Commissioners tackle data centers, health coverage, and 911 leadership

During a marathon 3.5-hour session held Aug. 6, the Owen County Board of Commissioners heard public comments regarding datacenters, made plans for repaving roads, made a worrying discovery about county employee health coverage, and approved a new director for the 911 Dispatch Center.

The Commissioners’ Room was full, and extra chairs were brought in with standing-room-only space available for the first part of the meeting.

County Health Insurance Coverage

Ronald Remak, from Bill C. Brown Associates presented health insurance options for county employees to the three commissioners. The county sought bids for health coverage for its employees from three major insurance providers, all of which declined to provide quotes. According to Remak, this was a result of overall low health in the State of Indiana and more specifically that in the last year the county had more than double the amount of payouts as they paid in premiums.

“When you have a situation where an insurance company has that big of a payout with that little money coming in, it’s just not profitable for them to provide coverage,” Remak said.

Commissioners Hear From Citizens About Datacenters

County resident Mike Broach presented a draft ordinance to the commissioners that recommends banning all data centers of any kind in Owen County. He cited similar ordinances passed by the board of commissioners in Marshall County. His proposal also included prohibitions on wind, solar and industrial scale battery farms anywhere in the county.

Public comments about these datacenters also took up a fair chunk of the meeting with most in attendance being strongly against having datacenters of any kind in Owen County. The most support the idea of a datacenter received was from a few people who wanted the ban to be temporary and not permanent.

New 911 Director Approved

After hearing from the public, the commissioners considered the appointment of Alyssa Heaslet as Owen County 911 Dispatch Director, following a recommendation from the Owen County 911 Board. The meeting included nearly two hours of contentious debate, during which former dispatcher Alan McBride voiced strong objections and made unverified claims.

During the nearly two hours of public comment, McBride called into question the commissioners’ commitment to public safety, Heaslet’s professional qualifications, and the experience of the 911 Board to make the recommendation. Heaslet defended herself and her experience saying that if McBride had any proof to his accusations, she would like to see them. Heaslet and other 911 employees in attendance admitted that there were several issues that would need to be addressed by a new director.

Heaslet was ultimately confirmed as the new 911 Director by a 3-0 board vote, with conditions for a 90-day review and a report being submitted to the commissioners every two weeks.

Regarding issues at the 911 Dispatch Center, commissioner Norm Warner stated, “I would like this to be the last time, for however long I am insane enough to sit in this chair, that I have to hear about 911 and all the problems down there. I would like to hear that we’ve fixed a few of them.”

Additional Discussion

The commissioners also heard from a representative of the 2026 Hilly Hundred bicycle tour to ask for an officer to help the more than 1,200 bicycles cross State Road 46 in Owen County.

Chad Walker, Deputy Superintendent of the Owen County Highway Department presented quotes to replace culverts on Sherfield Road and MacVille Road before road surface repair can begin. Repairs are also slated to come to Hyden and Howard roads.

The lease for the county armory building was extended for the next five years at $2,600 per month. The current and future tenant, Kathleen’s Gymnastics, has occupied the building for several years. Commissioner Sam Hobbs pointed out that there were some repairs that the building needed and that the proceeds from the rent should go toward making those repairs.