Commissioners discuss economic development; proclaim Home Care Month, Home Health Aides Week

Highland County Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Jeff Duncan and Tom Horst discussed ongoing economic development plans at their regular meeting Thursday morning.

The meeting, usually held on Wednesday morning, was postponed one day due to the Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11.

“We thank all of our veterans who have served and are currently serving,” Wilkin said.

Wilkin provided updates on recent meetings with Corvac Composites and Candle-lite.

Corvac Composites, a supplier of airflow management and water-deflection systems to OEM and Tier Manufacturers which acquired the former RR Donnelley building in Greenfield, is expected to bring over 100 jobs to the area, while Candle-lite will add another 50 positions to their facility.

Wilkin said that he met with Greenfield City Manager Ron Coffey and Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth Project Manager Katy Farber regarding rail facilities in Greenfield.

“It was a critical piece in acquiring Corvac to come in and get that building, so the nice thing is there’s some ramp-up time, but we are looking at different funding streams for that project,” Wilkin said. “What we’re talking about is right down Washington Street.”

Wilkin said that old maps indicate that there are already tracks underground.

“The Rail Commission is interested in participating in it,” Wilkin said. “We are trying to figure out exactly what the ramp-up schedule for Corvac would be. Right now, they’re looking relatively soon to bring on somewhere between 20 and 30 people.”

Wilkin said that Corvac Composites is planning to have product ready to be shipped by the first quarter of 2016, “so that’s a good thing, and that’s pretty quick.”

Wilkin also said there are three large silos going up for resin pellets for the facility.

Vectren Gas has also been contacted to determine capacities for natural gas for Corvac Composites.

“We know there’s gas in Greenfield at the industrial park, but we just need to know when we submit if it is enough to handle this user,” Wilkin said.

Wilkin said that the announcement last week that Candle-lite will be bringing additional jobs to the region is exciting, along with the commitment to retain the 417 people currently employed at Candle-lite in Leesburg and Blue Ash.

“It was talked about that they could be looking out of state to possibly relocate,” Wilkin said. “So we were very happy to be able to work together to retain them.”

Wilkin thanked the partners who worked with commissioners on the project, including DP&L; JobsOhio; the Southern Ohio Agricultural Community Development Fund (SOACDF); and the village of Leesburg.

“Everybody was good to work with,” Wilkin said. “With what they are wanting to do with their lines, they [Candle-lite] believe this will be able to position them to be able to move forward with another avenue of an income stream.”

Wilkin said the two employers will have an impact on the region, with an approximate 40- to 45-mile radius of prospective employees they will be targeting.

“These are full-time jobs,” Horst said. “These are not part-time jobs, so this will be good for the community.”

• • •

Members of the Highland District Hospital home health care staff and hospital administrators met with commissioners for two proclamations.

Ellen Zink, RN and case manager; Hazel Smith, manager; Jessica Anderson, home health aide; Cindy Brummett, home health aide; Susan Young, home health nurse; Tim Parry, vice president of operations; and Jim Baer, hospital president, attended the meeting.

Commissioners proclaimed November as National Home Care Month and Nov. 8-14 as Home Health Care Aide Week.

“We’re very proud of our home care ladies,” Jim Baer said. “For the third year, they’ve been named HomeCare Elite, one of the top 500 home cares in the nation. We serve all of Highland County and parts of surrounding counties, and these ladies do an outstanding job in the homes of our patients.

“It’s a very important service, and we’re all very proud of them and what they do.”

Wilkin and Horst said that their families have both used Highland District Hospital’s home health services and are grateful for their work in the community.

Baer also spoke about the home health care aides, who “provide activities of daily living” for their patients.

“It’s another service we provide that helps keep patients home longer,” Baer said. “Many hospitals do not provide this type of service, but we do because we believe and understand it’s very important to the residents of Highland County.”

Brummett said that she has worked as a home health aide for about 15 years and called the job “a blessing.”

“I appreciate the opportunity to get to serve Highland County and the surrounding counties,” Brummett said. “I find it a blessing to be able to have this job.”

“I’m sure the people you serve feel the same way about you,” Wilkin said. “Thank you so much for everything that you do.”

• • •

Commissioners heard an update on the County Risk Sharing Authority (CORSA) from CORSA marketing manager Ginny Shrimplin and Todd Heskett of Heskett Insurance in Hillsboro.

