Commissioners approve $390K property purchase for truck barn project

Highland County commissioners Brad Roades, Terry Britton and David Daniels voted Wednesday, Feb. 26 to purchase two parcels adjoining the Engineer’s Office property, as preparations are underway for a new truck barn.

Following an executive session, commissioners voted 3-0 to "enter into a purchase agreement and pay the sum" for the Pike Gas property at 144 Bowers Avenue in Hillsboro at a cost of $390,000. The property includes two parcels, for a total of 0.3742 acre.

“We examined two locations to build our new truck barn,” Highland County Engineer Chris Fauber said. “Basically, the acquisition of the gas company and their property, which kind of sits right in the middle of our existing footprint, was the best value. We would have had to spend close to half a million dollars to stabilize the subgrade in the other option and unknown costs to run utilities to that new location, so this was the best option to to move forward with.

“I appreciate the gas company’s willingness to work with us.”

As previously reported, State Senator Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) announced last June the investment of $1 million from the One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund (OTSCIF) to support the project, which will accommodate over 20 trucks.

Commissioners voted in November to direct $2 million of their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to the project. The amount committed exceeded the initial request made when commissioners reviewed potential ARPA projects in 2022. At that time, Fauber submitted a $1.4 million proposal to build a new 115’x160’ truck/equipment storage facility, replacing an approximately 50-year-old structure.   

In December, commissioners also committed another $500,000 in ARPA funding toward engineer services and contract administration by the WDC Group for the project.

In response to a question from Britton, Fauber said Wednesday the new building will go “in our existing footprint and over the gas company’s current building.

“We'll tear those two down and build there and essentially save us some money with getting new utilities, because they're already got taps for gas, sewer, water,” Fauber said.

Additional plans are forthcoming once the purchase agreement is finalized, according to Fauber.

The Bowers Avenue building plans were not the only projects discussed Wednesday, as a work session was held Wednesday afternoon to revisit a yearslong debate on the placement of a MARCS tower. According to commission clerk Ashleigh Willey, a “suitable site” has finally been identified on Butters Road.

As previously reported, then-State Rep. Shane Wilkin announced in June 2022 that “the state’s new construction budget includes $750,000 to improve radio communication for law enforcement and first responders in Highland County” with the construction of the new MARCS tower.

As noted by Britton in January 2023, they are looking to construct the tower somewhere on the “southeast side of the county,” where radio coverage is lacking. According to Highland County EMA director David Bushelman, the tower will be 300 feet tall, and the county needs a 100 foot by 100 foot space.

Commissioners held a work session Jan. 9, 2023 with Marshall Township trustees to discuss a proposal to place the tower on township-owned property. According to Britton, the commission asked the township trustees “to donate the property” for the project, and the county gave the trustees a month to make a decision. In February 2023, commissioners said Marshall Township rejected that offer.

Britton reported during in April 2023 that they had identified a landowner in Marshall Township who might be willing to enter a lease agreement, but “the best option we have right now with township-owned ground is in Concord Township” instead. However, after talks in May 2024, they determined that adding a tower in Concord Township would not help solve existing coverage issues.

Angela Canepa, Ohio Department of Administrative Services’ Deputy Director of First Responder Communications Initiatives, met with commissioners in October 2023, where they discussed their problems with finding a site, while Canepa advised that the county could go ahead and start the Controlling Board funding process. The county subsequently requested, and received, the drawdown of funds for the $1.2 million total project (for which the county is providing a $530,000 match).

In May 2024, Canepa and three other staff members met with commissioners to help brainstorm potential sites and how those locations would impact coverage.

During the work session Wednesday, it was determined that the property on Butters Road can serve as the site for the tower, and Willey told The Highland County Press that Canepa “will be sending contract information over soon” for further consideration.

The property is a 5.11-acre parcel in Brushcreek Township that came into commissioners’ possession in September after being forfeited in a high-profile drug trafficking case.

Although not discussed during open session, correspondence regarding a third unrelated construction project — the multimillion-dollar records storage facility on Beech Street — was listed on commissioners’ agenda Wednesday.

According to an undated letter received recently by commissioners, written by the owner of the construction company working on the project, the company is submitting “a formal proposal in hopes that all parties can agree in a peaceful manner on how to handle” various change orders denied by commissioners.

Contractors have submitted multiple change orders throughout the course of the project, many of which have been debated in open session by commissioners. The company listed six orders that commissioners voted to deny, which the company “is disputing.”

For four of the orders, the company asked the county to approve them, and in exchange the company would “agree not to pursue other change orders or interest that we feel like we are intitled [sic] to.

“We are asking for these specific PCOs to be approved in hopes of avoiding any liens that could be filed on the project,” the proposal says.

The company is also asking “that no liquidated damages be assigned.” Commissioners voted 3-0 in November to issue a notice of liquidated damages for project delays, “at a rate of $500 per calendar day” that construction is not complete, effective Nov. 8.

Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins issued a response Feb. 14, stating that “the county is not in agreement with your proposal.” That includes the “interest” and liens mentioned; the change orders up for debate; the liquidated damages; and other items referenced in the company’s letter.

“The County and McCarty Associates had hoped to come to a peaceful resolution fo these issues and still hope that we can achieve that,” Collins wrote. “In order to achieve the desired result, working together and coming to agreements on issues will be necessary; however, those agreements will be within the bounds of the contract and the law.”

Regarding the company’s “request for interest you feel you are ‘intitled’ (sic): your reading of the contract again is lacking,” Collins wrote. The county does “not agree to allow” the listed change orders, based on their contract with the company, she said.

The prosecutor pointed out that the liquidated damages have reached $48,500 “based on a completion date of Nov. 8.

“As to threatening liens on the building, your baseless and lawless threats to the County will no longer be tolerated,” Collins wrote.  

Check back to highlandcountypress.com for more from Wednesday’s meeting.

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