Commissioners present proclamation to two-time state wrestling champ Conley
[Tiffin, Ohio – March 24, 2022] – The Seneca County Board of Commissioners presented a proclamation to Tiffin Columbian Senior Brody Conley during a session Thursday morning.
The proclamation recognized Conley as a two-time state wrestling champion and the “most decorated” wrestler in school history.
The commissioners also spoke with Conley about his high school wrestling career and about his future.
Conley was joined by his parents Shaun and Jennifer and by Tiffin Columbian Athletic Director Daniel Hartsel.
Brody thanked the entire community for showing him support throughout his career.
“I have all the support in the world from our community,” he said.
Brody’s mother Jennifer said she is very proud of her son for his accomplishments, and she is looking forward to what he can accomplish at the next level in the sport.
That level is Division I college wrestling, as Brody is set to attend West Virginia University to compete under Tim Flynn.
Brody told the commissioners he is enrolling at the school in June, and that he plans to study Exercise Science and Kinesiology.
Commissioner Tyler Shuff told Brody that the community is proud of him and said he can’t wait to see what he accomplishes on and off the mat in the future.
Conley finished the 2022 season with an unblemished 53-0 record, becoming the first wrestler in Tiffin Columbian High School history to achieve two state titles. He is one of two Columbian wrestlers to ever win a state championship.
Conley finished his career on a 119-match winning streak.
In other business, the commissioners decided to withdraw support from a proposed project that would have seen the East Tower renovated to house county offices.
The decision comes one week after the board submitted the project, along with an EMS training facility collaboration with Vanguard-Sentinel, to state legislators for consideration for funding through the state capital appropriations bill.
The commissioners voted 2-1, with Commissioner Mike Kerschner as the dissenting vote, to withdraw the board’s support for the East Tower project, citing very high and uncertain costs as one of the reasons to look at other projects. Another reason given to vote against asking for state money for the project, which was brought up during a work session yesterday, is that the RTA Building is already structurally sound. Commissioner Anthony Paradiso noted that instead of spending $3 million or more to move the offices in the RTA into the renovated East Tower, the county could instead put minimal funding into the RTA Building and use the money to work on other local capital projects.
Capital project discussions have occurred over the past couple of months after county officials presented 114 different project requests. Of the 114, 68 have price estimates totaling more than $15 million.
On March 10th, County Administrator Stacy Wilson provided a packet of information to the commissioners including capital project priority recommendations from the county administrative team. Wilson worked with county staff to rank and prioritize all capital project requests.
In other action, the commissioners voted 2-1, with Commissioner Tyler Shuff as the lone dissenter, to spend about $25,000 for a second sign at the Seneca County Justice Center. The request came from the justice center in November. Local judges previously paid for the first sign on the property at the building last year. The new sign is to be facing South Washington Street.
Also during the session, the board rescheduled an upcoming stakeholders’ meeting on the future of Seneca County EMS. The meeting, initially scheduled for April 7th, will now occur on April 21st at 7 p.m. at the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center. Online viewing options will be available.
In new business, all resolutions and appropriations from the meeting agenda were approved.