NEWS
RELEASE
DEFIANCE COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008
The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session
at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, February 25, 2008 in the Conference Room in the
Commissioners Office at 500 Court Street, Suite A, Defiance, Ohio 43512.
Chairman Thomas L. Kime called the meeting to order. Also present were
Commissioners Otto L. Nicely and James E. Harris, Jr., Laura Howell,
Administrator, Cara Brown, Clerk, and Joanne Goerlitz, Deputy Clerk.
Russ Herman, Defiance County Assistant Prosecutor, met briefly with the
Commissioners. Mr. Herman updated the
Board on legal matters in the Prosecutor's office.
The Commissioners met in General Session and approved and
signed various resolutions, contracts and documents, approved several travel
requests, reviewed the agenda items and the calendar of events and discussed
upcoming meetings.
Warren Schlatter,
Defiance County Engineer, met with the Commissioners to provide an update. Warren advised that he will
be re-bidding the Stever Road
bridge re-decking project and bids will be opened on Monday, March 17, 2008 at
10:00 am in the Commissioners meeting room.
Warren also discussed various water gauges on the
rivers in Defiance
County. These gauges will
allow the County to gather information on what roads will be affected/closed
when water reaches certain levels. Warren
stated that several more gauges are needed in order to be able to gather more
accurate information.
Carrie Whetstein,
United Way Executive Director, met with the Commissioners to provide an update.
Carrie advised that their goal for 2007 was to raise $360,000.00 and they
collected $365,000.00 Defiance
County employees
contributed $7,502.00 to their campaign. In 2007, 38,000 Defiance County
residents received services from Agencies that are funded by the United Way.
Jeff Ankney, Soil
& Water Administrator, met with the Commissioners to provide an update.
Jeff stated that assessment letters on the Lick Creek Ditch project were sent
to affected landowners last week. A public hearing has been set for Monday,
March 17, 2008 at 6:30 pm at the Wesley
United Methodist
Church in Bryan, Ohio.
Soil and Water has also received approximately $38,000.00 in grant monies for
the Beetree Run Ditch, a joint ditch project between Defiance
and Paulding Counties. A public hearing on this
project will be set at a later date.
Jeff also advised
that a cement pad was poured last fall at the Penney Nature
Center on Asphacher Road. As
soon as the weather permits, a shelter house will be constructed. The Penney Nature
Center is open to the
public and is utilized by some area school districts for science field trips.
Richard Rozevink,
Veteran’s Historical Committee President, and Cecelia Brown, Defiance County
Genealogical Society, met with the Commissioners to update them on the War of
1812 Bicentennial project.
Steve McQuillin,
McQuillin & Associates, met with the Commissioners to provide them
information on the State Preservation Tax Credit. The Commissioners are exploring
all options for any financial assistance for the County facilities project.
Steve Way, DGL Managing Director, met with the
Commissioners to discuss the proposed roadway in Hicksville
and the extent of involvement of the County. The Commissioners advised that the
County will be most involved in the portion of the project from State Route 18
to State Route 2 as that will be a County
Road and will need to be constructed to county
specifications by the County
Engineer.
Release Approved: ____________________________________________________
Thomas L. Kime, Defiance County
Commissioner