Paulding County commissioners took up economic development topics, including land bank sites, at a recent meeting.
Tim Copsey, executive director of the county economic development office, said he has worked with Ohio Rep. Roy Klopfenstein of the 82nd House District on a land bank item for the next biennium budget. Copsey supplied a spreadsheet of county land bank projects and said the auditor's value totaled about $12.3 million. He reported that a land use survey by Maumee Valley Planning Organization and third-party partner Reveille is still open.
Copsey also updated commissioners on Antwerp Square, where Kauser Excavating won the bid for site infrastructure work. He described the Build Your Future event, which drew 500 freshmen from all three county schools plus participating businesses, as a positive experience.
Sheriff Jason Landers fielded questions about Flock cameras. He said the contract runs two years and that assigned deputies are trained on the devices. Searches, he added, are time-stamped with the relevant case number and details. Landers said the cameras lack facial recognition, do not record conversations and are not used to enforce traffic violations, and that out-of-state agencies need prior approval to access the system. Commissioners thanked him and backed the cameras as an investigative tool.
Corey Walker and Brandi Schrader, county representatives to the One Ohio Recovery Foundation Region 16 Board, said six projects received a combined $585,229 in grants. Awards went to the Fulton County Health Department; Pathways Counseling Center; Paulding County Common Pleas Court, which received two grants for furnishing the new female sober living house and for rental assistance for drug court participants; Four County ADAMhs Board; and Westwood Behavioral Health Center. A third funding round is planned.
In other action, commissioners approved moving stop signs to east-west roads at two intersections involving Putnam County township roads, citing pavement bumps and road misalignment. They entered a Gerken Paving contract covering $216,104 for an Ohio Public Works Commission project, $267,120 for various township roads and $696,157 for various county roads, approved joint ditch maintenance assessments with Putnam County, and authorized six hires at Job and Family Services.