By Haylee Pence
TROY – During their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, April 14, the Miami County Commissioners heard several resolutions including the annexation of 260.369 acres from Bethel Township to the city of Huber Heights.
The annexation resolution was ultimately denied by the Miami County Commissioners on the grounds that the resolution lacks the provision of water and sewer services for the area that is desired to be annexed.
The annexation was filed on behalf of Raymond and Kriss Haren, Gary Lavy, Gessaman Family Farm, LLC, and Michael Stafford for the Charles Stafford Estate. Gary Lavy provided a letter stating his reasonings for requesting the annexation. Joe Miller, a legal representative for the land owners, provided evidence to support the annexation under the Ohio Law. Bill Keethler, one of the developers, spoke about his interest in the land and the hopes for the development he would like to oversee.
The land would be converted from farmland into residential houses similar to Carriage Trails Housing. Keethler discussed how he has been discussing the development with the local school systems, specifically Bethel School System.
Bethel resident, Don Black, spoke against the annexation asking on behalf of his position as a Bethel Township Trustee to encourage the developers and land owners to discuss the development idea with Bethel Township.
In other news:
Also on Thursday, the first two resolutions the commissioners authorized were to accept the resignations of Robin Meiring and Mary Newton from their positions as a public inquiries assistant and eligibility referral specialist, respectively. Both individuals worked at the Department of Job and Family Services.
Therefore, the following resolution was for the employee requisition for the full-time eligibility referral specialist 1 for the Department of Job and Family Services for a pay range of $15.52-$23.96/hour depending on qualifications. The other employee requisition was for the full-time public inquiries assistant for the Department of Job and Family Services for a pay range of $13.39-$20.66/hour depending on qualifications.
The next resolution was also for an employee requisition for a full-time human resources assistant for the Human Resources Department for a pay range of $15.00-$16.00/hour.
Then, the commissioners approved the amendment to a previous resolution which saw a change to an employee requisition for a human resource coordinator to a human resource generalist. The pay range is $50,000-$55,000/year depending on qualifications.
The next resolution was to authorize Amendment #1 to the Inmate Food Service Contract, which involves adjusting the meal prices based on changes in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The change in pricing will be reviewed annually and become effective on April 28, 2022. The new price is about $1.44, according to Sheriff Dave Duchak. Commissioner President Ted Mercer stated the total monthly cost for meals for inmates is around $25-30,000.
The final resolution was to re-appoint Anthony Miller and appoint Jeff Sheridan to the West Milton Tax Incentive Review Council both for three-year terms which expires Nov. 10, 2024.
