County commissioners decide to take action against former sheriff Pat Kelly to receive compensation for money spent during Kelly’s suspension.
The Athens County Commissioners will seek reimbursement for the money paid to former Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly during his suspension.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn, met with the commissioners Thursday morning in a closed door conference to discuss the details.
“We decided to file a civil suit against Mr. Kelly after meeting with the prosecutor today,” Lenny Eliason, commissioner, said.
The decision was made based on section 3.16 in the Ohio Revised Code, which outlines under what circumstances officials can request compensation.
The county paid both Kelly and Rodney Smith, who served as an interim during Kelly’s trial, a $69,372 annual salary until Kelly was acquitted, according to a previous Post report. An amount has not been specified yet as to what the commissioners will be asking for in compensation.
“It’s in the prosecutor’s hands now, and hopefully he will have more answers for us next week,” Eliason said.
Rick Callebs, chief of Athens County Emergency Medical Services, was also present at the meeting.
Callebs came to discuss plans for some possible renovations to the Glouster and Nelsonville stations.
“I have been working with Mr. Callebs to make some alterations to some of the stations to accommodate the new squad trucks,” Charlie Adkins, commissioner, said.
Athens County officials ordered new ambulances for Glouster and Nelsonville EMS; the new vehicles should arrive in late June or early July, Callebs said.
“The old trucks were more like vans whereas the new ambulances are more similar to box trucks,” Callebs said. “They are much wider, longer and taller.”
The stations in Coolville and Albany are newer stations and are already equipped to accommodate the new trucks.
As for the Athens station, Callebs said the plan is to build a whole new facility.
“We want to upgrade the Athens station all together, so we wouldn’t make any changes to the garages now,” Callebs added.
No decisions were made concerning the Athens station renovations, the commissioners want Callebs to speak to the Director of Maintenance Charles Brown first to iron out some of the details.
Callebs said he hopes to get the idea approved by next week.
The commissioners approved a request from Dan Pfeiffer, director of Athens County 911, to hire a new part time clerk’s position.
The decision was made in an executive session.
The part time position will serve as a backup for the full time clerk’s position if they are unable to work at a scheduled time.
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