Highland County commission reorganizes for 2024

Highland County commissioners kicked off 2024 with their organizational meeting Monday, Jan. 8, where they voted to appoint a new chairman and vice chairman for the year.

The 2023 commission president, Terry Britton, moved to appoint David Daniels as chairman and Brad Roades as vice chairman for 2024.

“Thank you,” Daniels said, then joked, “You’ll live to regret it.” 

Daniels is entering the fourth year of his term as commissioner, as he and Britton (who is in the fourth year of his second term) are both seeking reelection in 2024. Daniels also formerly served as commissioner from 1997-2002.

Roades is starting the second year of his first term in office.

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

• A resolution to designate Daniels as the County Commissioners Association of Ohio official representative and Roades as alternate.

• A resolution to appoint the Community Development Block Grant complaint procedure committee.

• A resolution to establish meeting days, which will continue to be held on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. at the commissioners’ office.

• A resolution to establish commissioners as board members for the year 2024. Those assignments include: 
— Britton: Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission, Community Action Organization, Community Improvement Corporation, Court Security, VOCA and Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank).

— Daniels: Board of Health, Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation, Highland Health Providers and East Fork Watershed.

— Roades: Area 7 Chief Elected Officials Consortium, Emergency Management Executive Committee, Family and Children First Council, Local Emergency Planning Committee, Workforce Policy Board and Highland District Hospital Foundation Board.

— All three commissioners: 911 Users, Community Corrections, County Caucus, Extension Advisory Board, Highland County Planning Commission, Juvenile Detention (South Central Ohio Regional Juvenile Detention Corporation) Trustees, Workforce Investment (WIA), Solid Waste Board, FRS Transportation and Domestic Violence.

• A resolution to rehire county employees.

• A resolution to establish rules for public comment for their meetings, which remains unchanged from its last revision in 2020.

• A resolution to approve travel for commissioners to meetings.

Looking ahead to the calendar year, commissioners said that they were hoping to wrap up or make progress on some of their ongoing major projects, including the construction of a new OSU Extension office at the Highland County Fairgrounds and a new county records storage facility on Beech Street as well as sewer upgrades at Rocky Fork Lake and Rolling Acres. 

Roades and Britton said there will also be some rearranging of offices, with the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau and Economic Development offices moving to a new location on North High Street; OSU Extension moving to their new aforementioned office once completed; and other county offices, such as the Land Bank department, eventually moving out of the Scott House and into the former OSU Extension offices at the Highland County Administration Building. 

Commissioners will begin conducting regular business at their first official meeting of the calendar year Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 9 a.m.