By Haylee Pence
TROY – During their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, March 8, the Miami County Commissioners met to authorize eight resolutions. Then, they opened statements of qualifications for the Miami County Fairground Administrative All-In-One Building Project.
There were five statements of qualifications the commissioners received, which included the following: Ruetschle Architects from Dayton, Freytag & Associates from Sidney, App Architecture from Englewood, Level MB Studio from Troy, and WDC Group from Springfield.
The awarding of the project was deferred until staff could give their recommendation.
Joel Smith, director of Miami County Emergency Management Agency, provided the Miami County Commissioners with a COVID update for the county. The current case rate for Miami County is 94.4 cases per 100,000 residents, which is under the state’s case rate of 104 cases per 100,000 residents. Miami County is ranked 63rd in the state. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Miami County has had a total of 25,641 cases with 1,454 hospitalizations and 469 deaths. Approximately 49.39% of the county’s population is vaccinated. The COVID-related statistics are “trending downward,” Smith said.
Also on Tuesday, the first resolution approved was to authorize the county engineer to obtain statements of qualifications for the professional design and other services for the 2023 Miami County Bridge Package Project.
Then, the commissioners approved the purchase to replace the BTU hanging heat unit at the Engineer’s Highway Garage, which the previous one is 25 years old and is “beyond economical repair.” The cost of this purchase shall not exceed $7,890.
The next resolution was to approve the purchase of 5 cubic feet TerrainCut Drop Spreader for the Operations and Facilities Department. The cost of this purchase shall not exceed $4,999.99.
Then, the commissioners approved an amendment to a previous resolution for United Way of Ohio for the 211 Phone Line. The amendment was to split the payment into three yearly payments instead of a one-time lump sum. The yearly payment will be $16,000 for three years.
The commissioners then approved the agreement for Step-Parent Adoption, One-Sided Homestudies and Safety Evaluations for the 2022 year through Christin Woods from Pleasant Hill for the Department of Job and Family Services. The cost for the year shall not exceed $15,000.
Then, the next resolution was to authorize a contract with the Miami County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Miami County Common Pleas Court for services for the support enforcement program. The local cost of the contract is $41,469.27 with a total cost of $122,968.43.
The next resolution was to authorize a contract with the Miami County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Miami County Sheriff’s Office for services for the support enforcement program. The total cost is $25,000 with a portion being non-federal share and FFP reimbursement.
The commissioners then authorized the request from the Department of Job and Family Services for credit card expenditures incurred for transportation/airfare for juvenile cases outside of the jurisdiction, which require monthly face to face visits.
Commissioner President Ted Mercer thanked the representatives from the Department of Job and Family Services stating, “[they] have a difficult job, but they’re doing great and are a huge asset to the county.”
Then, the commissioners authorized a memorandum of understanding with Upper Valley Career Center to acquire a full-time school resource officer. The deputy will be available 40-hours a week, and “will be specially trained to provide a safe and secure school environment for both faculty and staff […] and will serve as an educational resource and as a liaison between the District and the Sheriff,” according to the resolution. The Upper Valley Career Center will pay for nine months of the officer’s salary for a cost of $83,089.01 for the 2022 year; $85,581.68 for the 2023 year; and $88,074.35 for the 2024 year. This is the same memorandum of understanding between several school districts that utilize a school resource officer.
The final resolution was to authorize a memorandum of understanding with Milton-Union Exempted Village Schools to acquire a full-time school resource officer. This is also the same memorandum of understanding between several school districts that utilize a school resource officer.
