NEWS RELEASE
DEFIANCE COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
THURSDAY, JUNE
2, 2005
The Board of Defiance County
Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. in the Hicksville Village Council
Room, Hicksville, Ohio on Thursday, June 2, 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 and Alison Grimes, Clerk. Joan Brown, Deputy Clerk, was present for the Defiance portion of the
meeting.
8:30 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.
The Defiance County Recorder, Jane Tadsen, submitted her May
report which noted the following instruments were recorded: 207 deeds, 331
mortgages, 251 releases, 1 lease, 5 power of attorneys, 6 soldier’s discharges
and 1 plat. Total income for the month
of May was $44,156.60; $21,876.30 for the Housing Trust and $22,280.30 for the
General Fund.
On behalf of the Board, Commissioner Nicely signed the
bidding specs and contracts for Soil and Water’s Jesse Ditch #98-8 and Allen
Ditch #00-1 projects.
9:30 a.m. Board and Staff began the return trip to Defiance.
10:00 a.m. Becky Wagner,
Administrator, briefed the Board on the following:
ü
Applications have been received for the position
of Deputy Clerk and interviews will begin today.
ü
The Dog Warden and his assistant will now have
in-car access to dog license records. A
hand-held computer will provide instant access to license numbers and/or last
name to confirm the dog’s owner or whether the dog owner has purchased a
license.
ü
A questionnaire regarding the Maumee
River has been placed in each Commissioner’s mailbox. After they have filled it out, Becky will
compile the answers and submit the results to Mark Hopper at Public Safety
Services.
10:30 a.m. Ron Cereghin,
Maintenance Supervisor, met with the Board to update them on the outside
landscaping/maintenance of Defiance County-East. The existing plants will be maintained and
mulching will be placed in the concrete islands plus around the building. OSU’s Master Gardeners have been very helpful
and informative regarding the landscaping of the area. The concrete parking blocks will be gathered
up and properly placed after the parking lot is sealed. Flagpoles will be installed and the parking
lot lights will be checked and maintained.
Ron noted that interior work is progressing well.
11:00 a.m. Jim Harris, Soil and Water Conservation District,
met with the Board for a ditch maintenance review public hearing of Central
Ditch #89-2. Also attending the meeting
were landowners Greg Guilford, Richard Stevenson, Dan Stevenson, Leonard Ewers
and county Engineer Warren Schlatter.
Jim reviewed Central Ditch noting that major changes in the
watershed and land use have been found since its original completion in 1989. There was a major drain tile installed with
catch basins along State Route 127, breaking the old watershed line and placing
more acreage into the central Ditch project.
That acreage was originally drained by an old tile going to Dry Creek (across
from the Fairview
School).
With the review Jim presented, all lands drained and
benefited by central Ditch will now need to be included in the maintenance of Central
Ditch. The new acreage added will be
figured at half of the benefit because the old tile is still hooked into the
system.
The group reviewed the information and Jim addressed several
questions or concerns the landowners had.
Jim also reviewed the maintenance base percentages of each owner, which
is computed on individual land use.
After further discussion, the Board approved the new
maintenance schedule for Central Ditch #89-2.
11:30 a.m. Lisa Karcher, Maumee Valley Planning, met
with the Board to open bids for the Hicksville Village Bryan Street Waterline
Project. Also attending the meeting was: Kent Miller, Village of Hicksville
Administrator and Ken Maag, Poggemeyer Design
Group.
No bids were received for the project. Mr. Maag will contact some of the contractors
who picked up bid specs to see why they did not bid.
11:45 a.m. Lisa Karcher, Maumee Valley Planning, held a
public hearing to amend the FY 03 and FY04 Community Development Block Grant
Small Cities Formula Program agreement with the Ohio Department of
Development. The amendment changes the
project from constructing a ramp and lobby at the Hicksville Senior
Center to paving the
parking lot at the Hicksville
Senior Center. CDBG funding totals $20,000. No other interested parties attended the
hearing. After review and discussion,
the Board approved the change. Lisa will
submit the amended changes to ODOD for their approval.
Approved for news release: _____________________________
Otto L. Nicely,
Commissioner