NEWS RELEASE

DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 15, 2012 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 James E. Harris, Jr., and Otto L. Nicely, Laura Howell, Administrator, Stephanie Metz, Clerk, and Lanie Miller, Deputy Clerk.

The Commissioners met in General Session and approved and signed various resolutions, contracts and documents. The Commissioners also reviewed the calendar of events and discussed upcoming meetings.

The Commissioners approved a contract with RG Zachrich Construction, Inc. for the Mulligans Bluff Road Bridge. Warren Schlatter, Defiance County Engineer, reviewed the bids and recommended that the bid for Miller Contracting Group of Ottoville, Ohio be rejected based on the bid being incomplete. Warren Schlatter recommended that the bid be awarded to RG Zachrich Construction in the amount bid by them of $434,218.00.

Based on the recommendation of Defiance County Engineer Warren Schlatter, the Commissioners awarded the bid for 2012 Crack Seal to Hill Roadway Maintenance in the amount bid by them of $87,967.50.

Robert Bailey, III, Defiance County Treasurer, and Marlene Goodwin, Defiance County Auditor, met with the Commissioners to sign the $300,000.00 Senior Center Improvement General Obligation Bonds. The bond is for three years at 1.50% interest.

Laura Howell, Administrator, met with the Board to provide her weekly update with various department and project updates. Laura provided the following updates:

· Laura recently attended the Housing Advisory Committee Meeting and was provided the following housing information based on 2010 statistics for Defiance County: Defiance County had 15,232 housing units; Of those units, 12,439 were built before 1980 (81.7%) and 4,645 were built before 1940 (30%); Foreclosure Stats: In 1995 there were 22 foreclosures; in 2008 there were 183; in 2009 there were 198 and in 2010 there were 225 foreclosures; Median Household Income 2010: $44,480.

· The Child Support Enforcement Agency case managers have been sending letters to custodial parents regarding their child’s graduation date in order to prepare for emancipation. Emancipation occurs when a child is 18 and no longer attending an accredited high school on a full-time basis. The agency will terminate the support order but continue to collect on any arrears. On orders which went into effect after January 1, 1998, the emancipation age ceiling is the child’s 19^th birthday if the child is still attending high school. The CSEA usually generates around 150-160 emancipations from April through June each year.

· The Help Me Grow department recently conducted Early Childhood Screenings with the following results: 36 children screened in Hicksville and 89 children screened in Defiance. Fifteen volunteers from various agencies assisted with the screening process of children including the Health Department, Good Sam, Northwest Ohio Education Service Center and Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission, Inc.

The Commissioners attended the Northwest Ohio Commissioners and Engineers Quarterly Meeting in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.

Release Approved: ____________________________________________________

Thomas L. Kime, Defiance County Commissioner