This 21st day of April, 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 207192 through 207238 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 April 21, 2014, Warrants numbered 207197 through 207233 in the amount of $157,819.31; 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.
IN THE MATTER OF CREATING NEW EXPENSE LINE ITEM IN THE GENERAL FUND:
The Board of County Commissioners does hereby direct the County Auditor to create new line item in the General Fund:
001-031-10011 Public Defender – $20,000.00
001-031-10012 Clerk of Courts Fines – $2,000.00
001-031-10013 Rollback & Homestead – $20,000.00
001-031-00014 Sheriff’s Salary Reimbursement – $7,000.00
001-031-10015 Phone Reimbursement – $1,300.00
001-031-10016 Cost Allocation – $10,000.00
001-031-10017 Manufactured Home Rollback – $200.00
001-031-10018 Vendor Licenses – $75.00
001-031-10019 Accutrend – $12.00
IN THE MATTER OF AMENDING THE 2014 ANNUAL APPROPRIATION (FUND 147):
The Board of County Commissioners does hereby direct the County Auditor to amend the 2014 Annual Appropriation by appropriating to the PHEP Fund (Fund 147):
147-001-20141/PHEP/Salaries-Employees
AMOUNT: $8,296.65
IN THE MATTER OF AMENDING THE 2014 ANNUAL APPROPRIATION (FUND 147):
The Board of County Commissioners does hereby direct the County Auditor to amend the 2014 Annual Appropriation by appropriating to the PHEP Fund (Fund 147):
147-001-20144/PHEP/Other Expenses
AMOUNT: $737.35
IN THE MATTER OF RECEIVING AND AWARDING THE BID FOR THE COUNTY RECORDER’S DIGITIZATION PROJECT:
This 21st day of April, 2014, being the day advertised in the West Bend News, a paper of general circulation within the County, as per Section 307.86 of the Ohio Revised Code, bids were received and opened for the County Recorder’s Digitization Project:
ACS Enterprise Solutions, LLC (Xerox), 8600 Harry Hines Boulevard, Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75235 – $67,418.00
Only one (1) proposal was received for the County Recorder’s Digitization Project; and after review of the aforementioned bid and at the recommendation of the Paulding County Recorder, that the Board of County Commissioners does hereby award the County Recorder’s Digitization Project to ACS Enterprise Solutions, LLC (Xerox), in the amount of $67,418.00.
IN THE MATTER OF AUTHORIZING REVOLVING LOAN FUND MONIES TO BYPASS AGRONOMY, LLC:
Bypass Agronomy, LLC, 7909 Broughton Pike, Paulding OH 45879, application for a loan of Fifty Thousand Dollars and 00/100 ($50,000.00) has been approved by the Revolving Loan Fund Committee and the State of Ohio Department of Development; and it was the intent of the Board of County Commissioners to authorize the Paulding County Auditor to issue a check for the approved amount. Now, therefore the Board of County Commissioners does hereby authorize and direct the Paulding County Auditor to issue a check in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars and 00/100 ($50,000.00) payable to Bypass Agronomy, LLC, from the Revolving Loan Fund (Fund 080) and deliverable to Paulding County Economic Development, Inc., 101 E. Perry Street, Paulding, Ohio 45879.
Meeting Notes of Appointments:
Marsha Yeutter, Senior Center – Ms. Yeutter met briefly with the Commissioners to update them on personnel issues at the Paulding County Senior Center. She reported hiring a new head cook for the Center. Ms. Yeutter also reported having a problem with the walk-in freezer, resulting in the loss of food.
Carol Temple, Paulding County Recorder – Ms. Temple was excited to open the bids for her digitization project (see resolution above). She indicated this project has been in the making for several years, back to before she took office in 2008. The focus on the digitization project is specifically land records (deeds and transfers). These records are used primarily by title checkers and attorneys. The original records in the Recorder’s Office date back to 1823. They are hand written and the paper is very brittle. Simply handling the pages is destroying the records. Digitizing will protect the records and make it easier to provide copies. Xerox’s use of Digital Magic enhances hand written and photocopied documents to provide excellent image quality. Records since 1990 are already computerized and available on line at USlandrecords.com/Ohio/Paulding. Ms. Temple emphasized she has earmarked special recording fees to fund this project and that no direct tax dollars will be used. Current recording fees for a 1 or 2 page document are $28.00, with $14.00 going directly to the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and $4.00 going into the special fund. Ms. Temple currently charges 10 cents per copy for computer generated records and $2.00 per page for a copy from one of the bound books. The digitization project will preserve 247 bound books, covering 167 years of recorded deeds and land transfers. Ms. Temple assured the Commissioners that the records will not leave the Courthouse during the process of digitizing. She noted Xerox estimates this project will take three to four weeks to complete.
