By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Media Relations Coordinator
All three Seneca County Commissioners were grateful for the opportunity to honor local veterans this week as the country heads into Veterans Day on Nov. 11. During the Nov. 7 commissioners’ meeting, the commissioners discussed the events they attended in support of county vets.
Commissioner Tyler Shuff presented a proclamation to Seneca County Veteran of the Year James Alt at a ceremony honoring him at the Attica Fairgrounds Social Hall on Nov. 6. Alt, a Purple Heart veteran, returned home from serving his country and then spent decades serving his community through volunteer involvement in many local civic and veteran organizations.
Commissioners Anthony Paradiso and Bill Frankart also attended the event. All of the commissioners extend congratulations and gratitude to Alt. Shuff said it was very rewarding to be a part of the group honoring Alt for his service and sacrifice.
Commissioners Frankart and Paradiso attended Seneca County Honor Bus ceremonies this week. The Honor Bus provided free, two-night stays to Washington, D.C. for local veterans. Commissioner Frankart and local veteran Paul Jones, who attended the Honor Bus trip, were guests on WTTF on Nov. 7. The interviewed can be found at https://wttf.com/audio/county-corner-11-7-24/.
Commissioners Shuff and Frankart, along with Commissioner Frankart’s wife, Janet Frankart, served as poll workers on Election Day. Commissioner Frankart said the Seneca County Board of Elections staff “did a great job.”
“Everyone was really good to work with,” Commissioner Frankart said. “It was probably the busiest we’ve ever had since we started working the polls. It was definitely a great day.”
Commissioner Shuff announced that a Preservation Assessment Workshop will be held on Monday, Nov. 18, at 5:30 p.m. at The Empire 138 at 138 South Washington St. in Tiffin. The workshop, which is hosted by Tiffin Seneca Economic Partnership/Downtown Tiffin, will help homeowners identify and address problems associated with historic homes. The workshop will be led by David Mertz, former director of Belmont College’s renowned Building Preservation/Restoration program.
Reservations are not required for the Preservation Assessment Workshop. The event is open to the public, but seating is limited.
During her report, Seneca County Administrator Barb Patterson reminded the public that the auction of county surplus supplies is open and will end on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. The auction can be found at https://wmsauctions.hibid.com/catalog/592220/seneca-county-online-surplus-auction—november-13th–2024.
Commissioner Frankart addressed the county’s ongoing plans to withdraw from the OSS Solid Waste District. Interested county entities have been expecting Senate Bill 119 to pass, which would create an efficient process for withdrawal. SB 119 passed unanimously in the Senate but stalled in the House. Commissioner Frankart suggested that the board of commissioners seek the alternate option provided by the solid waste agreement.
“Our goal was to work through SB 119 to leave OSS,” Commissioner Frankart said. “The solid waste agreement has another exit option. I think we should look at the process to leave the current solid waste agreement and create our own solid waste agreement.”
Commissioner Paradiso and Shuff agreed that investigating another avenue for withdrawal is wise.
In other business, the commissioners approved three supplemental appropriations and passed four resolutions.
The next Seneca County Board of Commissioners meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.