On Monday, Montgomery County Commissioners approved the retirement of the sheriff department K-9, Demon.
Demon has served the sheriff’s office since 2017. He is 10 1/2 years old. During his time with the department, he has been deployed “hundreds of times on successful drug finds, tracks and comprehensions,” per the resolution.
Demon was presented to his handler and caretaker Sgt. Kevin Crull.
Montgomery County Clerk Sondra Sixberry presented an overview concerning future changes to Montgomery County voting precincts. The first-term clerk said the changes were needed due to annexations to Crawfordsville and her offices is also attempting to straighten boundaries.
Most of the required changes due to annexation will be in Districts 3, 7 and 8.
The boundary corrections are in the center of Crawfordsville by using Washington Street as a boundary rather than Water Street.
The election board will meet Nov. 10 to consider the changes to be presented to commissioners for final approval in December. The changes would go into effect in 2027.
Bone Dry’s bid for roof replacement on the county’s government center was approved in the amount of $198,733. Work is expected to be completed by Nov. 30.
A public hearing for the OCRA grant for the Owner Occupied Rehabilitation Program was conducted.
Kristine Krueger of THRIVE Midwest presented a report describing the final numbers of the rehabilitation program. A total of 52 applications were received and 30 were approved. Homes receiving grants totaled 29. Completed applications included roofs, water heaters, HVAC systems and ADA construction projects. Of the approved applications 50% were in the county with the other 50% within Crawfordsville city limits. The grant including the county contribution of $50,000 was $500,000.
Commissioner Dan Guard thanked Krueger for administering the program for the county.
Krueger said THRIVE is now involved with two other county rehabilitation grant applications and cited the success of the Montgomery County OCRA grant has been one reason why other counties now want to use the OCRA program.
The treasurer’s sign from the courthouse was declared as surplus and was presented to county Treasurer Heather Laffoon as a thank you for her service to the county. Laffoon has been county treasurer for eight years and her term concludes at the end of 2026.
Commissioners declared the County Health Department’s 2007 Jeep as surplus and it will be sold.
Commissioners approved the highway department request to advertise the annual bid to bidders for materials and services.
Steven Andrews, Regional Veterans Service Officer for the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, presented a semi-annual report. Andrews said the local office is within state guidelines.
The next commissioner’s meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. Nov. 9 at the Montgomery County Government Center.
