By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Darke County Board of Commissioners met Thursday to discuss Lady Liberty Justice and the mailman. Commissioners Matt Aultman, Mike Stegall, and Larry Holmes were present.

In a matter of examination and allowance of bills, there is $10,534.13 in the General Fund, and the Outside General Fund has a total of $245,185.04; for a grand total of $255,719.17.

Transfer of appropriations to cover various costs for the Darke County Commissioners, Darke County Commissioners for the Airport, the Darke County Board of Elections, and Darke County Grants for the CDBG. The commissioners transferred $840.55 from postage into traveling, lodging, meals, and registration as there was not enough appropriated for the year. It will be utilized to cover conference costs for commissioner-elect Marshall Combs.

A total of $300 was transferred for the airport in order to cover the remaining 2022 bills, and a total of $950 was transferred for the Darke County Board of Elections for field tech mileage and salary. In a matter of transfers for Darke County Grants/CDBG to cover new lines for the Village and Corp. Administrative fees, a total of $148.50 was transferred out of other operations into the Village/Corp. Administrative Fee.

An expense request for commissioner-elect Marshall Combs was approved in the amount of $840.55 for his attendance at the CCAO Winter Conference for New Commissioner Training in December. An expense request for Judge Jonathan P. Hein was also approved for his attendance at the New Judges Orientation in Columbus. The orientation will be conducted in mid December and is estimated at a cost of $393.35.

Holmes said he met with the Miami Valley Regional Planning Committee to set goals at Darke County Rural Electric. After the meeting, he met with Miami Valley Regional Planning Committee for further dialogue on developing an RFP for the land use. Another meeting will be held on Dec. 13.

Dale Musser advised the commissioners, following the meeting, that Lady Liberty Justice will be taken down off the courthouse for a winter cleaning.

“I got confirmation this morning. We are going to take down Lady Liberty Justice from on top of the Courthouse. Midstate out of Marion, Ohio will take Lady Liberty, and they are going to take the mailman from the airport,” Musser said.

He said the company will take the statues over to their facility and spend the winter cleaning them up, and they will bring them back in the spring. The statues will be taken down in the morning of Dec. 1.

“It’ll be interesting. There will be a big crane,” Musser said.

Lady Liberty was placed on top of the courthouse in 1979 and has gone untreated since then. She will be returned in the spring, and the mailman will be relocated in front of the new terminal building upon completion.

The Darke County Board of Commissioners meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at their office located at 520 S. Broadway Street in Greenville. To contact the office, call 937-547-7370.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].