, after two participants relapsed. Holthouse said the participants had too much free time, and that directly led to the relapses.

With the pivot, the program now arranges housing; however, participants need second jobs to afford that housing, eliminating the danger of free time. Now, the project houses will be sold to provide Building Together funds.

Commissioner Brad Dwenger said he sees no problem with the shift to selling the completed houses. He said it’s a win for the community when participants stay clean and acquire marketable skills and for houses to enter the marketplace.

Holthouse said that selling the Crosshall house adds the necessity to replace the roof, something program participants won’t be able to do. Commissioner Jeff Plasterer said that presents an opportunity to involve roofing or roofing supply businesses in the program, possibly offering services or materials for a reduced price or free.

Fuel bids

Mike Sharp, the county’s highway supervisor, recommended that commissioners accept 2025 fuel bids with flexible pricing, a change from the fixed pricing the county has preferred the past 15 years.

Commissioners accepted a bid from Mansfield Service Partners to deliver tankers to the highway department with the price varying throughout the year. They also accepted a flexible pricing bid from Keystone Corp. for unleaded fuel purchases for county vehicles. That price was $2.4936 per gallon at the time of the bidding.

The hope is that fuel prices will continue to decline through 2025, providing a better deal than locking in Keystone’s $2.8356 fixed-rate bid. Sharp said the county has saved significantly in the past by fixing the fuel price for the year.

Commissioners also accepted bids for other highway supplies.

Other business

• Commissioners approved awarding $21,036.20 from the Downtown Revitalization project in the Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program to Philip and Teila McQueen for their Sit Sleep Save business in East Germantown. The funds were left over and awarded to the application that scored the highest among those that were not originally funded.
• Commissioners donated $7,000 in opioid settlement money to the Richmond warming center that opens on cold nights throughout the winter. 
• Five vehicles the county no longer needed were sold by online auction for $32,000. The county pays a 5% fee to the auction company.
• Commissioners approved a resolution donating a former sheriff’s department vehicle to Williamsburg’s volunteer fire department.
• Thor Construction’s bid of $1,040,000 to install a new courthouse elevator was rejected by commissioners as non-responsive because it did not include removal of an existing shaft. LWC had estimated a cost of $850,000 for the project. The project will be revisited during 2025.
• The county will send a letter to Quality Correctional Care indicating the county will not automatically renew its contract to provide healthcare to jail inmates. The action enables the county to address concerns and approach other providers before the contract ends during 2025.
• Commissioners awarded to Elan City of New York the bid for 20 solar-powered speed signs at $3,000 each.
• An expense of $505.50 from the county’s animal welfare line item was approved to pay the county’s 50% share of a low-cost spay and neuter clinic at Animal Care Alliance.