NEWS RELEASE

DEFIANCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013

The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 4, 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.

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.

The Commissioners discussed the Courthouse. On Thursday, the Commissioners made the decision to proceed with remodeling/renovation of the Courthouse. The next steps are to find a temporary location of the current Courthouse departments for when construction is ongoing and to start the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for an architect for the project. On Friday, the Commissioners held a special meeting to tour the City of Defiance’s former Municipal Court Building with Amy Galbraith, Defiance County Clerk of Courts, Defiance County Common Pleas Court Judge Schmenk, Defiance County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Strausbaugh, Defiance County Prosecuting Attorney Morris Murray, and Defiance County Sheriff David Westrick. The Commissioners felt the consensus after this meeting was that with some minor modifications, this building could be utilized as a temporary location for the Clerk of Courts, Common Pleas Court and Probate/Juvenile Court offices during the construction process of the Courthouse. The Commissioners will be scheduling a meeting with the City Administration to discuss the availability of the building. The Commissioners directed the Administrator to proceed with the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for an architect for the renovation/remodel or replacement of the existing Courthouse, depending on the existing structure.

Warren Schlatter, Defiance County Engineer, met with the Commissioners for an update.

Ron Cereghin, Defiance County Maintenance Supervisor, met with the Commissioners for an update. Ron stated that the following items have been completed since January: installed new water heaters at the Sheriff’s Office and Defiance County East; removed the interior wall of the Big Red Barn behind the Animal Shelter; installed an ice guard over the entrance at the EMA Building.

Corey Walker, Defiance County Job & Family Services Director, met with the Commissioners for an update. Corey stated that on March 4^th the Defiance County Income Maintenance Department will move to phone interviews for redetermination appointments. Intakes and initial applications will still be done as face to face appointments in the office if there is a specific or expedited need. This move will prepare the unit for case banking and begin to align it with some of the practices in place in Paulding. Clients will see a benefit by not having the need to travel to the agency as well as reduce any no-show rate (missed appointments). Corey informed the Commissioners that in 2012 there were 2,306 families (with 5,188 individuals) receiving food stamps totaling $612,113.00. This compared to 2,341 families (with 5,387 individuals receiving $649,101.00 in 2011.

The Commissioners attended the ODOT Survey Interview at the Defiance County Airport.

Release Approved: ____________________________________________________

James E. Harris, Jr., Defiance County Commissioner