By Haylee Pence
TROY – On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Miami County Commissioners met to hear a COVID-19 update, authorize agreements, and participate in two zoning hearings meetings.
The COVID-19 update was provided by Joel Smith, director of Miami County’s Emergency Management Agency. The overall trend since his last update was that numbers were decreasing. The case rate for Miami County is 247 cases per 100,000 residents, which is lower than the state’s case rate of 255 cases per 100,000 residents. Miami County has had 25,531 total cases with 453 total deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Just under 50% of the Miami County population is vaccinated against the disease. The Miami County Public Health Department hosts vaccine appointments on Thursdays.
The first resolution the commissioners approved was to for the purchase of one complete National WebCheck System for the county’s Human Resources Department. According to the resolution, “the purpose of the equipment is to provide an improved employee candidate experience, transition Miami County Human Resources Department into a one-stop shop, increase the county’s ability to find reliable trustworthy candidates, and provide the opportunity for multiple department use with internal billing that was otherwise not available.” The cost of this system shall not exceed $6,800. There will be an annual cost of $800 for the system.
The next resolution approved allowed the Juvenile Court System to purchase 15 new chairs for the hallway to complete seating in the hallway. The cost of these chairs shall not exceed $3,882.45.
Then, the commissioners approved the purchase of a Caterpillar 938M Wheel Loader for the Sanitary Engineering Department for a cost that shall not exceed $295,000. To help offset the cost, they will be trading in their 2017 Caterpillar 938M Wheel Loader which has a trade-in value of $70,000. The total cost then will be $225,000.
The next resolution was to approve the purchase of LEFTA Patrol FTO Software and one Additional LEFTA Software for the Corrections Department, as well as the Sheriff’s Department. The cost of this will be an annual cost of $4,500.
Next, the commissioners approved the resignation of Carl Stang from his position as an eligibility referral specialist from the Department of Job and Family Services. Therefore, the commissioners then approved the employee requisition of a full-time eligibility referral specialist for a pay range of $15.52 to $23.96 depending on qualifications. They also approved the employee requisition of a full-time social services supervisor for the Department of Job and Family Services for the pay range of $20.78 to $32.06.
There were also two zoning hearings the commissioners heard.
The first hearing was for North Branch Land Company LLC from Tipp City. The company requested that 50.245 acres of land in Monroe Township be rezoned from agricultural zoning to single-family residential zoning. This is for the continuation of construction of homes. The commissioners approved the request at the meeting.
The second hearing was for Jonathan Woodward of Tipp City. Woodward requested that 11.83 acres be rezoned from agricultural zoning to single-family residential zoning. This is for the construction of a home on the property. There had been concerns of water drainage, but Woodward supplied evidence that the construction wouldn’t interfere with adequate drainage. The commissioners approved the request at the meeting.
