October in Darke County might be the prettiest time of the year. The trees are in full color, and in the mornings, the sun on the fields and foliage is spectacular. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the State. October also brings the cool temperatures of Fall, High School football in full swing, and of course, Halloween. As the year winds down, the Commissioners are wrapping up what we believe to be a great year for Darke County.
On the local front, we have accomplished quite a bit of maintenance this year. As of now we have completed the new roofs on Edison State, the Court House, and done some work on the Commissioner’s Office roof. We had to refurbish the bathrooms in the Commissioner’s Office because of a leaky toilet, but that was accomplished quickly by the maintenance crew. The walls on the visitation house have finally been fixed, and a lot of painting and woodwork has been done. On October 21st, Western Ohio Asphalt out of Versailles sealed and striped the parking lot behind the Commissioner’s Office. We also have done some minor landscaping around the courthouse and our office. One of the bigger projects that has needed to be done has finally been accomplished, that of putting new boilers in the Garst Avenue Government Building. We replaced a boiler that was about 60 years old with 2 new high-efficiency boilers. Slagle Mechanical got the bid for that work, and it was completed the week of October 15th. Service Tech Corp. got the duct work clean at the Sheriff’s Office, something that had not been done since the building was built. We have also approved new video cameras from Sound Tech Corporation for the Sheriff’s Office, these have needed replaced for several years, and have replaced several of the Sheriff’s cruisers this year also. As revenues rise slowly, we will continue to spend your money as wisely as we can, and to keep your public buildings serviceable for years to come.
Next month we will start appropriations meetings with our Elected Officials. As of now, we will be holding the line for all offices as we take a wait-and–see approach to revenues. The latest report we have on Casino revenues indicates that we can anticipate a 20% to 25% decrease from forecasted income. This is the reason the Auditor and the Commissioners are not counting on this revenue as it is too volatile to predict at this time. Our Elected Officials continue to do a tremendous job with limited funds and with a minimum of personnel. Please tell them how much you appreciate all their efforts, as we in the Commissioner’s Office certainly do.
Economically, Darke County continues to be a state-wide leader in job retention and creation. On October 26th, the Dayton Development Coalition in conjunction with the Partnering 4 Progress initiative will be holding their quarterly meeting at Whirlpool. Thanks to Whirlpool’s management for allowing us to have this event at their location. As we have stated all year, Marc Saluk and the Economic Development Department have done a tremendous job. Workforce Development continues to be in the forefront of our efforts for the near future and beyond. Darke County has a plan for our workforce, and the implementation of the plan is underway. Thank you to all of our corporate partners for their efforts in this undertaking. This year has been a complete success, and to fully understand what we have accomplished, go to the Darke County Economic Development website at darkecounty.com, and on Facebook at Darke County Ohio Economic Development. Marc, Melanie, the Partnering 4 Progress group, the Darke County C.I.C., the Local C.I.C’s. and all the Chamber’s of Commerce can be proud of the numerous successes this year, and to a brighter future for Darke County.
We hope all of you enjoy the Fall and Halloween, and can at some point attend one of our meetings. We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Office located at 520 South Broadway in Greenville, just south of the Courthouse. See you there!
The Darke County Commissioners
