At the April 22 meeting of the Clark County Commissioners, the commissioners awarded the Pile Driving Contract for the Lower Valley Construction Project to Jutte Excavating for $62,683. Detrick said, “It is great that we received a bid one third under the engineer’s estimate for the project.” The county also received bids from Sunesis Construction for $84,013.34, The Righter Company for $84,150, VTF Excavation for $91,997 and Eagle Bridge for $100,605. The engineer’s estimate was for $96,600. They also authorized a contract with DLZ Ohio, Inc. for construction inspection services for the Lower Valley Widening project for $499,261. for the 2015 contract.

For other roadwork, the commissioners authorized an agreement between the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department will provide ODOT work crews with roadside litter collection for a maximum of $200,928 from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017.

Thomas and Megan Franzen submitted an annexation request to the commissioners for review. The commissioners acknowledged receipt of a Type 1 Annexation Petition for about 5.6 acres in Springfield Township to be annexed to the City of Springfield. An expedited type 1 annexation requires all parties to agree including all property owners, the municipality, and affected townships and county. The property must be contiguous to the existing territory but is only connected to it by a thin strip of land. In addition, the petition must be presented with either the agreement Annexation Agreement or a cooperative economic development agreement (CEDA). The CEDA provides a community with an approach to improving economic development to increase revenues and create jobs.

The proposed annexation includes approximately 5.6 acres in Springfield Township, approximately six feet wide. Because the property is long and narrow it can also be referred to as a “string” annexation, which allows a government body to acquire new territory that is contiguous to the existing territory but is only connected to it by a thin strip of land. In discussing the proposed annexation Richard Lohnes, Commissioner, looked to Nathan Kennedy, County Administrator to determine whether the annexation was a good precedent to set. According to Kennedy, the state would examine the commissioners past voting record to determine whether this type of annexation is typical for the county.

According to John Federer, County Auditor, “The state of Ohio has expressed no objections to the annexation; however, questions remain as to taxing for the new area. “This is not a normal annexation and we don’t know yet whether we will need to create a separate taxing district.”

The commissioners voted to acknowledge the receipt of the petition. No public hearing is required and once the decision has been made, no appeal process is available.

In other action, Horton Hobbs, Vice President of Economic Development, Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield and Clark County, and Lohnes reported on a visit to Hamilton to review the practices that Hamilton has developed through their Consortium for Ongoing Reinvestment Efforts (CORE). CORE has joined private investors, government agencies and leaders of industry to provide a pool of capital for selective private development projects and staff to lead the completion of neighborhood revitalization plans. The effort includes private for profit businesses as well as or non-profit developers. Because of the combined efforts and their “out of the box”, thinking and approaches, the group has been able to attract and develop interest in their urban areas. The City of Hamilton has been able to accelerate the real growth in their urban areas. All of the commissioners were excited about the ideas that Hobbs presented and hope to develop a similar program in Springfield.

Hobbs said, “Core has developed a thoughtful, methodical and strategic plan for strengthening their downtown community.”

On a similar note, Hobbs report that there has been a decrease in the number of foreclosures in Springfield and Clark County for sale through the Sheriff’s sale.

However, Detrick pointed out, “Only 1.5 homes are sold for every 10 properties put into the Sheriff’s auction.

Federer added, “One of the problems is that most of the homes going through the auction are within the city limits. One of our major buyers has stopped purchasing properties in the city.”

For the Job and Family Services Department, the commissioners approved several contracts. First, they approved a Sub grant agreement with Apex Mechanical Systems, Inc. for $22,500 to purchase a 250,000 BTU HVAC unit. Second, they amended contracts and extended the contract dates through June 30, 2015 with Isaiah’s Place for Foster Care/Residential placements for children for an additional $150,000 for a total of $555,000, and amended the contract with Project Woman of Springfield and Clark County by $6,141.33 for a total of $55,272.

In other business for Job and Family Services, the commissioners amended the contract with Stevenson Utilities Construction by $12,860 to $24,460 to increase the contract amount and to fund unanticipated costs for a waterline valve repair. The contract is effective through the completion of services.

In a continuing effort to collaborate with other governing districts to save cost and duplication of services, the commissioners authorized a memorandum of understanding between the County and the Village of Catawba to provide emergency management services for the village.

To facilitate collective bargaining contracts, the commissioners authorized three contracts with the Sheriff’s Department and Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council to represent the Clark County Sheriff’s Deputies, the Clark County Sheriff’s Dispatchers, and the Clark County Sheriff’s Nurses from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for April 29,2015 at 8:30 a.m. in the Clark County Commissioners Offices.

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