Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting came amid the settling of several ongoing issues, from dog rescuing to retiring pay to infrastructure improvements.
After county officials expressed frustration with a policy proposed by County Engineer Archie Stanley that could cost about $100,000, Stanley decided to maintain the current policy.
Stanley proposed to change the pay for unused sick days by retiring department employees from the current 25 percent of their normal pay to a full 100 percent.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said he gave Stanley legal advice throughout the process of his proposal.
“The only way I have a feeling is as a taxpayer,” Blackburn said. “I am happy the policy remained as is.”
In another discussion, the commissioners decided how almost $150,000 will be distributed for projects throughout the county.
Athens County was allocated $146,400 through the Community Development Block Grant from both state and federal sources.
The commissioners approved almost $30,000 to finish paving Kennedy Road in Trimble Township, about $40,000 to pave South Town Road in Glouster, almost $25,000 for improvements in the Village of Chauncey and about $55,000 for general improvements in Trimble, including drainage, street, and parks and recreation improvements.
The funds designated for Trimble Township will pay for improvements that could be used to help Athens County apply for a larger block grant, effectively creating additional funding, said Nikole Morris of Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action.
“It’s formula dollars that will be used as a match grant,” Morris said. “It’s a $300,000 grant and (the state and national governments) want to see that you’re targeting an area.”
By targeting a specific area for improvements rather than broad improvements throughout the county, an application for additional funds becomes stronger.
“It strengthens the application to use (the Community Development Block Grant) formula to apply for a match,” said Glenn Crippen, who also works for the organization.
One of the more heated debates in the commissioners meeting came from The Friends of the Shelter Dogs, who were trying to prevent higher dog licensing fees.
“Over the course of an entire year, this would be $16,000 … We cannot raise that much money,” said Sara Hartman, a member of The Friends of the Shelter Dogs who spoke at the meeting.
In 2003, before The Friends of the Shelter Dogs was up and running, the county euthanized more than 1,000 dogs, an 83 percent euthanasia rate , whereas last year, fewer than 115 dogs were euthanized, a 7 percent euthanasia rate, said Anne Cornwell, the group’s treasurer and transportation coordinator.
“What I feel is like the county doesn’t appreciate or want what we do as volunteers,” Hartman said. “I’m sick of fighting this uphill battle.”
Cornwell explained she has been reading the Ohio Revised Code and believes that there is a chance that the Friends of Shelter Dogs can get licenses for free.
“We have to come up with a balance of some price, because whatever price we set, we have to offer to every other rescue organization,” Commissioner Larry Payne said.
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