The Delaware County Board of Commissioners on Monday expressed its gratitude to outgoing Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien.
O’Brien is leaving her position as the prosecutor to become deputy attorney general of Ohio. Her last day is Thursday, Feb. 28.
“I can’t thank you enough for your dedication and for your service, but we are going to miss you a lot,” said Commissioner Barb Lewis. “Thank you, thank you so much. You have brought integrity to this office. You have done a marvelous job.”
“It has been an honor,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien added in her new position, she’ll supervise seven law enforcement sections: the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Ohio Peace Officer’s Training Academy and Commission, Organized Crime, Special Prosecutions, Health Care Freud, Crime Victims and Criminal Justice.
In regular business, the board heard a recommendation from Chief Deputy Jon Scowden, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, for approval of a lease agreement between the commissioners, the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DCBDD), and the sheriff’s office.
Scowden said the lease allows the sheriff’s office to expand into the southern part of the county to provide faster and better coverage of the area.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is get more area covered in the county and have quicker response times, but we also have to have supervision to cover it,” he said.
Scowden said the space would serve as offices for the supervisors and as a place to train.
“There is another section of that building that we’re going to use for training and training offices for our training officers,” he said.
Commissioner Jeff Benton said people have asked about the sheriff’s cruisers parked around the DCBDD building.
“It’s win-win,” he said. “It’s just a great location in the southern part of the county.”
The board approved the lease.
Delaware County Engineer Chris Bauserman recommended certifying the county’s total road mileage with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the calendar year 2018.
“Every year, ODOT requires us to certify our road mileage,” he said. “They actually send a person each year to review our records.”
Bauserman said the vehicle registration base fee allocation to the county is based on the total road mileage of the county.
“Our mileage for 2018 is 335.929 miles,” he said. “That is a change of about four-tenths of a mile.”
Bauserman said the extension of Wilson Road by the Tanger Outlet Mall, along with a few smaller roads, contributed the additional four-tenths of a mile.
The board approved the certification to ODOT, and also a contract between the county and Thompson Interstate Mowing, Inc. for roadside mowing for the 2019 season.