By Carol McIntire
Editor
March 31, 2009
Carroll County Commissioners are purchasing 5.99 acres of land, but it shouldn’t cost the county a dime.
On Monday, commissioners approved the purchase of the land, located in the Carroll County Commerce Park on SR 9 north of Carrollton, from Shaw Properties LLC. Bryan Shaw is president of the company.
The county agreed to pay $62,500 for the land, using grant funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) through the Federal Transit Administration. The land is to be used to construct a new garage for Carroll County transit, also using funds from ODOT.
Commissioner Tom Wheaton, Economic Director Wayne Chunat and Patti Manfull, director of Transit, have been working on the project for several months and submitted it as one of the county’s projects to seek federal stimulus dollars.
Governor Ted Strickland announced March 26 approximately $150 million in stimulus funds were being specifically directed toward urban public transit. There are 24 such systems across the state, one of which is Carroll County Transit.
The project will include the construction of an office building/garage to house the transit system. “We have been trying for 10 years to get funding to help build our own facility to house the vehicles, provide an area for maintenance and provide cold storage (store vehicles inside a building), which is an ODOT requirement,” Manfull said. Transit has a fleet of eight vehicles and Manfull said she is looking forward to having a building that could house as many as 12 vehicles.
“The garage would give us an area to maintain vehicles inside and help lower maintenance costs and increase the longevity of the vehicles. The office facility would provide office space and an area for training drivers. The requirements for driver training are very detailed before a driver is put on the road. All efforts will be made to build a facility that is energy efficient and to protect the environment as well as save taxpayers’ dollars,” Manfull said. No new jobs will be created.
Commissioner Tom Wheaton said the county’s proposal to build a new transit building was selected as one of the projects from District 11. Transit will receive $1.816 million to acquire land, design and construct a new facility.
He said the site was previously selected and the project was planned just as if the project were moving forward several months ago to meet the “shovel ready” requirement of stimulus projects, but everything was literally “on hold” until the stimulus dollars came through.
Shaw purchased the acres in the Commerce Park in 2004 and paid to construct an access road between his property and an adjoining property where Country View Manor is now located.
Wheaton noted the purchase of the land is contingent upon receipt of this grant as well as a stimulus grant through the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) for water and sewer infrastructure for the Commerce Park. ODOD stimulus projects have not been announced.
Transit also received $2,000 for computers, $66,000 for two handicapped mini vans and $16,150 for maintenance of capitalized projects
In an unrelated mater Monday, Commissioners discussed Governor Strickland’s proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget with Kate Offenberger, director of the Carroll County Department of Job and Family Services. Offenberger said if the proposed cuts are enacted, it will leave her with no other option but to lay off employees. She said if the Title 20 program is eliminated, it will cut approximately $170,000 from the department’s Social Services Unit. She said the proposed cuts are for 10 percent in 2010 and an additional five percent in 2011.
-PROCLAIMED April Child Abuse Prevention Month in Carroll County at the request of Demitrius Carrothers, DJFS Social Services Unit director. He said awareness activities include a public walk April 18 at 10 a.m. beginning at the DJFS office on Main St. and a reading night at the Carroll County District Library on 2nd St. NE, April 7 at 7 p.m.
-AGREED to advertise for bids for paving sections of Abbey, Bachelor, Blade and Azalea roads. Bids will be accepted until 9:30 a.m. April 23 and opened at that time.
-AGREED to accept bids for a renovation project to the basement of the Senior Citizens Friendship Center at the Carroll County Fairgrounds until 9:30 a.m. April 23 and open them at that time.
-MADE a request for qualifications from engineering firms for the Community Center Phase 2 project until 10:30 a.m. April 23 and open them at that time.
-ACCEPTED the bid of Bob and Pete’s Flooring for $10,013.97 to install carpeting at the Golden Age Retreat.
-ACCEPTED the dog pound report for the week of March 23-28 showing 17 impounded, 14 tagged and one dog injured on the highway put to sleep. |