Richard Lauffer and Andrew Elder, Ohio EMA; Jason Landers, Paulding County Sheriff; Jim Langham, Paulding Progress – Commissioner Zartman welcomed Mr. Lauffer, Mr. Elder, and Sheriff Landers to discuss options of moving forward to fill the Paulding County EMA position. He noted there would no doubt be a lot of obstacles. Mr. Zartman asked the question, “Where do we go from here?” Mr. Lauffer stated there were a couple of choices. He noted the Commissioners have 90 days (with a 30 day extension if necessary) to select either an interim director or to fill the position permanently. Commissioner Zartman commented that unless someone with experience could be located, appointing an interim could muddy the waters even more. On the other hand, if an experienced person could be appointed as an interim, he or she could train the new hire. Mr. Lauffer noted the key is not to lose grant dollars in the process. Attendance at the Directors’ Conference is one of the requirements for receiving grant dollars. The Commissioners noted there is no representative to attend the meeting. Mr. Lauffer suggested a letter be written, explaining the situation. He then noted he has most of the paperwork he had requested from Mr. Shaffer, but still needs a few things. The Commissioners asked Mr. Lauffer his thoughts on sharing an EMA director with a neighboring county. He said he only knew of one case where two counties attempted to share an EMA director and the outcome was not positive. The biggest obstacle, according to Mr. Lauffer, was the challenge of one person personally knowing both counties’ first responders. The second challenge was not being familiar with both counties’ area. Mr. Lauffer also noted the paperwork, demands in an emergency, and tracking grants for both counties was overwhelming. He said, in his opinion, although sharing (even short-term) might be a quick fix, he would not recommend it as a viable long term solution. He added that an EMA director need not be a county resident; however, response time/distance radius should be considered. The Commissioners were interested in the training of a new EMA director. Mr. Lauffer stated his office can assist in training and FEMA also has on-line courses. Mr. Lauffer noted there are six sections at the state EMA office. Training takes place in each of the six separate sections. The Ohio EMA will assist in the application process and may make recommendations at no cost to the County. They will not, however, be present during the interviewing process. Mr. Lauffer said the EMA director is at the mercy of other agencies policies. The EMA director is to coordinate and manage the EMA program for the County as it is being built. The Commissioners act as the visionaries for the County’s EMA program, deciding where they want the program to be for the County. Mr. Lauffer suggested the Commissioners update the current EMA Director job description, advertise the position well, and be diligent in doing the proper background checks before the interviewing process begins. Mr. Lauffer also cautioned the Commissioners to steer away from contracting EMA services because they do not qualify for cost reimbursement/recoupment from the state. He noted three immediate concerns for Paulding County… Mitigation, SHSP FY 2011 grant, and EMPG exercise (June 30 expiration date). Paulding County’s 50% reimbursement from the state is capped at $30,931.00, which would be $61,862.00 of allowable EMA expenses eligible for recoupment. Mr. Lauffer explained the LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Commission) is a stand-alone board. This board is actually responsible for updates in plan and exercises. In most counties, the LEPC requests the EMA Director to plan the exercises and reimburses him or her for the services. Mr. Elder believes a full time EMA Director is necessary to accomplish the state and local requirements. Sheriff Landers interjected he is in favor of updating the EMA Director job description and move toward filling the position as quickly as possible. It was noted the LEPC has a meeting scheduled for April 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Latty Mercer/Landmark office and on June 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the OSU extension building to plan the exercise.
Eric Baughman, Baughman Tile – Mr. Baughman met with the Commissioners to discuss the possibility of assisting with the tiling project of the Jacob Farm. The County manages 240 acres around the Jacob-Eaton Children’s Home site. The farm includes three-80 acre fields that are in need of drainage tiling.
