Post-meeting release 10/15

Commissioners move closer to finalizing plan for Seneca County Museum
Also receive qualifications for energy project, review positive sales tax report

[Tiffin, OH Oct. 15, 2020] – Seneca County Commissioner Anthony Paradiso updated the board Thursday on meetings he had over the last week with Seneca County Museum stakeholders as the commissioners got one step closer to finalizing a plan for the museum.
Paradiso proposed a compromise option for the future of the museum last week that would require cooperation and teamwork between the county, the Seneca County Historical Society and the Barnes-Deinzer Museum Foundation. Under his proposal, a three-year contract would be signed with the Barnes-Deinzer Foundation giving the group operational control of the museum. Under his plan, the museum would bring back Historical Society member and former director Tonia Hoffert in a new role.
Paradiso said Thursday he believes that stakeholders were pleased with his proposal, so he hopes to continue working on what comes next. He said he hopes a formal plan is put into place at next week’s meeting.
In other business, four companies submitted qualifications in response to a request for qualifications for an energy project in the county. The project would consist of a company executing an energy audit in county buildings, making capital improvements to increase efficiency and guaranteeing long-term savings to pay for those improvements. Qualification packets were received from Palmer Conservation Consulting, of Middleburg Heights; Gardiner, of Solon; Dynamix Energy Services, of Columbus; and ABM, of Columbus. The packets are to be reviewed by county staff.
In other action, the commissioners agreed to fund $173,000 of county projects with CARES Act money. The total used for county projects thus far is about $1,073,000. An additional $1 million is being committed to assist residents, nonprofits and businesses through grant programs being handled by Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Tiffin-Seneca United Way, Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership and Fostoria Economic Development Corp. To learn more, visit this link: https://senecacountyohio.gov/commissioners-commit-1-million-to-assist-businesses-residents-and-non-profits/
The county has about $1.3 million left via the CARES Act, which must be spent by the end of the year.
Also during the meeting, the commissioners received a positive sales tax report for October. The report, which reflects on sales taxes collected some of July and most of August, was for about $814,000. This figure is up by about 11 percent compared to the same period in 2019. So far through 2020, sales tax income has increased by about five percent.
During public comments, Trinity Lescallett, the Adult Programming Manager for the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library, introduced a new program to the commissioners. The program is aimed at allowing community members to share their “COVID blessings.”
According to the library’s website, “COVID-19 has changed life as we know it and brought with it worry, confusion, sacrifice, loss, and grief. However, our individual and communal responses to this challenging time have also brought positive changes, innovations, and new learning opportunities. We are not trying to diminish the negative impact COVID has had on families, businesses, and our daily lives, but we believe we can call these changes “COVID Blessings.”
There are many ways to submit your blessings. You can drop them off at the Library or mail them to 77 Jefferson St. Tiffin, OH 44883. You can send an email to programming@tiffinsenecalibrary.org, or comment on our Facebook post. Visit the COVID Blessings blog at www.tiffinsenecalibrary.org/covid-blessings to read what others have shared or find inspiration for your own blessings. For more information, please call 419-447-3751.
Learn more at this link: http://www.tiffinsenecalibrary.org/covid-blessings.

During new business, the commissioners approved:
* A $465,000 supplemental appropriation to the Children Services Fund for Assistance.
* A $1,000 supplemental appropriation to the Juvenile Program Services Fund for supplies.
* A $1,500 supplemental appropriation to the Special Projects Fund for mediation.
* A $1,984,000 supplemental appropriation to the Coronavirus Relief Distribution Fund,
* A $52,799.41 supplemental appropriation to the Victims of Crime Act Fund.
* A $10,175, a $5,600 and a $720 reduction to the Victims of Crime Act Fund. The reductions are occurring because a new grant year has begun.
* An addendum to the agreement regarding sanitary sewers with the city of Tiffin.