Seneca County Commissioners hear updates on health insurance
By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Media Relations Coordinator
Kim Bond, who is Seneca County’s contracted consultant with CEBCO (County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio), attended the Seneca County Commissioners’ Sept. 12 meeting to provide 2025 health insurance and health savings account (HSA) updates and make recommendations from the health insurance committee. Seneca County Commissioner Anthony Paradiso and Seneca County Administrator Barb Patterson sit on the committee.
The commissioners approved changes to health insurance premiums. No other changes were made.
Seneca County Engineer Mark Zimmerman attended the meeting for an alley vacation hearing for property located in the hamlet of Adrian in Big Springs Township. The request was for a strip of land referred to as a “paper street” because it was plotted during 19th century development of the area in anticipation of the construction of a street that never materialized. Zimmerman said paper streets often “look like somebody’s backyard but limit the person’s ability to work on their own property.”
Vacation requests must go through a three-step process. The landowner submits a petition, the county commissioners must attend a viewing to see the property, and then a hearing must take place. The hearing was held during the Sept. 12 commissioners’ meeting, and the vacation was approved.
During the meeting, the commissioners held a bid opening for 63.75+/- acres of farmland in Hopewell Township, and they discussed an easement request from Bascom Communications to place a fiber hut on county-owned property outside of Old Fort. The commissioners asked Zimmerman to seek legal advice before they move forward on the easement request.
During her administrator’s report, Patterson congratulated Seneca County Job and Family Services Executive Director, Kathy Oliver, as well as the J&FS departments in Ottawa, Sandusky and Wyandot counties for being presented with the Child and Family Advocate of the Year award at the Public Children Services Association of Ohio 2024 Annual Conference on Sept. 11.
“Thank you for doing what you do out there. That’s a thankless job,” Patterson told Oliver.
During his commissioner’s report, Commissioner Tyler Shuff said he visited the New Riegel EMS station to view construction progress.
“It’s going smoothly. I’m very impressed,” Shuff said.
Commissioner Bill Frankart said he attended an open house for two new ambient air monitoring stations that were installed by the Seneca County General Health District near the WIN Waste Innovations of Seneca County landfill. The stations will provide continuous monitoring of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide.
Paradiso invited the public to the grand opening of the Bloomville EMS Station #4 on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. The station is located at 9428 East US 224 outside of Bloomville.
In other business, the commissioners approved five resolutions, including a resolution setting Thursday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. as the date to receive sealed bids from a proposed addition to the Seneca County Jail – virtual attorney visitation room. They also set Thursday, Oct. 3 at 10:05 a.m. as the date to receive sealed bids for the 2024 community development block grant administrator.