EAST ANNEX Pictured here is the Williams County East Annex Building located at 1425 East High Street There are a lot of organizations located within the building with the Williams County Commissioners being one of them ever since they left the Williams County Courthouse last year due to the fourth floor asbestos abatement and remodel
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
Commissioners Bart Westfall and Lew Hilkert met for the first Williams County Commissioners meeting of last week, taking the time to meet on Tuesday around 9 a.m. to pass seven resolutions and sign an inclement weather reminder, travel requests, a permit to use the gazebo at the courthouse for weddings, the hire of a new home delivery driver for the Department of Aging, and a Maumee Valley request for contribution for 2024 for $2,597.14.
With no minutes yet prepared, the commissioners moved to approve the bills as presented by the auditor, and then entered into recess before meeting with Dave Newcomer and Dawn Fitzcharles representing the WCPA (Williams County Port Authority).
They spoke of the “excellent attitude across the county” shown by most municipalities with regards to partnering with them to prepare the lots for new residences.
They also spoke of their recent meeting with state representatives to discuss the allocation of more housing funds to smaller municipalities so that those in rural areas, like Williams County, can benefit from funds available to help Ohio combat the recent housing crisis.
While many realize the housing crisis is an issue, there may be some confusion around why there are fewer and fewer private contractors building homes. The simple answer is that it just isn’t profitable.
The costs faced by private entities when trying to build within a municipality can often be a barrier to owning a home, with many potential residents facing fees and political olympics in order to even begin engineering a building project.
Add that to also trying to make a profit, the cost of the privately constructed homes greatly exceeds that which those in this area can largely afford, with residents often finding themselves unable to take out a loan sizable enough in the current housing and pay economy.
With the WCPA, they are able to help drive the closing price down for the new residents, partnering with municipalities to save costs, and using left over margin to further invest in more properties.
One of the largest issues faced by the WCPA is having enough funds on hand to build multiple projects at once.
If you consider how expensive it is to build, the WCPA has been hard at work to keep enough money on hand to allow for the budgeting for the multiple projects they are trying to complete at once across the county.
They also must keep in mind their finances so that they may be approved for bonds and loans for constructing more houses at once.
Next year, the WCPA is dedicated to adding 25 more housing units to Williams County, with their success largely depending on resources. The biggest impacts on their resources are parcels, funds, and the current market.
They also have pledged to financially help support a desperately needed 50-unit senior housing project with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, so that they can use their profit margins to make the biggest impact on units of housing.
The idea is that the movement of seniors into these units will help open up homes for those desperately looking to build their families, and cause the fervor for new construction to lessen as those in need shift to the homes that seniors are expected to move out of.
Having the obligation to raise at least $258,000 in grant funds helps to place Williams County higher on the list for priority of consideration for being awarded housing projects, which speaks largely to the way in which these funds are allocated.
The Commissioners then approved the minutes from their January 4, 2024 meeting, as well as the purchase of new cameras for the Department of Aging before adjourning for the day.
Thursday saw Commissioners Bart Westfall, Terry Rummel, and Lew Hilkert meeting for their regular session near 8:30 a.m.
This session produced four resolutions and the signage of the Williams County Dog Warden report through January 7, a Maumee Valley request for pay, a mortgage release from Maumee Valley, the minutes of their January 9, 2024 meeting, as well as the bills as presented at the County Auditor.
The Commissioners then met with Sheriff Tom Kochert, and he introduced the employee assistance program.
Mental health awareness for first responders has been highlighted as a need, and an issue persists when a first responder needs to speak with a counselor there are very few available.
Also, if they are sent a co-pay, the anonymity of the treatment can be compromised. This program, through ProMedica, guarantees mental health support within 72 hours in person and 24 hours via virtual consultation, as well as a mobile team to arrive within 24 hours when contacted for an event.
There are five visits per topic and there is a flat fee that will cover a predetermined number of employees, which will circumvent insurance and copay billing for mental health treatment.
The sheriff spoke to other first responders in the county and found that they expressed full support of the program.
The rate gets cheaper as there are more employees, and Sheriff Kochert shared that the entire county could be covered for around $2,600.
Parkview has a similar program, but the location might dissuade those wanting anonymity in their treatments from going in.
Commissioner Rummel shared his support, also stating that he would like to spread the services to county employees, such as court personnel and social workers.
The sheriff shared that if a mental issue can be warded off for “even one” of his employees, the program would be worth it, and that the system might help prevent those from seeking mental health services for the sole reason of getting worker’s compensation, as that is not a scope of ProMedica’s services.
The Commissioners thanked him for his work before adjourning for the week.
The approved resolutions for last week are as follows:
Resolution 24-0029: approved supplemental appropriations for the Williams County Clerk of Courts, Engineer, and Hillside Country Living.
Resolution 24-0030: amended the holiday schedule that was passed on January 4, 2024 to add the closing of the office at 12 noon on December 31st.
Resolution 24-0031: approved an IV-E contract for JFS.
Resolution 24-0032: approved a December 2023 procurement plan for JFS.
Resolution 24-0033: approved an addenda to an IV-E JFS contract.
Resolution 24-0034: approved a memorandum of understanding for shared costs of child placement for JFS.
Resolution 24-0035: approved the WCPA members as Dawn Fitzcharles (first term, ending Dec. 31, 2024), Tyson Stuckey (first term, ending Dec. 31, 2024), Sean Rupp (second term, eding Dec., 31, 2025), Richard Reed (fourth term, ending Dec. 31, 2025), Bill Martin (second term, ending Dec. 31, 2026, Stacy Lillard (first term, ending Dec. 31, 2026), and Dave Newcomer (fourth term, ending Dec. 31, 2027).
Resolution 24-0036: approved supplemental appropriations for the Williams County Common Pleas Court, Dog Warden, JFS, and Hillside Country Living.
Resolution 24-0037: approved an agreement between JFS and Timeforce for software services.
Resolution 24-0038: approved an advertisement for sealed bids.
Resolution 24-0039: approved an IV-E Contract for JFS.
