Post-meeting release 5/9

Commissioners approve several appropriations for work at county airport
Also hear an update from First Step, a group that helps domestic violence victims

[Tiffin, OH May 9, 2019] – The Seneca County Board of Commissioners heard from Seneca County Airport Operator Brad Newman Thursday morning and agreed to fund several appropriations for improvement projects.
The board appropriated about $30,000 for work at the airport, this included about $6,200 for work on the Automated Weather Observing Station and about $23,800 for electrical work. The electrical work was in response to Federal Aviation Administration findings, and it is to include relocating power poles. The electrical project may cost less than the amount appropriated, but no exact quote was available Thursday.
The commissioners also agreed to move about $11,000 appropriated for work on the airport ramp from the 2018 budget into the 2019 budget. This move is of no additional cost to the county.
Additionally, the board approved a supplemental appropriation of $85,355 for the engineering work for improvements on the airport’s taxiway. The county is funding the project through an FAA grant, and the total cost will be just five percent of that figure, or about $4,270. The county will be reimbursed 90 percent of the cost from the federal government and five percent of the cost from the state.
In other business, Kelley Beckett, the interim director for First Step, updated the board on her organization.
Beckett said the agency’s former director, Terri Mercer, died last month after her battle with cancer. Beckett was consulting for the group at the time of Mercer’s illness and took over as interim director after Mercer’s death.
First Step, which is headquartered in Fostoria, helps victims of domestic violence find a new beginning. They do this by offering advocacy services, case management, shelter services and more.
Beckett said the organization’s Soul Shine Blues Festival has been canceled out of respect for Mercer and her family.
She said she is working to find new grants and to continue offering services to those who need them most.
Beckett said several fundraisers are also upcoming, including a June 22 Toledo Mud Hens game trip. For more information, contact the First Step office (419) 435-7300.
In other action, County Administrator Stacy Wilson said during her report that the county is to auction of the former Carnegie library building at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. She also said the public is invited to join the commissioners and other city and county officials for a switch-flipping ceremony at 1 p.m. May 22 at the Seneca County Justice Center. The event is to celebrate the installation of a fiber ring that is helping to increase the county’s network capabilities. The new infrastructure vastly improves networks, providing more reliable, faster connections between safety service personnel. One example of a benefit of the new system is that it makes GPS location systems much more accurate than before.
Wilson also said work on the Cemetery Lane resurfacing project is slated to begin next month.
Later in the afternoon, the commissioners also held a work session to discuss the possibility of creating a human resources department, and of potentially making changes to software used for finances.

During resolutions, the board approved all legislation from yesterday’s pre-meeting release.