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Commissioners Corner...
Still waiting on
Local Government Dollars
The month of September is upon us and with that comes the start of
school, and on the 23rd, the start of the fall season. Several of
our community’s are having their fall festivals. With the arrival
of fall, that means that winter cannot be far off. Hopefully,
this winter will be much better than the last two we have had with less
snow and ice.
Things have slowed in the Commissioners Office so far. We are
still waiting to see exactly how much money we will be getting for our
Local Government Fund (LGF). Darke County Auditor Carol Ginn,
along with the Commissioners, has done a great job of staying on top of
the money situation for the county. Carol has given us preliminary
numbers several times, and as they change at the state level, she keeps
us informed and as to what is happening. As of this moment,
we might receive a little more than we expected, but as Carol will tell
you, that could change in a heartbeat. At the end of October we
will start the appropriations part of the budget, and by then we will
know for sure on the amount we will receive.
Be sure to thank Carol when you see her for staying on top of things in
a very difficult and confusing year. As of right now, our income
projections for the county are slightly ahead of what we had
hoped. Thanks to all of you in the county who strive to buy
locally whenever possible.
In other happenings around the County, the State Rte. 242 road closure
project between the County and the State is moving along.
Recently, we talked with Matt Parrill of O.D.O.T. District 7, and he
informed us that the project is right on schedule with completion of
the entire project set for May of 2013. This project will allow
Darke County to use the existing 300 extra feet of runway safely for
larger jet aircraft. With Darke Counties aggressive economic
development strategy ongoing, this will allow businesses with larger
aircraft the ability to use the entire available runway more
safely. This project will be a further enhancement for our
economic development, allowing us to go after more companies who wish
to expand.
Jeff Marshall, our Community Development Grants Coordinator, is also
working with the F.A.A. on some other grants and issues to enhance the
airport in the future. The Darke County Airport has become an
important part of our economic development efforts, so it will be
important to modernize and upgrade as much as possible for future
use.
On the economic development front, Marc Saluk and Mayor Bowers of
Greenville recently attended a conference in Charlotte, North Carolina
with other E.D. Directors and Community Leaders. Conferences like this
one allow Marc to update his knowledge and help him with possible
future leads on new businesses. The Development Office is
continuing its aggressive hunt for new business and the retention of
the great businesses we have.
One of those businesses that need to be mentioned is Dynamic Weld of
Osgood. This small business was incorporated in 1981 and employs
38 people. Dynamic Weld builds custom material handling and
returnable shipping containers for American Honda. This
growing business was recently honored by Honda as their “Supplier of
the Year”. Congratulations to Harry Heitkamp and Gene Niekamp,
the President and Vice President of Dynamic Weld, for this prestigious
honor.
The Commissioners were honored to be a part of the ceremony that was
held at their manufacturing facility. The Darke County community
is proud to have you here, and may you have much more success in the
future. The Economic Development Office has more projects in the
fold, and we will keep Darke Countians informed as soon as possible.
The Darke County Commissioners meet every Monday and Wednesday, at 1:30
p.m., in the Administration Building, south of the Courthouse.
Please feel free to attend any meeting, or to contact us at (937)
547-7370, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the
day. Meetings are always open, and we hope to see you at one soon!
The Darke County Commissioners
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