By Aimee Hancock
TROY — Representatives of park districts throughout the county attended the Board of Miami County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, during which the board designated the July as ‘Parks and Recreation Month’ in Miami County.
As part of this designation, commissioners publicly acknowledged that Miami County benefits from its numerous parks and natural recreation areas, which are “fundamental to the environment by which they improve water quality, protect groundwater, prevent flooding, improve the quality of the air we breathe, provide vegetative buffers to development, and produce habitat for wildlife.”
Park district representatives in attendance Tuesday included Miami County Parks District (MCPD) Executive Director Scott Myers, MCPD Deputy Director Kevin Swanson, MCPD Executive Coordinator Janeen Selanders, Tipp City Public Works Superintendent Tony Hunt, Piqua Public Works Director Brian Brookhart, Troy Director of Recreation Ken Siler, and Troy Park Superintendent Jeremy Drake.
“On behalf of all of us professionals in the parks and recreation field, I thank you for declaring July ‘Parks and Recreation Month’ in Miami County,” Myers said. “We’re very fortunate in this community; we have great parks (and) recreation services, and that goes back decades and decades through the great leadership that has been here in Miami County, not only through our county and our park district, but through our cities and our villages, and the support we have from citizens.”
According to Myers, the MCPD alone manages 15 parks and a total of around 200 acres, with the district’s most-visited park being Charleston Falls. For the last two years, the MCPD has welcomed over 1 million visitors to its parks, Myers said.
“The collaboration between all of (the park districts) is a tremendous asset to the citizens of Miami County and improves the quality of life,” Commissioner Wade Westfall said. “We are blessed beyond measure for the quality of park system that we have in this county, so thank you all for what you do each and everyday to make sure they’ll well-maintained.”
In other business during Tuesday’s meeting:
• Commissioners authorized a contract with the Miami County Juvenile Court and Marsh Foundation, of Van Wert, for the provision of placement, and related services, of a minor child in the care and custody of the juvenile court, as consistent with current state and federal laws and regulations. The effective date is June 24, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021, at a cost not to exceed $230 per diem.
• Commissioners authorized a memorandum of understanding for Local Area 7 Workforce Development System-Library Partnership with the Area 7 Workforce Development Board, OhioMeansJobs of Miami County, and the Troy-Miami County Public Library, as requested by the Department of Job and Family Services. The purpose of the MOU is to facilitate collaboration and coordination between the workforce system and the public library system, with a goal to increase library patrons’ awareness of employment and training resource availability within the Miami County area, to educate and inform the library staff of resources and services available to assist Miami County residents with employment and training needs through the OhioMeansJobs center, to educate OhioMeansJobs staff of the services available through the library system that may assist job seekers, and to inform young adult specialists assisting young adults of the importance of early literacy services and the availability of those services through the library system.
• Commissioners authorized a contract with Miami County JFS/Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) and the Miami County Sheriff’s Office for Service of Process upon parties subject to child support services for the period of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. This is an annual contract, which allows for a sheriff’s deputy to be available full-time for CSEA.
• The 2021 Asphalt Concrete Resurfacing Program bid was awarded to the John R. Jurgensen Company, of Springfield, in the amount of $3,232,258.75. This is an annual resurfacing program.
