MIAMI COUNTY — The Board of Miami County Commissioners approved the purchase of two new dump trucks for the Miami County Engineer’s Department during its meeting on Thursday.
The commissioners approved the purchase of two, single-axle dump trucks from Stoops Western Star of Ohio, located in Wapakoneta, as well as approved fitting each cab and chassis with a dump body and hydraulics, a salter, and a snow plow hitch. The county will be trading in two trucks for $22,000 and $23,500, bringing the total purchase price of the trucks to $135,128. The total cost of the accessories, which are being purchased from and installed by Kalida Truck Equipment, Inc., is not to exceed $112,400. These purchases are being made through purchasing programs through the state of Ohio.
According to the staff report, the two trucks these dump trucks will be replacing are “obsolete and unfit for use.”
Commissioner Ted Mercer said later during the meeting that these trucks are expensive, but “they’re expensive for a reason.” Mercer said these trucks need to be able to plow and salt over 400 road miles within the county. A representative from the Miami County Engineer’s Department said it takes the department between four and five hours to salt and plow the county’s roads during a snow event with the department’s approximate 15 main line trucks. The department also has some reserve trucks.
“The equipment out there is well taken care of,” commissioner Greg Simmons about the county engineer’s garage, which stores those trucks.
“We do appreciate all the work your staff does,” commissioner Jack Evans said to a representative of the Miami County Engineer’s Department.
Following that, the commissioners authorized and signed an agreement with Ohio Department of Medicaid on behalf of the Miami County Family and Children First Council (FCFC), authorizing FCFC to apply for new grant funding from the state. According to the staff report, the purpose of this grant agreement is to “further the mission of preventing custody relinquishment of children and youth solely for the purpose of obtaining needed treatment,” as well as to assist “local entities with obtaining services that support children and youth who have been relinquishes and are transitioning back to community and/or non-custody settings.”
Jordan Hodges of FCFC said this is new grant funding available through Medicaid, explaining eligible entities apply for portions of this $8 million funding pool on a case-by-case basis. A representative of the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services said this funding was part of an initiative from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to provide additional funding to children in need to keep children in their homes.
“This is a really great idea,” Evans said. “Thank you for your efforts.”
Also during their meeting, the commissioners authorized and signed an addendum to the county’s agreement with Bollinger Enterprises, LLC for housing rehabilitation services for the 2017 Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program funding from the state. This was requested from the Miami County Department of Development to extend the term of the agreement from Oct. 31 to June 30 and to increase the contract by $7,000. The total contract amount is now not to exceed $110,500.
Dan Suerdieck of the Department of Development said this addendum extends the grant funding and finishes the last two projects done with that funding.
The commissioners also approved a lease agreement with Miami County Public Health, authorizing Miami County Public Health to lease 12,000 square feet within the Hobart Center, located at 510 W. Water St., Troy. The lease agreement is for three years with Miami County Public Health paying $78,000 for the first year; $84,000 for the second year; and $90,000 for the third year. This lease agreement includes utilities, storage, maintenance costs, and so on.
The commissioners ended their meeting by meeting with representatives from Outdoor Enterprise to discuss paver options for the courthouse plaza improvement project.
