DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 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, October 23, 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, Alison Grimes, Clerk and Joan Brown, Deputy Clerk.

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.

At 8:45 a.m., Sergeant Chris Clawson, County Sheriff’s Department, met briefly with the Board to review information concerning the Sheriff’s annual vehicle request. This year the Sheriff’s Department will be requesting bids for three (3) four-wheel drive specialty service vehicles. Bid documents will be mailed to area new car dealers early next week.

9:30 a.m. Becky Wagner, County Administrator, presented her weekly update at this time.

The Family and Children First Council meeting was held Wednesday. Kathy Koch, Fiscal Agent, presented current balances in Family and Children First Council and the “Help Me Grow” program. A “Help Me Grow” Retreat will be held November 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Public Safety Services facility. During this retreat, presentations will be given by various “Help Me Grow” specialists. This retreat is designed to familiarize council members with the inner workings of the “Help Me Grow” program.

Dennis McKay, Job and Family Services Director, informed Becky that the State CRIS-E (Client Registry Information System Enhanced) system is being hooked up at the One-Stop facility located on East Second Street. After entering personal information, this system will be able to determine clients’ eligibility for cash, food and medical assistance.

Commissioners approved Vicki Lantz as the replacement for Marilyn Partee on the County’s Safety Committee. Marilyn is moving from Job and Family Services to the One-Stop facility and Vicki will take over her duties as Safety Committee member at the Job and Family Services office.

Paving of the parking lot behind the KeyBank facility has been slowed due to the colder weather. Along with the County, KeyBank personnel are being kept apprised of the status of the work.

10:30 a.m. Diane Mayer and Tina Hiler, Defiance County Senior Services Center, met with the Board for an update of services. They have been in contact with Faith Smith of Defiance Clinic regarding the Dial-A-Ride Program, but have gotten no assistance, either financial or otherwise, from the Clinic as yet.

The Fall Ball was held October 2^nd at the Hicksville Senior Services Center.

Flu shots were given to seniors at both Centers by the Health Department on October 21^st and 23^rd.

The Defiance Center will be utilized by the Board of Elections as a voting station on November 4^th. The Mayor, Fred Schultz, contacted Diane on the 22^nd of October regarding the repair of the ceiling at the facility. He noted that the City is still working on getting the ceiling repaired. Hopefully, it will be completed by voting day.

The Senior Services Center will be open on Thanksgiving Day, November 27 for a meal.

As Robin Justus, Business Manager, was absent, Diane and Tina presented information Robin had prepared for the Board’s review. They submitted a quote from Tesco for an 8-passenger wheelchair vehicle for $41,350. They will check the value of their current bus for trade-in before any purchase decision is made. The Board also reviewed their vehicle report and their latest budget figures.

11:00 a.m. Lisa Karcher, Maumee Valley Planning Organization, met for a Second Public Hearing regarding the Indian Bridge Lane CDBG Water and Sanitary Sewer Program. Also attending the hearing was: James Bohlmann, Nancy Andrist and Everett Carder.

Lisa reviewed the application for the installation of the sanitary sewer for Indian Bridge Lane for a cost of $286,600.00. $163,300.00 of the cost will be covered by grant funding. Additional grant funding will also be received from Rural Development. A monthly fee of approximately $58.41 would be charged to area residents (base rate plus debt service charge). Lisa estimates the project can be bid early in 2004. The Board passed a resolution approving the submission of the water and sewer grant application. Lisa also obtained signatures on several documents that need to be sent in with the application.

After the hearing, Ms. Karcher updated the Board on the status of the projects that received funding from the 2002 CDBG Formula Program.

Today’s meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.

Approved for news release: _____________________________

Thomas L. Kime, Commissioner