Commissioners approve $103,208 for pickups

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County commissioners approved the engineer’s office request to purchase pickup trucks, the county recycling and litter prevention status report from Health District and heard a presentation from Main Street Delaware.

Rob Riley, chief deputy engineer, approached commissioners for approval to purchase four replacement pickup trucks for their fleet.

“These would be purchased from Middletown Ford for about $26,000 each,” he said.

Riley said the engineer’s office charges a development inspection fee to which “$8 per hour of that charge goes to fund the vehicle replacement. Over the course of about four years we recoup enough cost to basically pay for these new trucks that go to our inspectors,” he told commissioners. “Then (the old trucks) are rotated into our maintenance fleet where they live a hard life for a vast five or six years out on the roads doing road maintenance.”

Riley told commissioners the county engineer’s office recoups a significant portion of the cost of these trucks.

Commissioner Gary Merrell asked Riley if the trucks were in the budget.

“These were in the budget,” Riley said.

Commissioners approved the purchase of the four pickup trucks from Middletown Ford at a total cost of $103,208.

Jenifer Way-Young of the Delaware County General Health District presented commissioners the final six months of 2016 highlights for the Delaware, Knox, Marion, Morrow County recycling and litter prevention program. She told commissioners that during the household hazardous drop off day, “we had 396 vehicles” and “twenty tons of paint and chemicals were collected at that event.” Young added that 294 tires were also collected at an agricultural event in August.

This year’s senior citizen appliance, electronic and television pick up was successful with “95 households participating,” Young said. “One Hundred and eight computers were collected, as well as 87 televisions.”

Main Street Delaware’s Susie Bibler, executive director, met with commissioners to introduce herself and give an update on the organization.

Bibler told commissioners the organization had 265 volunteers with 5,235 volunteered hours in 2016, which was “equivalent to $123,337 worth of peoples’ time.”

Bibler said the organization is starting a young professionals group as a way to get younger people involved with Delaware. She said the group is interested in the history of Delaware and being mentors to Ohio Wesleyan University students.

The mission of Main Street Delaware is to “give people a vibrant downtown experience,” Bibler said. “We accomplish this through a four-point approach with promotion, design, business enhancement and organization.”

Bibler reported from May to October 2016 the downtown Farmers Market had 85 farmers and tradesman participate. “Through SourcePoint we offered the senior vouchers,” Bibler said. “We collected over 20,000 of them, which represents over $40,000 in sales.”

First Fridays attract 7,000-10,000 residents from around the county during the warmer summer months. “My very first month here was in October, and I stood out in front of the Main Street office at a table,” Bibler said. “I was blown away most the people I met that evening said they were from Lewis Center and Powell. That just wasn’t the case when we moved here 16 years ago. People who lived south never came.”

Bibler
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/02/web1__DSC0031.jpgBibler

By D. Anthony Botkin

[email protected]

D. Anthony Botkin may be reached at 740-413-0902 or on Twitter @dabotkin.

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