NEWS RELEASE

DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2013 in the Conference Room in the Commissioners Office at 500 Court Street, Suite A, Defiance, Ohio 43512. Vice-Chairman James E. Harris, Jr. called the meeting to order. Also present were Commissioner Thomas L. Kime, Laura Howell, Administrator, Stephanie Metz, Clerk, and Angelica Abels, Deputy Clerk.

Common Pleas Court Judge Schmenk, Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Strausbaugh, and Clerk of Courts Amy Galbraith met with the Commissioners to discuss the future of the Courthouse. The Judges stressed the need for security issues being addressed. The Commissioners made the decision to begin the process of remodeling/renovating the Courthouse. The Commissioners, both Judges and Amy will be touring the City of Defiance’s old Municipal Building to see if it is feasible as a temporary location during the construction process on Friday, March 1, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.

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.

Based upon the recommendation of Warren Schlatter, Defiance County Engineer, the Commissioners awarded the 2013 Miscellaneous Concrete bid to all of the bidders. It is the intent to purchase material from the lowest bidder, but in the event of a scheduling problem we can still get the material required.

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

Help Me Grow - 30 children received Early Childhood Screenings in Hicksville on Monday, February 25^th. Free screenings are scheduled to take place in Defiance at Zion’s Lutheran Church, 1801 East Second Street on Monday, March 4, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The early childhood screening examines vision, hearing, personal and social skills, problem solving abilities, speech and language skills and small and large muscle movements for children ages birth through age 4. Appointments are required and can be scheduled through Help Me Grow at 419.782.6934 or 1-888-648-8732.

Senior Services - The Senior Services Auxiliary is preparing for its annual Garage Sale scheduled for April 26-27, 2013 at the Defiance Senior Center. The Auxiliary is looking for donations of gently used items (No clothes or shoes please.). Donations can be dropped off at Defiance or Hicksville Senior Centers or call 419.782.3233 for a donation pickup. Last year, the Auxiliary raised more than $3,600.00 at this event.

· AARP Tax-Aide will be preparing tax returns at the Defiance Senior Center January 31^st through April 12^th. There is no charge for the service, no age limit and AARP membership is not required. If interested, please call Kathy at 419-782-3233 to make an appointment (appointments are usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays).

· Healthy eating is essential at all stages of life. Older adults may be at nutritional risk due to chronic illness, medications, economic status, and mobility issues. The commodity food program is sponsored by the Toledo Seagate Food Bank. It provides eligible people a box of food to enhance their diet each month. Defiance County Senior Services is a distribution site for this program. The food is available for pick up on the Fourth Wednesday of each month, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. For your convenience, we have distribution at the Defiance, and Hicksville Senior Center locations. The Next date for distribution is March 27^th. You must pre-register for your commodities. For more information, or to get an application, please contact Ginny at 419-782-3257.

Niki Warncke, Maumee Valley Planning Organization, met with the Commissioners for the bid opening for the Defiance County Airport Public Rehabilitation Project. The following bids were received: Alexander & Bebout, Inc. - $49,233.00; Baker – Shindler Contracting Co. - $49,760.00; Birchwood Construction, Inc. - $47,160.0; Duerk Construction, Inc. - $57,971.00; Kuhlman Builders, Inc. - $51,568.00; McDonalds’ Design & Build, Inc. - $55,658.00; Schimmoeller Construction, Inc. - $55,950.00; Siebelaner Construction - $51,875.00. The Commissioners took the bids under advisement and will award at a later date.

Matt Gilroy, Defiance County Airport, met with the Commissioners to discuss the Airport Hangars. Matt stated that the hangar space for both public and private is at 90-100% capacity. The Airport Board is looking into options to add additional hangars at the Airport.

The Commissioners attended the Defiance County Planning Commission Meeting.

The Commissioners held public hearings to review the permanent base for Coressel Ditch. Increasing the permanent base does not necessarily increase the landowners’ assessments. It would increase the amount allowed to be retained in the ditch maintenance fund, so that any major repairs could be funded without a dramatic spike in the landowners’ assessment for that year. There were two landowners present for the hearing. Kevin Hancock presented a power point presentation to explain the need to increase the permanent base. The Coressel Ditch is 15,164’ long and was petitioned in 1970 with a total construction base of $5,640.59. The average annual cost to maintain this improvement over the last six years has been $2,498.01. The new proposed construction cost, which was figured at the current construction costs, is $33,895.20. After the presentation and discussions, the Commissioners approved the estimate as the construction cost of the improvement in lieu of the original construction cost of the improvement.

The Commissioners recently received the monthly report from Cecilia Parsons, Defiance County Recorder. During January, 2013, the following instruments were recorded: deeds -144; mortgages – 162; releases – 277; power of attorney – 4; plats – 2. There was $29,065.50 in receipts, of which $14,221.50 went to the Housing Trust Fund and $12,499.50 went to the General Fund.

Release Approved: ____________________________________________________

James E. Harris, Jr., Defiance County Commissioner