County Commissioners discussed the possibility to seek reimbursement of the salary paid to former Sheriff Pat Kelly during his suspension.
Athens County Commissioners have begun discussion to request reimbursement for any money the county paid former Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly during his suspension.
Kelly, who was found guilty on 18 of 25 counts last week— including theft in office and perjury — could possibly be required to pay a hefty sum of money back to the county and the Ohio Attorney General for his paid suspension, which was issued to him in spring of 2014.
“We are unsure of the numbers right now, so that is why we pushed the conversation back to next week,” County Commissioner Charlie Adkins said. “We will discuss getting that money back.”
Adkins and the other commissioners will talk to the county prosecutor’s office within the next week to discuss the determining factors in Kelly paying the county back.
“There are a lot of things we need to look into,” Commissioner Chris Chmiel said, “Like if he even has the money to pay us, or if we are on a long line of people who he owes money. So we will discuss that and hopefully have a decision by next week.”
Many canceled their appearances at the Tuesday morning commissioners’ meeting, though Integrated Services Executive Director Kevin Gillespie still made an appearance to discuss a few project ideas for Athens County.
“(Gillespie) came in for approval regarding a project to begin planning for some housing developments in Nelsonville,” Commissioner Lenny Eliason said.
The housing developments should mostly benefit those who are elderly and of low-income, said Chmiel.
“They just wanted to obtain a letter of recommendation and backing to begin looking for a company to start this project up,” Adkins said.
The housing developments weren’t the only project Gillespie had in mind. Integrated Services is also looking into the area that previously housed the old Nelsonville High School.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="40d6fdb0-b57b-11e4-a530-c77f36463114"}}
“He actually seemed more excited about the project to put up some housing near the old Nelsonville High School,” Adkins added.
Both projects received approval from the commissioners Tuesday morning, and commissioners promised to write a letter of recommendation for Integrated Services’ proposals. Both projects are still in the early planning stages, and there is no projected start date.
Later this week commissioners will also begin interviewing applicants for the vacant county planner position.
“The deadline passed (Monday), so me and the other commissioners will look over the applications and choose our top three candidates and begin interviews to fill the position,” Chmiel said.
@mcuds
mc835713@ohio.edu