Shrimplin provided commissioners with copies of CORSA’s annual report and previewed sessions at the upcoming County Commissioners Association of Ohio and County Engineers Association of Ohio (CCAO/CEAO) Winter Conference.

Shrimplin reported that CORSA “had a very, very good year,” as reflected in the report, which will lead to savings for Highland County.

“Our losses poolside were lower than expected, for a good savings there, plus our investments did very well,” Shrimplin said. “When the pool saves, the county saves, because you own the pool.

“This year, in May, you got an almost 9.5 percent decrease in your insurance costs. I can tell you, you can look for that again probably next year. There will be no raises, and you’ll probably get another decrease.”

Shrimplin told commissioners that CORSA is working with law enforcement officers to curb the cost of their training programs.

“There was a change this year in the Ohio Revised Code, and it now requires law enforcement to have 16 hours of training every year, and that starts in 2016,” Shrimplin said. “In 2017, I believe that goes up to 20 hours of training.”

Previously, the requirement was two hours of training, Shrimplin said.

“CORSA is working with OPOTA [Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy] right now,” Shrimplin said. “We’re trying to get the training that we do right now for our members certified by OPOTA so that it will count as some of their required training.”

Shrimplin said that OPOTA will be attending the conference and will feature two law enforcement simulators, with a driving simulator “as if they’re in pursuit of someone” and a firearms simulator.

“We want you as commissioners to see everything that’s out there available for free for sheriffs,” Shrimplin said. “These two simulators are all free from OPOTA, and they’ll bring it right to your county.”

Both of those simulators also count already toward the required training hours, Shrimplin said.

Other programs at the conference will include a session on CORSA’s cyber liability coverage; a lab on their preventative maintenance program with FacilityDude; a session with dog wardens on liability issues; and a courthouse security program with a case study of a shooting at a commissioners’ office.

Heskett told commissioners that everything is “running smoothly.”

“All the programs and the loss credit programs you’ve taken advantage of, that’s great, keep it up,” Heskett said. “They offer a lot that can help.”

Wilkin thanked Heskett for being “accessible.”

“He does a good job for us, too,” Shrimplin said.

• • •

Commissioners announced that Katie Adams has been hired as the Highland County Job and Family Services Assistant Director.

Adams is currently employed as a licensing certification specialist with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and has also worked as a protective caseworker in Highland and Clinton counties.

Wilkin said that the committee who interviewed Adams agreed she was the best candidate.

“She has a good background for what we were looking for, and I think it was kind of a consensus of the committee when we got down to who we liked,” Wilkin said. “I think she’ll do a good job for us.”

Horst added that Adams will start her position on Nov. 30.

• • •

All three commissioners attended the Rocky Fork Lake ASAP meeting on Nov. 5 and said that they found the town hall meeting informative.

“I was very pleased with the turnout,” Wilkin said. “They had a lot of people come. LuAnn [Winkle, Turning Point project manager] has been pretty clear for the beginning, this is supposed to be designed for ‘what do you want and what’s going to be beneficial?’ as opposed to ‘here’s what we’re going to do for you.’”

Horst agreed that there was a good turnout, including “input from locals we’d not had before.”

“One of the big things was a library,” Horst said. “That was one of the things they really wanted down there, and that was voiced from more than one person. That was interesting.”

• • •

Wilkin said that commissioners were notified that John Carey, Board of Regents chancellor, has signed off on the $100,000 award for Hi-TEC repairs.

“That money, because of the rules tied to it, has to flow through Southern State and then to us,” Wilkin said. “We’re trying to make some headway in catching up with some maintenance that has been long overdue.”

Horst also reminded commissioners that the county auction will be held Saturday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. at the Highland County Fairgrounds.

“The sheriff and county engineer have some vehicles in it, plus some other things,” Horst said.

• • •

In other action, commissioners approved the following resolutions, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A request from the engineer for a modification of appropriations within the Engineer Budget in the total amount of $95,000.

• A request from the Board of Elections for a modification within the Board of Elections Budget in the amount of $1,500.

• A modification within the County Budget in the amount of $440.

• A modification of appropriations within the Chore Budget in the amount of $884.83.

• A request from the Highland County Department of Job and Family Services for a reimbursement of funds from CSEA Administrative Account to Public Assistance Account in the amount of $10,408.47 for Child Support Enforcement Agency Program October 2015 shared cost distribution.

• A resolution agreeing to the Locally Developed Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan.