Replacing sheriff’s office roof at top of commissioners’ meeting
A recent resolution approved by the Holmes County commissioners has put in motion an effort to restore a leaking and faulty Holmes County Jail roof.
The Holmes County commissioners met in the Old Jail meeting room in Millersburg on Monday, Sept. 30 to work through several resolutions including the replacement of the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office roof.
Resolution #09-30-24-2 was accepted, approving the evaluation committee’s recommendation of the best value firm and authorizing commissioner Dave Hall to enter into contract negotiations with a selected proposer for the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office roof replacement and repair project.
“We found out that the design wasn’t done properly, and getting it done right will save us (financially) in the long run because we won’t be sticking money into it every 10 years,” Hall said.
Because the sheriff’s office roof has experienced many drainage and leakage issues that have caused numerous repairs, the county has decided to invest in redesigning and repairing the roof.
The company selected to perform the project is JWL Roofing LLC to fulfill the design-builder services.
The projected services are not to exceed $298,000, and according to commissioner Joe Miller, JWL Contractors has already begun developing a blueprint for the work.
“They’ve already begun hiring subcontractors,” Miller said. “There needs to be a lot of work done before they even put shingles on.”
Downspouts and gutters need replaced, and some of the drainage tiles have been destroyed.
Tekton will provide the blueprints for the work and submit it to ECOPA for approval, and once that takes place, the commissioners are hoping the weather cooperates and allows the project to take place in October, prior to winter setting in.
“If we don’t get it done here in October, it will be done in the spring,” Hall said.
A motion was passed accepting the bid to award the 2024 Holmes County tornado siren project to VASU Communications in the amount of $306,328.21.
The county received two bids on the project, which entails replacing eight sirens throughout the county and adding a new one on Wally Road near Loudonville.
Holmes County Emergency Management Agency Director Jason Troyer provided his recommendation to accept the bid, noting he had received very high recommendations for VASU Communications from the EMA directors in the counties of Richland and Ashland.
Troyer said the expected completion time for the project is March 2025.
“We will sit down and put together a game plan because I will need to get in contact with the local power utilities to turn off power at each one when they work on it,” Troyer said.
When in working conditions, each of the towers is tested every other Saturday throughout the year.
In other news the commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Holmes County and United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties defining a partnership between the two entities.
The partnership became necessary after several major disaster incidents including the recent derecho and several major floods. Thus, United Way and Holmes County EMA have partnered to better support citizens impacted by these disasters when they occur in the future.
The goal of the partnership is to define and understand the roles of each agency during times of emergency activation and to coordinate with a variety of entities including Holmes Local Emergency Planning Committee, Ohio Voluntary Organizations Disaster and others.
“What we found with the derecho is that we needed to have an MOU between Holmes County EMA and United Way so they can recoup some of their cost under some of the state monies that were opened up through that incident,” Troyer said. “Since they didn’t have that MOU, they were unable to be reimbursed.”
Troyer said United Way has two main roles in times of disaster, the first being serving as a local contact for citizens affected by the disaster and the second being a source to set up funds where community members can donate specifically to that disaster and those funds can be used for disaster survivors.
Troyer also was approved as the authorized agent to sign on behalf of Holmes County for the BRIC-2023 Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant.
Troyer said the grant of $34,000 will be received in the near future and can be used for hazardous situations that occur within Holmes County.
Finally, the commissioners tabled the vacation of Township Road 665 in Paint Township near Winesburg.
Following a hearing in the commissioners’ chambers on Monday, Sept. 30, the decision was made to table the process due to a misunderstanding.
In tabling the decision to officially vacate the road, the commissioners have created a 60-day window for all parties to work out the minor details before moving forward.
“We just need some time to get everything lined up,” Hall said. “This has been a process for many generations, so giving us this 60-day window to try to get it lined up is a good thing. Sometimes pausing is a good thing, and I feel strongly that this will allow us to get all the ducks in a row.”
Miller said attorneys will work with the landowners involved in the vacation process to work out an acceptable plan to vacate Township Road 665 in the future.