By Haylee Pence
TROY – On Thursday, Aug. 4, the Miami County Commissioners met for a general meeting to approve resolutions.
The agenda had an additional resolution added for emergency repairs to the microwave system which is “negatively” impacting the law enforcement agencies, according to the resolution.
The IT Department and Communication Center have been working together since the problem arose about two weeks ago, according to representatives. They believe that the issue is caused by damaged cables which are a result of constant exposure to the elements. Local law enforcement agencies that utilize the system have reported incidents of radios dropping out periodically. The commissioners authorized the emergency repairs to be done by WS Electronics, LLC of Xenia for a cost not to exceed $9,532.50. WS Electronics, LLC is the original vendor for the system.
The microwave system is set to be replaced, but it will take another two or three months to arrange the replacement, according to the IT representative. The current repairs will likely take two weeks, one week to get the supplies and another to do the work. During that time, some interruptions are expected, but the system should not be totally down, according to the IT representative.
Another approved resolution involved authorizing Bowser Morner of Dayton for their services for soil boring for the Miami County Fairground Administrative All-In-One Building Project. Bowser Morner is the recommendation of WDC Group which will manage all contractual elements of the work. The cost of the services shall not exceed $5,350.
Then, the commissioners approved the ninth release from the escrow agreement with North Brand Land Company, LLC for the construction of the North Branch Pass Subdivision. The release is in the sum of $28,238. The remaining balance shall be $133,588.
The final resolution was to authorize a change order to the agreement with Brumbaugh Construction, Inc. for their services on the 2022 Miami County Bridge Package Project which includes the Sugar Grove-Circle Hill Road Bridge and the Hill Road Bridge. The change is for a decrease in costs of $10,870.78 for a new total of $915,652.22.
Following the meeting, a representative from the Department of Job and Family Services announced that they have received $235,905 in funding which will be used to assist families in Miami County under TANF. Currently, there are 403 children within the program and each child will receive $585. According to the representative, “90% of these children are in homes that are not with their parents. They reside with grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. and these individuals do not receive any type of child support.” The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Finally, Joel Smith, EMA director, provided a COVID-19 update for the county. The current case rate is 539.3 per 100,000, which is above the state average. For the most recent update, there are 329 cases with five hospitalizations which has drastically increased from 10 reported cases in April. Miami County is ranked 21 out of all the counties with the state for highest case rates. Smith reminded the audience that these numbers are likely higher than reported due to individuals using at home tests which are not recorded by the county. Currently, the most common variants seen are the BA4 and the BA5, which according to Smith are the most resistant variants to the vaccine.
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