UPDATED: Commissioners discuss pending Leesburg Industrial Park announcement; state report on Financial Health Indicators

Highland County commissioners Shane Wilkin, Jeff Duncan and Terry Britton and Highland County Auditor Bill Fawley held a brief press conference Wednesday, Jan. 25 to discuss the newly released Financial Health Indicators for the county.

The Financial Health Indicators for Ohio counties and cities for 2015 were compiled by the office of Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost. In 17 outlined indicators, Highland County received 10 "positive outlook" scores, three "cautionary outlook" scores, two "critical outlook" scores and two areas that were not applicable.

Fawley said he first learned of the report on Friday, Jan. 20 and that local officials were not consulted in the development of the financial report. "Some of the (state's) numbers do not match at all," Fawley said. Fawley noted that on Indicator 12 in which the county received a "critical status on debt service expenditures, the county actually refinanced an existing note at a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers thousands of dollars.” The county's other area of "critical" status was Indicator 17, "positive outlook."

Fawley said there has been "lots of controversy about how some of these numbers were picked."

The county's annual state audits present a more positive light.

For more on the Financial Health Indicators, go to the state auditor's office website at https://ohioauditor.gov, email: FHindicators@ohioauditor.gov or call (614) 644-1111.

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During the commissioners' meeting, Wilkin announced that positive news is anticipated soon for the Leesburg Industrial Park.

Commissioners last fall announced the county received a grant from the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth (APEG) for a conceptual development plan for the industrial parks in Greenfield and Leesburg.

"This is a 2-to-1 funding grant we've worked through Katy Farber (the APEG project manager serving Adams, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton counties)," Wilkin said in November. "This will help the site certification process, and Leesburg still has a good chance to be the first to be certified in the state."

Southern State Community College also applied for a federal America’s Promise Grant to aid local job training efforts. The U.S. Department of Labor has made available approximately $100 million in America’s Promise Job-Driven Grants to develop and grow regional partnerships between workforce agencies, education and training providers and employers.

"We're currently working on a couple of economic development projects," Wilkin said this week.

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Charlie Guarino appointed to land bank

• Commissioners voted, 3-0, to appoint Charlie Guarino as the city of Hillsboro representative to the county’s new land reutilization corporation (land bank) board. Guarino has served on the Southern Ohio Educational Service Center Governing Board and the Southern Hills Joint Vocational School District Board.
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• In other business Wednesday, commissioners met with Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner, who said there are now widespread flu cases in southern Ohio. Warner encouraged everyone to have a flu shot. Shots are available at the Health Department at 1487 North High St., Suite 400, Hillsboro or call (937) 393-1941.

Warner also said the department will be working on an accreditation process, during which they will identify issues of health concerns and ways to fix them. A public meeting will be held at the department at 9 a.m. Feb. 16.

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• Wilkin and Dave Bushelman, deputy director of the Highland County Emergency Management Agency, met recently in Clinton County with House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger regarding the county's second application of a grant for new emergency radios for first responders that are able to communicate directly with first responders in other counties.

Wilkin said in a recent cross-county automobile pursuit, officers from Highland and Fayette counties had to radio their respective county dispatchers, who then had to call the other county's dispatcher and communicate back to the road officers. The new radios would be for seven law enforcement agencies and seven fire departments.

The grant, for $483,798, is being submitted for the second time, Duncan said. "The first grant was turned down."

Wilkin said of the $20 million in the state's previous two-year budget for these grants, 45 of 53 total grants were awarded north of Interstate 70.

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Igo Lane closure

• Commissioners also received a request from Concord Township trustees regarding the closing of Igo Lane. According to Wilkin, since the county has had a significant cost in its legal advertising expenses, the township will have to assume the costs of any legal ads related to the proposed closing.

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• Britton reported that he and Highland County Outreach Specialist Heidi Devine attended a recent meeting of the Ross, Pickaway, Highland, Fayette Joint Solid Waste Management District.

"Tom Davis provided an update on recycling efforts in the district," Britton said. "The recycling was pretty good, with 40,660 tons of material being recycled in 2015 (the most recent data available). That comes to 81,320,000 pounds of recycling."

Britton also said there will be a collection for used electronics on Aug. 5 and a tire collection on Aug. 19 at a site to be announced.

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Happy Birthday, Piper and Parker Wilkin

Commission President Shane Wilkin opened the meeting by extending happy birthday greetings to his daughters. Piper celebrates her 7th birthday on Jan. 25, and Parker will celebrate her 6th birthday on Jan. 26.