By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Darke County Commissioners are moving forward with developing the sewer system for the unincorporated area of Fort Jefferson. Commissioners Matt Aultman, Larry Holmes and Marshall Combs approved legislation on Tuesday that will help secure $25,000 from the Water Pollution Control Loan (WPCLF).

According to Commissioner Aultman, this resolution “piggybacks” on previous legislation that authorized the county to apply for additional dollars to begin engineering of the Fort Jefferson Sewer District. Legislation was needed by the Ohio EPA in order to receive the $25,000 for planning and laying out where the district is going to be. The county had already been awarded the grant but needed the legislation to be approved to receive the funds.

The county also received grant funds from the 2022 Building Demolition Revitalization Grant. The county has already paid for most of the demolition work and these funds will be put back into the General Fund to cover the county’s costs. The total for this “Advance Back” is $132,285.50. According to Aultman, the county should expect to see additional funds from projects that have not yet been filtered through the state.

The county received additional funding from the 2021 FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The county received an additional $5,955. “It was for the consultant services bill,” said Aultman. “There are some additional things you can get out of your AIP money. It depends on how you apply for it. Some of it is carryover from previous years,” he added. He gave an example of work that was completed in 2022, but the bills weren’t submitted until 2023.

In other business, the county heard from a resident who was concerned with an encounter at the Rumpke Transfer Station. He said he had a load of recyclable plastics that he tried to drop off but was told it needed to go with the trash and they wouldn’t recycle the materials. The resident pointed out that he made sure everything in the back of his truck was recyclable but was still forced to pay as though it were trash. Commissioner Combs, who chairs the Solid Waste District Board, assured the resident he would be contacting the Darke County Solid Waste Director to get an answer as to why recyclable plastic is treated like trash.

Combs also shared the Darke County Visitors Bureau is putting together a map for the Solar Eclipse in April 2024. If a group or organization is planning an event, Combs said they should get in touch with the Visitors Bureau to make sure it is on the map.

The Visitors Bureau is currently compiling information for its 2024 Visitors Guide. If any business wishes to participate, they should contact the bureau soon.

The Darke County Commissioners meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 p.m., at the Darke County Administration Building on South Broadway.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].