DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003

NEWS RELEASE

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met 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 Thursday, June 19, 2003. The meeting was called to order by Thomas Kime, Chairman. Present were Commissioners Thomas L. Kime, Otto L. Nicely and Richard L. Cromwell. Also present was Becky Wagner, Administrator, and Joan Brown, Deputy Clerk.

8:30 a.m. General Session – Commissioners approved and signed various resolutions 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 bid for the Beef Barn to be built at the Defiance County Fairgrounds was awarded to Elgin Service Center – Pioneer, Ohio. The bid price was $54,118.00. The Board will be paying $30,000 towards the project, with the remaining balance being paid by private donations and the Agricultural Society. Jill McCormack, of the Hicksville area, was appointed to the Defiance County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. She will fill the unexpired term of Rev. Inboden, Hicksville.

9:15 a.m. Rich Lauffer, State EMA, and Mark Hopper, Public Safety Services, updated the Board on the flash flooding in the Sherwood area and parts of Defiance County.

9:30 a.m. Becky Wagner, County Administrator, met with the Board to present her weekly update. Work is being completed in the Key Bank parking lot to prepare for the resealing and marking of the spots. Ron Cereghin, Maintenance Supervisor, reported the speed bumps in front of the Good Samaritan School have been painted yellow for better visibility. The Engineer’s Office is reviewing flood damaged county and township roads. They will acquire estimates for repairs.

10:30 a.m. Tim Houck, Landfill Manager, presented his monthly facility report at this time.

Today’s meeting adjourned at 11:57 a.m.

The Commissioner’s Office received a call from Senator Lynn Wachtmann concerned about the area affected by the flooding. The Commissioners advised him that they will keep him up to date on what is happening.

For those who have had property damage due to the flooding, there is a possible tax reduction available. This will affect the tax bills due the following year. Forms are available at the Defiance County Courthouse, Real Estate Office, on the first floor. You can also download the form from the County’s website, www.defiance-county.com. Click on the Auditor’s section on the left hand side, click on printable forms and under Real Estate, it would be DTE form 26 – Application for valuation deduction for destroyed or damaged real property. If you have any questions, please contact the Real Estate Office at 419-782-3111 or 1-800-675-3953.

Approved for news release: _____________________________

Thomas L. Kime, Commissioner