Brian reported REDI I leveraged $20 million in public funds into an estimated $408 million in private investment across the region and offered early projections for REDI II, including a $30 million award with a targeted $1.25 billion in private investment; he thanked Decatur County for its support.

A public hearing on the Decatur County draft comprehensive plan drew lengthy discussion about alternative energy and data centers; staff said the draft (nearly 300 pages) now discourages alternative energy development on agricultural land with language to be refined by the steering committee and commissioners, and county officials signaled ordinance drafting and moratorium extensions will be used to implement policy.

The commissioners approved the Sept. 8 meeting minutes and Sept. 11 executive-session minutes, authorized claims and payroll (payroll reported at $4,427,066), confirmed Larry Martin's appointment to the Sand Creek Township Advisory Board, approved a Right to Life cross display for Oct. 3–10, and adopted a temporary data center moratorium (Ordinance No. 2026-15).

The Decatur County Board of Commissioners approved Ordinance No. 2026-15, a strategic moratorium on processing applications for data centers that define a critical IT load of 250 megawatts or more, effective Sept. 21, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2026 while the county finalizes its comprehensive plan and ordinances.

Staff presented draft figures: roughly $564,000 to align base pay and an estimate of about $615,000 for a $3,000 one-time stipend across employees; council asked finance staff to verify and deliver exact numbers.

Councilors reviewed a WIS pay study and agreed to direct staff to calculate costs of moving employees to the WIS base for 2027 and applying a one-year stipend for those already above base; final numbers will return to the board before budget adoption.

Staff reported Motorola began radius mapping for the county’s new 9-1-1 system without the county pushing it live; mapping includes PSTAP boundaries that will be submitted to Apple and Google and unlock additional device-based reporting features for callers.

Staff raised concerns that a Motorola GIS management proposal would limit updates to four times per year while the new NG911 standards referenced in the meeting require addressing updates within seven business days; staff also noted a one‑time $12,000–$13,000 cleanup the vendor would perform if the county signs a contract.

Staff reported receipt of an $82,000 Motorola subscription bill and said a $27,627 claim for the 9-1-1 portion was submitted; board members instructed staff to hold payment until Motorola clarifies charges for modules the county says it cannot use and until outstanding invoices are reconciled.

After a substantive discussion about engineering costs and whether to hire a professionally licensed engineer, the council authorized a median salary of $70,917 for the highway superintendent and agreed to revisit pay if a candidate with engineering credentials requires higher compensation.

The council approved an appropriation of up to $2,000,000 (to remain in interest-bearing accounts until drawn) to advance the proposed pool project; presenters said pledges and foundation-held funds will be used to reimburse draws, and staff will track pay apps and donor distributions through the auditor's office.

At a public comment-packed session, residents urged Decatur County to impose a moratorium or ban on data centers over water use, environmental and farmland concerns; commissioners said a moratorium would require drafted ordinance language and legal review and pointed to the comprehensive plan as the appropriate policy venue.

After a DNR presentation on creating a Flat Rock watershed development commission, Decatur County commissioners heard multiple residents express fears about taxes, easements and private-property impacts and voted not to pursue joining the commission at this time.

Council approved correcting a missed appropriation and authorized the county's $175,232 public-safety share of a Greensburg interlocal 911 agreement; it also approved ARPA-funded radio purchases and related transfers discussed earlier in the meeting.

Rick Anderson of Varie told Decatur County commissioners on June 1 that prior design work exists for an annex retrofit (lighting, HVAC, windows) with previous estimates near $2 million; he urged an RFQ/RFP procurement path. Commissioners scheduled the long-range planning committee to review the materials on June 19.

On June 1, 2026 the Decatur County Board of Commissioners approved minutes, county claims and payroll, renewed a jail tracking contract and greenlit fair vendor and facility-use requests while hearing updates on roads and a possible annex energy retrofit.

Chief Deputy Eric Blickett told commissioners a three-year renewal of the Guardian inmate-tracking system will cost $17,700 in year one, plus a $2,500 command-cloud upgrade and a $3,990 training fee; the county will pay from the jail commissary account. Commissioners approved the renewal by voice vote on June 1.

Decatur County's surveyor described a multi-county plan to treat the Flat Rock River as a regulated drain, with maintenance costs apportioned to landowners by acreage; commissioners voiced concern about cost allocation and requested a DNR presentation and inter-county feedback.

Decatur County REMC presented progress on its PowerStream Fiber build: a Next Level award (~$4.67M) covered 565 addresses while mainline infrastructure passes about 1,400 homes; BEAD-supported Phase 2 (roughly $7.1M) aims to serve 889 more addresses and pass about 2,800 homes, pending final state contracts and environmental approvals.

The county's dispatch director told the board the center will switch to a Motorola digital 911 system with installer work beginning May 18, configuration May 26, dispatcher training around June 1 and a planned go‑live June 8; staff said the change follows a decision that avoided a roughly $70,000 upgrade to the older Solocom product.

County commissioners approved moving the public emergency alert system to Rave and agreed to pay to exit the Code Red contract after migration and notification failures left residents without timely alerts.

A compact roundup of motions the board approved at the meeting, including roadway agreement for battery storage, IDOH grant acceptance, ambulance title transfers, certificate-sale pause, Park Road fog-seal, pool BOT amendment and ARPA audit contract.

After some residents did not receive a tornado warning, the board discussed failures in its mass-notification system (data carryover, limited certified users), contract limits with the incumbent vendor and whether to pay roughly $4,186 for overlapping contractor support to maintain alerts until a long-term solution is in place.

The Decatur County Wellness Board agreed to forward an $80,000 recommendation to the county commissioners to help ARC refinance loans, with release contingent on proof the ARC is actively participating in RecoveryWorks; the board also denied Foundations for Recovery’s initial grant application but invited a revised submission.

Decatur County Community Corrections voted to submit a grant application to the state and to request larger 2027 funding after staff warned of an estimated $20 million statewide reduction in community corrections funding; members were told to list full department spending so cuts are visible to state reviewers.