Bartholomew County commissioners and council members aren’t expected to allow the public to return in person to their meetings for at least another two months.
Due to the ongoing novel coronavirus threat, the earliest date considered for allowing residents to attend council and commissioners’ meetings in person is Monday, Sept. 7, commissioners Chairman Carl Lienhoop said.
“We’ll probably wait and see what the governor does during the month of August,” Lienhoop said. “We’ll hear his recommendations, and go from there.”
Residents may participate in the meetings through the Zoom video conferencing system. That includes tonight’s 6 p.m. county council meeting, which may include a discussion regarding body cameras for sheriff’s deputies.
Invitations to join the Zoom video conferences can be requested by contacting Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor at 812-379-1510. Information will be provided that contains details required to watch the meeting online.
About three people watched last week’s council work session and participated through Zoom video conferencing, O’Connor said.
In order to further reduce the odds of COVID-19 spreading through county facilities, the commissioners agreed Monday to purchase two types of temperature scanners Monday.
Nine scanners that take the temperature of one person at a time with a total cost of $16,506 will be obtained. These devices, which will be purchased from Columbus-based CCS Indiana, will be positioned in county-owned facilities with limited foot traffic, such as the Court Services building and highway garage, county officials said.
“They are on a stand and look like a little robot,” county information technology director Scott Mayes said.
The commissioners also agreed to purchased two more expensive body temperature scanners. With a unit price of about $9,000 a piece, these scanners are identical to those that were installed last spring at the county courthouse and county government building, Mayes said. Instead of one person at a time, these machines are capable of scanning several people at one time and pinpointing any individual running a fever, he said.
“We would normally be more frugal with the number of units we purchase,” commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said. “But our purpose is to protect the public and our employees.”
One of the higher-priced scanners being purchased from Security Pros Inc. of Memphis, Indiana, will be used at the Bartholomew County Jail, while the other will be placed in The Commons, where some jury selection processes for upcoming trials are expected to take place, Mayes said.
