County purchases land to expand engineer’s space
The land to the northwest of the Holmes County Highway Department and Engineer’s Office will help with any storage and expansion the department might have later.
The county property located around the Holmes County Engineer’s Office along state Route 39 east of Millersburg got a little larger Monday, Feb. 3 when the county commissioners passed a resolution agreeing to purchase 11.75 acres of land in the amount of $279,000 from Myron E. and Andrea Miller.
The purchase was deemed necessary to allow for further expansion of the engineer’s office, and according to Josh Galbraith, assistant engineer, it will be a strong addition.
“It joins the current facility to the north and to the west,” Galbraith said. “We’re currently out of room to the west with some of our storage materials, and this gives us the ability to eventually expand to the north if we decide to build another building.”
“We need it no matter what,” Commissioner Dave Hall said. “We’re busting out of the seams, so this is a wise investment.”
“It’s a good fit, and we are fortunate that the sellers were very agreeable,” Commissioner Eric Strouse said.
Galbraith said the plan is to extend the sewer capabilities that are currently available now just to the east, something for which the county has already secured a grant to accomplish.
“We will hopefully expand that and pick up a few additional customers along the way,” Galbraith said.
The commissioners then passed another resolution approving the Ohio Department of Development Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Program and Community Development Block Grant for the Village of Nashville wastewater infrastructure program.
According to Arnold Oliver, Holmes County planning commissioner, this agreement is Contract B, in the amount of $157,702.52.
He said this grant was awarded in 2020 but was delayed so this one could pass through with Contract A, a much larger grant of nearly $1 million.
Commissioner Joe Miller questioned as to why the county is taking a role in this project as a pass-through, and Oliver said the village had an issue with a federal number, thus the county stepped in and was able to serve as a pass-through for the grant.
“Not my preference, but to ensure that the grant moved forward, the county served as a pass-through,” Oliver said. “I wouldn’t recommend this as a practice going forward. It won’t cost the county anything.”
Miller said Holmes County received CDBG money in 2024 that will go toward the Village of Millersburg.
The commissioners also passed a resolution accepting an agreement between the county and RS Associates LLC for $25,500 for updating the current hazard mitigation plan for Holmes County Emergency Management Agency.
According to Jason Troyer, Holmes County EMA director, the county is required to update its hazardous material mitigation plan every five years, and the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities Grant is part of that process.
Troyer said because the department received the BRIC Grant, there will be no out-of-pocket expenses for the county.
“We’ve used (RS Associates) as a contractor before for a hazardous commodity study, and they did a really good job for us,” Troyer said.
According to Commissioner Dave Hall, all BRIC funding had been frozen by the federal government after President Donald Trump stepped into the Oval Office, a move the feds wanted to take as a precautionary review of all grant funding.
Oliver said he has touched base with Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association about creating a project that would focus on sidewalk renovation in Benton. He said prior to there being any type of investment, he wanted to touch base with the Salt Creek Township Trustees to get their thoughts on providing matching funds for a grant, should there be any.
He also said the upcoming demolition project for the county that will include the razing of 20 structures within the county will begin soon, probably sometime in early spring.
Miller said he has been in contact with Ohio Department of Transportation about the possibilities of freeing up traffic at the intersection of state Route 39/62 and state Route 557 west of Berlin.
“The last I’ve heard from ODOT is that they should have something for us to look at by April,” Miller said.
Hall said Ohio State Rep. Mark Hiner is hoping to introduce a project into the state budget that would create a roundabout at the intersection of state Routes 83 and 62 south of Millersburg, another area with a dangerous intersection.
That project would be several years down the road, but Hiner would like to put the process in motion.