NEW LEXINGTON — At their regular meeting on Wednesday, July 10, Perry County commissioners Dan Kinsel, Scott Owen and Ben Carpenter dealt with topics including the opioid lawsuit against Kroger, a police trade over forfeited firearms, county IT updates, and issues surrounding new hires and vehicles for the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.
The commissioners welcomed Sheriff William Barker, Makala Hamilton, and Eric Hoskinson into the meeting room to discuss a number of issues regarding new hires, cruisers and radios for Barker’s agency. Funding will be needed from the county to provide new vests, uniforms, and body cameras for the new hires. These vests, uniforms, and body cameras are custom-made to fit each individual so as to provide the most protection when needed. The sheriff’s office also made the commissioners aware that they have radios that are reaching the end of their lifespan and would like to slowly update their units starting with their oldest 16, manufactured in 2018.
Lastly the sheriff’s office floated the idea of possibly obtaining eight new vehicles. It was noted that the office would not have enough cruisers if it were fully staffed, and that the cars currently in its fleet are accumulating high mileage.
IT updates were next on the agenda as the commissioners welcomed county IT officials John Yinger and Spencer Kearton. Yinger and Keaton conveyed issues about the county’s server and email being outdated, as well as security precautions they will be taking by shutting down personal emails on county budget software. They indicated that they are trying to be less reliant on onsite storage, but also trying to keep the county’s software as secure as possible. The commissioners told Yinger and Keaton that they are planning to draft a resolution, the end goal of which will be to reduce the amount of security risks.
Topics addressed under the headings of old and new business included Kroger’s being added to an ongoing national opioid lawsuit. The commissioners are to sign a template resolution related to the suit, and they will be meeting to make sure they go about signing it correctly.
Membership dues were sent to the Buckeye Hills Regional Council in the sum of $8,852, for the period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025. “It’s a good program and it’s good to be a part of it,” Commissioner Carpenter said of the Council.
The last discussion under new business was the commissioners’authorization for the Perry County Sheriff’s office to trade forfeited firearms to Vance’s Law Enforcement Division, a federally licensed firearms dealer, for trade credit or equipment (other firearms or ammunition).
At the July 3 commissioners’ meeting, Carpenter, Owen and Kinsel addressed topics including opposition from county citizens to a state agency’s attempt to claim land in the county by eminent domain.
The commissioners were presented a petition with over 150 signatures from citizens located in Perry County, opposing a move by the Ohio Rail Development Commission, which reportedly is seeking to use eminent domain to claim farm land located in the Glass Rock area. County landowner Treg Ulmer spoke, seeking the support of the commissioners for the citizens in their opposition to this move.
This claim is being made under the federal Rails to Trails Act, which allows for the creation of biking/walking paths along unused former railroad routes, the aim being to give people more opportunities to safely walk, bike, and be active outside.
Ulmer suggested that the plan to convert the land would be inappropriate, given that “the railroad was put through for commercial freight and not a bike path.” He drew a parallel to a legal dispute in which the commissioners were involved recently, over some Perry County land land that the county had donated to Hocking College in 1993, with the proviso that it be used for educational purposes. When the college announced plans to commercially develop the land, the commissioners filed a lawsuit to try to take back ownership of the property, claiming that putting it to commercial use would violate the terms of the original deed transfer.
The commissioners told Ulmer the citizen movement, has their support but that they are going to dig deeper into the topic.
The board also heard from representatives of the Perry County Health Department regarding their transfer to the old PERCO building. The agency is working on compiling a list of materials and things that will need to be done in connection with the move, such as painting, renovations, new appliances, etc. Another topic that was addressed was the distribution at the Perry County Fair of Narcan, an emergency antidote for narcotics overdose, along with information on how to safely administer the drug. The commissioners agreed with the action as long as The Perry County Health Department had permission from other including the Sheriffs Department and The Perry County Fair Board.
Fairview Assisted Living brought in two representatives, Lillian Holman and Tara Moore, to speak on behalf of the facility’s residency criteria being revamped and updated. Currently in order to qualify for care the applicant must be a Perry county resident. The issue raised was Perry County residents wanting to bring in families from outside of Perry County. Holman and Moore updated their criteria saying they will accept Perry County residents first but are going to extend the qualifications to the immediate family of Perry County residents. Along with this criteria, Holman and Moore also raised the age of qualification from 55 to 62, claiming that “55 year olds today are different compared to 55 years olds several years ago.”
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