DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. in the Conference Room of the Board of Defiance County Commissioners, 500 Court Street, Suite A, Defiance, Ohio 43512 on Monday, April 25, 2005. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Otto L. Nicely. Also present were Commissioners Thomas L. Kime and Richard L. Cromwell; Becky Wagner, Administrator; Alison Grimes, Clerk and Joan Brown, Deputy Clerk.

8:30 a.m. Russ Herman, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, met with the Board to review any documents which may require his review and/or approval. Currently, Mr. Herman is up-to-date on county documents.

9:00 a.m. General Session Commissioners approved and signed various resolutions, contracts and documents, approved several travel requests, reviewed the agenda items and the calendar of events, discussed upcoming meetings and updated information for the calendar of events.

10:00 a.m. Warren Schlatter, County Engineer, met with the Board with his weekly update.

He submitted a job cost accounting report for the Egler Road bridge project, noting the project total as $25,125. Located .05 miles north of Gerken Road, the existing structure will be replaced with 64’ of reinforced concrete elliptical pipe.

Commissioners approved and signed plans for the Scholl Road bridge project. Located .15 miles west of Wonderly Road, the bridge will be replaced with a 20’ by 6’ reinforced concrete box. This project will be completed by force account.

10:30 a.m. Bruce Clevenger and Barb Rohrs, OSU Extension Agents, met with the Board for their quarterly update where they presented the following information:

4-H Youth Development

6 teen leaders and the 4-H educator visited 11 third grade classrooms presenting information to 275 youth about the 4-H program and opportunities. Information was also sent home with all Defiance County second and fourth grades.

4-H was also promoted by the annual Northtowne Mall show. 10 4-H clubs were represented and 73 volunteers helped with the event. A rabbit club had rabbits and equipment on display.

Family and Consumer Science

The second annual Making Money Work was offered. This program helps individuals and families adopt financial management behaviors which lead to more secure financial situations. It also aids area residents on ways to better handle their money and feel more comfortable asking financial questions.

The HOPE program offers support and educational resources to parents and youth committed to improving family relationships. Families meet together and separately to practice communication, anger management and problem solving skills. Families complete a project together outside of class. Four families successfully completed this program in March.

Agriculture, Natural Resources and Community Development

The Defiance County Farmer’s Market is returning to the Defiance Northtowne Mall and the Village of Sherwood. The market will open in Defiance on May 19^th and in Sherwood on May 20^th.

The 2005 class of 7 Master Gardeners are completing their 50 hours of horticultural training. They also volunteer 50 hours of community service in community gardening projects and staff a horticultural hotline Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.

During January, February and March, over 140 phone calls and/or personal visits were made to the county agriculture/natural resources educator requesting information on crop and livestock production, pond management and/or farm management.

11:00 a.m. Jerry Overmier and Lynn Clady, Beilharz Architects, met with the Board to review signage and interior design for the Defiance County-East facility. The main sign on East Second Street will read “Defiance County East” with the County seal. Currently there is part of the old sign there. The metal will be repainted dark bronze and the lettering will be dark blue. The current arrow signs will be repainted and the lettering redone.

The interior signs will all be the same, beige color with white lettering. They will be 8”X8” for the restrooms, department names, etc. Each department’s glass door will be labeled with lettering the same color of the door jams, sand pedal (light tan).

An 18 x 24 directory sign will be placed inside the south, east and main entrances. The directory will show a floor plan of the building and each department will be color-coded for ease in location.

The GED classroom will be located in the basement. A small sign will be placed by the stairwell directing them downstairs. It will also list the fitness room. Patty Hopkins, Job & Family Services, has requested some cabinets be placed in the classroom. The Board agreed to this, but would like to reuse the cabinets that are being pulled out of other areas. They can be repainted and resurfaced to match the décor of the classroom. The décor will be treated the same as the other conference rooms, green with a chair rail.

The room number will be as follows:

Conference rooms: 1^st floor – 1A , 1B, 2^nd floor – 2

1^st Floor

Suite 100 – Health Dept

Suite 101 – WIC

Suite 102 – Veteran’s Office

Suite 103 – Board of Elections

2^nd Floor

Suite 200 – Maumee Valley Planning

Suite 201 – Economic Development

Small Business Development Center

Suite 202 – Northwest Ohio Job Center

Suite 203 – Juvenile Probation

Suite 204 - Vacant

At 1:30 p.m., Commissioners attended a Four County Solid Waste District meeting in Paulding County.

Approved for news release: _____________________________

Otto L. Nicely, Commissioner