Monday, July 19, 2021

COMMISSIONER’S CORNER - June 2021

The month of June should have been the month of April. It was rainy enough to make all kinds of  flowers bloom, just like April is supposed to do. Hopefully the rain will continue for our farm crops, but not at a rate that washes things out or slows things down for a week!  The weather is June certainly did not help the airport taxiway project we have underway. Most of the dirt work was completed, except for putting in drainage tile, and that was slowed significantly by all the water and mud. Finally, last week has allowed the Contractor, Great Lakes Construction, to start putting down stone on the taxiway and apron. As of this writing, the taxiway project as a whole is 81% done, and if the weather continues to co-operate, the contractor should get back on schedule. We are looking at completion of the taxiway by near the end of August. We are having a fly in at the airport on September25th this year. More information will be forthcoming.

June is also budget review month in our office. All the elected officials met with us at different times to discuss their budgets for the 2022 year. This process at this time is really just a review as we really don’t have a clear picture of the finances available to us yet. Right now, we are on track with our projections for income and tax receipts, but we are always cautious as things can change quickly. We will know far more by early November.

We finally had our first parade of the year at the Versailles Poultry days. The parade route was almost full of onlookers and that is always fun for us. This July we have four parades to go to so far, and looking forward to seeing all the people at the festivals that are happening again. In other news, we hope everyone has noticed the improvements to the courthouse steps and the steps to our office. The steps to our office will be used constantly, but the courthouse steps are to be used for emergency exit only. It was our thought that even though the courthouse steps will not be used daily, it was important for us to help make the downtown area as attractive and welcoming as possible. We are now in the process of getting the railings designed and done for both buildings, and that will complete the construction. The Lady Bug garden club has graciously committed to landscaping around the steps at the courthouse and the Commissioner’s office. A big Thank You to those wonderful ladies!

Congratulations are in order for the county’s new Recorder, Hillary Holzapfel. Hillary was appointed to fill the spot of long time Recorder Linda Stachler who retired. Linda did a great job for the county, but she was ready to retire and remover herself from government life. We are sure Hillary will do an excellent job for a long time. June also saw our annual courthouse cookout on June 25th. This has become an annual event where the elected officials furnish the hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone else brings a covered dish. This is one of the most enjoyable events of the year. Commissioner Aultman did most of the cooking with expert advice from Commissioners Stegall and Holmes! A good time is always had at this event, and we always look forward to it. 

July is now here so we are in the middle of another Miami Valley summer. That means heat and humidity is going to be the norm for a while. So, if you need to cool off a little and you are in town, why don’t you stop in to one of our scheduled public meetings? We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 in the Commissioner’s office at 520 S. Broadway in downtown Greenville. Hope to see you there.

- The Darke County Commissioners

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