This 19th day of March, 2014, the Board of County Commissioners met in regular session with the following members present:
Tony Zartman, Roy Klopfenstein, Fred Pieper and Nola Ginter, Clerk
ALLOWANCE OF CLAIMS:
Warrants documented as 206309 through 206440 for County Bills were approved and certified to the County Auditor for payment.
IN THE MATTER OF APPROVING ‘THEN AND NOW’ PURCHASE ORDERS AND PAYMENTS:
The Paulding County Auditor has certified the following “Then and Now” purchase order numbers and payments included in the Allowance of Claims on March 19, 2014, Warrant numbered 206386 in the amount of $738.63; and it is certified that both at the time that the contract or order was made (“then”), and at the time that the County Auditor is completing the certification (“now”), that sufficient funds were available or in the process of collection, to the credit of a proper fund, properly appropriated and free from any previous encumbrance; and pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code §5705.41(D)(1), these purchases must be approved by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners. Now, therefore the Paulding County Commissioners approve the Then and Now Purchase Orders as submitted by the Auditor; and it is found and determined that all formal actions of this Board of County Commissioners, County of Paulding, State of Ohio concerning the adoption of this resolution were adopted in an open meeting of this Board of County Commissioners, and that all deliberations of this Board of County Commissioners and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action, were in meetings open to the public in compliance with all legal requirements including Section §121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A motion was made by Mr. Fred Pieper to go into executive session at 10:38 a.m. with the Paulding County Soil and Water Conservation District Board to discuss personnel matters. The motion was seconded by Mr. Roy Klopfenstein. All members voting yea.
At 11:13 a.m. all members present agreed to adjourn the executive session and go into regular session.
MEETING NOTES OF APPOINTMENTS:
Matt Stoller, Keith Wiesehan, Gary Derck, Brian Ruble, and Coral Fetzer, Paulding County Soil and Water Conservation District/Ditch Maintenance – Ms. Fetzer presented a power point recapping 2013. She explained the difference between Soil and Water Conservation District and Ditch Maintenance and identified the staff of both offices. Focusing on Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD), Ms. Fetzer explained the various things the office does for Paulding County. Some of the services they offer are equipment rental; the maintenance, repairs, and rental of the Black Swamp Nature Center; technical assistance with agricultural programs, conservation methods, and educating the community (which includes presentations in the schools) about the importance of soil and water conservation. Ms. Fetzer’s power point reviewed PCSWCD’s activity by month, identifying staff changes, grant efforts, accomplishments, and events/activities. She noted the Technician had attended several days of training to become acclimated to his position. The Education Specialist completed 77 school/adult presentations (with over 1,900 in attendance) and placed over 50 articles in local newspapers. Ms. Fetzer noted the various grants PCSWCD had applied for reported being awarded over $30,000.00 in total grant dollars for various projects. She also noted the revenue and expenses related to their equipment rental program and the Black Swamp Nature Center. Ms. Fetzer closed her power point presentation by looking back at General Fund appropriations by year since 2007. She pointed out that in 2007, PCSWCD had four employees, dropping down to just one employee in 2011 (mostly due to severe budget cuts in 2009, 2010, and 2011). In 2012, they were able to hire part time employees and in 2013 were back up to 3 full time employees. Future goals for PCSWCD include expanding the education department, working on solving drainage issues, improving technology and software by hopefully acquiring a GPS surveying system, and to continue to offer quality equipment for rental. The Commissioners thanked Ms. Fetzer for her efforts in creating her informative power point.
Jerry Zielke, Paulding County Economic Development – Mr. Zielke reported having attended the OEDA meeting in Columbus recently. He remarked it was very informative. He spent 24 hours in a classroom setting and commented he had made several connections he felt would be beneficial. Mr. Zielke learned of a business in Columbus that will purchase blighted property, lean it up (obtaining grants to defray the costs), and market the property for resale. He emphasized the property would need to be marketable. Mr. Zielke noted he had recently spoke with Toledo Port Authority regarding energy programs. He also recently attended a NORAD meeting. Mr. Zielke then explained the Straight A grant the schools have received. Vantage Career Center will host an informative meeting for teachers and guidance counselors to better equip them in advising students on employment opportunities. Mr. Zielke reported he is currently working on 21 projects. His opinion is the Micro Enterprise fund should be utilized for small business loans. The application is not as involved as the Revolving Loan Fund. Mr. Zielke reminded the Commissioners of the health fair sponsored by the Senior Center held today at the OSU extension building.
