Commissioners Corner
Summer is here but don’t forget your public responsibilities

June has come and gone, and we are now completely into the summer months. June has been warm and wet, which is good growing season for our farmers (as long as it isn’t too wet!). People are enjoying all the summer- time benefits Darke County has, and it looks to be a good summer season for most of us. Cookouts, swimming, parades, festivals and such are in full swing, so enjoy what Darke County has to offer this summer.

This month has been busy in the Commissioner’s office. We have been working on a lot of maintenance on buildings and of course the parking area out at the Wagner Avenue Government Center. Our buildings are important to us, so it is important to take care of them with the money we get from the public. The Courthouse

2nd and 3rd floors are being renovated, thanks to the Judges and prosecutor, and the Sheriff’s Office sewer relining project was to start on the 27th of this month. It seems that for several years now we have been trying to do “catch up” maintenance on a lot of structures, and we seem to be slowly removing things from our lengthy “to-do” list. This expenditure of money should help us cut costs in the future. The Sheriff’s Office is waiting on the delivery of 3 more new vehicles that should be in anytime now. As we have already purchased 3, these additional 3 units will continue to cut down the maintenance the Sheriff was incurring on the older cruisers. As has been stated before, the Sheriff’s Office incurs a lot of expense, but there are only 2 departments in the County that run 24 hrs. a day, every day of the year; The Sheriff and the County Home. With 3 times more usage of those facilities, it is easy to see why they require more maintenance than the others. Along with building maintenance, and new equipment, we are currently looking upgrading our servers for the Courthouse and the Commissioner’s office. Technology advances quickly, and keeping up with upgrades and new technology will be a challenge for now and the future. We have tried to get as much as we can from what we have now, but it is getting costly, and harder to find support for our outdated systems, so time to upgrade. We will let you know when the upgrades are complete.

The economic fortunes for Darke County continue to be a highlight for us. We are still seeing our companies grow and expand, and we will do everything we can to help them. New business is always welcome, but maintaining what we have is just as important, if not more so. Workforce development will be a primary target for us for the foreseeable future, and as of now, we are very happy with the direction we are headed. Dave Peltz, who was in charge of the Tech Center at the Greenville High School, is leaving to take another position at the Miami Valley Tech Center. We wish Dave all the best, as he has been a tireless supporter of our workforce efforts at the school. With Dave working at Miami Valley, this can only help strengthen ties with them, and help our entire regional co-operation. Good Luck, Dave, may your future be very rewarding!

As we head into the summer, it is important to realize that with all the outside activity, we still are having public meetings inside (yes, it is air-conditioned!) at the Commissioner’s Office. Won’t you join us? We meet every Monday and Wednesday publicly at 1:30 p.m. in our office located at 520 South Broadway in downtown Greenville. We are that nice building just south of the courthouse, so come on in and find out what is happening in your county. Hope to see you soon!!

The Darke County Commissioners