NEWS RELEASE

DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2012

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, August 6, 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 Otto L. Nicely and James E. Harris, Jr., Laura Howell, Administrator, Stephanie Metz, Clerk, and Lanie Lambert, Deputy Clerk.

Russ Herman, Defiance County Assistant Prosecutor, met with the Commissioners for an update on various pending legal matters.

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.

Warren Schlatter, Defiance County Engineer, met with the Commissioners for an update. Warren informed the Commissioners that the paving work has completed. Chip Seal work will begin next week, weather permitting. The Bend Road bridge over Mud Creek has been removed; the contractor will begin building the abutments this week. The county crews will be working on seeding, small culverts and the Garden Ridge site work. Warren presented his July Accumulated Revenue Report, which is $2,390,081.38 compared to $2,390,773.16 for 2011.

The Commissioners contacted the Defiance County Farm Service Agency (FSA) to see if there is any drought disaster relief for Defiance County residents. FSA stated that there are currently two programs concerning CRP ground – Emergency Haying & Grazing of CRP Acreage and Managed Haying & Grazing of CRP Acreage. Through the Emergency program the landowner can use 50% of the field and would have an approximate 10% reduction in annual CRP payment. Through the Managed program the landowner would have an approximate 25% reduction in annual CRP payment. There are also low interest loans for farmers that have had at least 30% crop production loss and cannot obtain loans through normal banking systems. FSA has recently had budget cuts, so there are no longer bulk mailings to local farmers regarding important information. If local farmers wish to continue to obtain information from FSA, they need to contact the office to provide an e-mail address. FSA is recommending all farmers to begin good record keeping so that they are prepared if the farm bill includes drought assistance retroactive for 2012.

Matt Davis, Maumee Valley Planning Organization, met with the Commissioners to discuss the Moving Ohio Forward Grant. The Commissioners will be sending letters to village, township and city officials informing them of the grant and to request them to nominate possible vacant, residential buildings for demolition through this program. Defiance County is now accepting nominations for projects to be funded with these grant dollars. The projects will then be assessed and prioritized by a committee established by the Commissioners. Project prioritization will be based on impact and compliance with the Attorney General Grant guidelines. Nominations will be taken until October 1, 2012.

Cecilia Parsons, Defiance County Recorder, recently submitted her monthly report. Cecilia reported that during the month of July, the total instruments filed were as follows: deeds- 137, Mortgages – 181, Other liens – 13, Releases – 223, Power of Attorney – 9, Soldiers Discharge – 2, Leases – 1. There was a total of $27,445.50 in receipts, of which $13,454.00 went to the Housing Trust Fund and $11,827.50 went to the General Fund.

Release Approved: ____________________________________________________

Thomas L. Kime, Defiance County Commissioner