Commissioners conduct public business in the open
By Bob Robinson

GREENVILLE – Darke County Commissioner Mike Stegall has been trying to come up with something groundbreaking – something of his own – since arriving in the Commissioners’ Office in January 2011.

He had been trying to break Commissioner Mike Rhoades’ record for the shortest public meeting on record: 3 minutes. He came close a few weeks ago but clocked in at 3 minutes 45 seconds. But Stegall is not one to give up easily.

On Aug. 7 he accomplished is own “first.” As president of the Commissioners he called for the first meeting ever to be held on the lawn of the Commissioners Building.

“I’ve really been wanting to do this for a long time,” he said before the meeting. “I kind of like it. We might want to do it again.”

The commissioners had been asked if they would relinquish their meeting room for the budget hearings taking place. Normally the hearings would be held in the Darke County Courthouse but the elevator wasn’t working.

The commissioners agreed and Stegall decided this was the time. Commissioners Diane Delaplane and Rhoades agreed.

“This way we can let everybody see how public our meetings are,” Stegall said.

The elevator isn’t due to be running until September.

During the Aug. 7 meeting, commissioners approved a bid of $4,943 to Enviro-Flow of Zanesville to install a 5-inch cast iron sanitary sewer pipe outside of the building at the Sheriff’s Office. Included will be an inspection chamber for the purpose of cleaning, televising and curing in place pipe lining. This is to resolve a periodic problem regarding sewer flow. According to John Cook, Business Administrator, no competitive bids were requested due to the specialized nature of the job. No other companies were available locally.

On Aug. 5, commissioners passed a resolution authorizing the Darke County Auditor to receive dog license fees for the year 2014 in accordance with Ohio House Bill 59, which requires options for one year, three year and permanent licenses. The fee will be $16 per dog for one year; $48 per dog for three years; and $160 per dog for permanent.

Delaplane, along with Rhoades and Stegall, congratulated the Greenville City School District on its successful levy campaign.