The Delaware County Board of Commissioners had four sessions in January, and here’s a quick recap of the meetings.
• On Jan. 11, the board heard a presentation from Director of Veterans Services Delaware County Brian Galligher. They also accepted a number of donations for county departments and offices. It was noted the county was now responsible for maintaining 334.877 miles of public roads, a decrease from 335.22 miles in 2022. Property appropriations were made for projects on Steitz Road, and Lewis Center/Rome Corners/Worthington roads. Franz Geiger was reappointed to the county’s Finance Authority Board of Directors, and Ryan Rivers was appointed as a representative to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
• An agreement for the design and construction of a joint fire and EMS facility with the BST&G Fire District was approved on Jan. 18, with a proposed budget for the station of $6.8 million. The station will include three pull-through apparatus bays, two offices and six bunk rooms for Fire District personnel, turnout gear storage, decontamination area, an office and four bunk rooms for DCEMS, bays for DCEMS emergency medic vehicles, and joint training facilities for 20-30 students, fitness room, kitchen and storage closets.
Also on Jan. 18, Executive Director of Delaware County Transit Andy Volenik gave a presentation on DCT’s 2023 ridership. David Fahrenholz and Erik McPeek were reappointed to the Concord-Scioto Community Authority Board of Trustees.
• The commissioners approved the plats of subdivision for Kautilya Berkshire Hotel and Sara Crossing (Berkshire Township) at the Jan. 22 meeting. They also approved the rates for Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services by the county.
• Lastly, on Jan. 29, they approved a collective bargaining agreement with the county EMS; design services for renovations to the county’s Public Defender’s Office at 109 N. Sandusky St.; and applying for an H2Ohio Rivers Initiative Chloride Reduction Grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The latter will be “to purchase equipment that will facilitate reducing the amount of salt applied to county roadways during snow/ice storm events to reduce salt pollution in Ohio’s waterways,” the minutes said.
The Board of Commissioners of Delaware County are President Gary Merrell, Vice President Barb Lewis and Commissioner Jeff Benton. Jennifer Walraven is clerk to the commissioners.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
