From The Darke County Commissioners
October has been a very wet start to the fall season. Farmers seem to have most of their crops off, and we are hearing some pretty good yields from around the county. October is the official start of the Holiday season with Halloween followed by November with Veterans Day and then Thanksgiving. That means cold weather can’t be far behind, and neither is Christmas!
October has been a very busy month in the Commissioner’s office. We started out with continuing discussions on Broadband for the entire county. We are still in discussion with several companies, and we want to make sure that what we do will be affordable and provide the best coverage for the entire County. We should know more by the middle of November, hopefully. As most of you know, Apex, an energy company, wants to establish a solar farm in Darke County. There is much discussion on both sides of this issue, and we in the Commissioner’s office have heard from both sides. At this point there is nothing that has been firmly established as to the exact place and size of the solar field. Apex should file their application with the Power Siting Board sometime soon, and then we will be able to digest everything that is involved with this project. We will keep you all posted as soon as we are certain of everything.
This month we finally complete the new taxiway and apron at the Darke County Airport. Thanks to everyone who could attend the official opening on October 1st. This 3.2 million dollar expansion was from a grant from the FAA, and we are grateful to them for returning our tax money back to Darke County. We would like to thank Mr. John Mayfield and Mr. Delvin Lewis from the FAA for their continued input and support of our efforts here in Darke County. This expansion will provide the airport with a safer system for air traffic, will lead to more economic development, and will also lead to more companies and people wanting hangars. We do have more plans in the works, and hopefully we can continue the growth at the Airport.
We are in continuing discussions with the Auditor and with Julian and Grube, the accounting firm we have hired to help us understand all of the intricacies and rules with the A.R.P.A (American Rescue Plan Act) money from the Federal Government. There is a lot of paper work, and rules that must be adhered too that come with this money, and we want to make sure that we understand what it can and can’t be spent on. We meet monthly to determine what our focus should be on and we are instituting a plan for spending these dollars to best suit the county. This will be ongoing probably until 2026, when the money has to be used by.
This month of November should see us starting our budgeting process for next year. Our department heads all do a great job in holding costs to a minimum, and it should be no different this year. Tell them when you see them that you appreciate their fiscally conservative efforts!
A lot is going on in Darke County, and one big thing is the Hotel Versailles in Versailles. The Hotel is scheduled for a spring opening and it looks to be on schedule so far. The Hotel will feature a restaurant called Silas and an event venue called 1819. This hotel/restaurant will be a fantastic addition for all of Darke County. Thanks to Midmark for its continued investment in Versailles and Darke County!
Much is happening here in our little county, so why don’t you stay informed by coming to one of our public meetings? We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Administration Building just south of the Courthouse. The address is 520 South Broadway, Greenville, so plan to join us sometime!
The Darke County Commissioners