The Daviess County Commissioners donated the former county home’s van to the non-profit Lighthouse Recovery Center at their meeting Monday morning.

Since the commissioners leased the county home to the recovery center about a year ago, the 1998 Oldsmobile van with just over 79,000 miles on the odometer has not been used, and Lighthouse managers said they need another van for transporting residents to church and other places.

County attorney Jeff Hayes said the county first considered leasing the van to Lighthouse but didn’t want to hold legal responsibility for it. Therefore, he recommended commissioners donate the van.

Lighthouse manager Pete Aldrich gave commissioners an update on what the recovery center has done with the property since moving in.

They have installed air conditioning with grant money and have been working to replace plumbing. The former men’s dormitory has been converted to a chapel. In the future, they may also replace sewer pipes and the roof, which has been losing shingles since a large storm a few months ago.

Currently 29 men are living at the former county home, and 10 women are living at the recovery center’s building on Main Street.

“That’s quite a turn from seven residents we had at one time to 29,” said Commissioner Steve Myers, referring to the few residents of the building when it was still the county home.

Aldrich is working out a system with Auditor Gail Doades so the recovery center will pay the insurance on the county home property.

In other business

AIR CONDITIONER

Adam Watkins, the county information technician, presented three quotes for air conditioning for a room in the courthouse that will contain the server and other computer equipment. Commissioners approved the low bid from A&R at $2,760 for a mini-split system.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

Highway Department Superintendent Larry McLin told commissioners that Little Sandy Coal Mine is ready to release CRs 650E, 400S and 425E. Commissioners agreed to the release of the roads, saying they are in good shape.

McLin also told commissioners that Barker Engineering had received a federal grant to renovate Bridge 290 on Old Vincennes Road. The project could cost $750,000. Daviess and Knox counties will have to supply $75,000 each in matching funds. This could add 40 years to the life of the bridge, he added.

The main reason for updating the bridge is to allow ambulances to still get through when it floods. Currently, if someone in one of the 29 houses across the bridge needs an ambulance during flooding, officials have to send one around from the Knox County side, said McLin.