Local News
County approves temporary appropriations
JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners dealt with a slate of routine business this week.
On Thursday, commissioners approved a 35 percent reduction of the load limits on Austinburg Township roads, particularly Forman Road, from Feb. 15 to May 15.
The new limit is being imposed to reduce the impact of heavy loads on the road base during the spring thaw. In addition, the Austinburg Township Board of Trustees wants to limit heavily loaded dump trucks hauling dirt to an elementary-school construction site.
Also on Thursday, commissioners reappointed Katherine S. Riedel to the Ashtabula County Public Defender Commission. Riedel’s term was set to expire Tuesday. Her new term expires in 2014.
The board approved selling a county-owned 1996 Chevrolet Lumina on the county’s auction Web site (ashtabulacountyohioauctions.com).
Commissioners approved the purchase of an excavator for bridge and culvert replacement work performed by the Ashtabula County Engineer’s Office. The purchase is not to exceed $125,000, which includes the trade-in of a 1993 Kobelco. The new excavator is being purchased under the Ohio State Purchasing Program to ensure the best price. Funding is from the Motor Vehicles and Gas Tax funds.
A number of appropriations exceeding the temporary budget amounts were passed Thursday. They included $19,000 for the Soil and Water office, which had been omitted from the temporary appropriations.
The board also appropriated $198,609 to the data board, which has taken over information technology (IT) services for the county. Commissioners abolished IT at the beginning of 2010 as a cost-savings measure. The data board contracts with Suite 224 to provide IT services; however, $38,000 of the board’s appropriation is for salaries.
In other actions, on Tuesday the commissioners:
n Approved a contract with MV Transportation to operate the Ashtabula County Transportation System (ACTS) for the Department of Job and Family Services during 2010. The MV contract is not to exceed $1,112,360, a base rate of $57.35 per vehicle and 19,396 hours of operation. MV, a Fairfield, Calif., company, also had the contract in 2009;
n Approved an equipment lease agreement with MV Transportation for 2010. The agreement is to lease the entire ACTS fleet for $1 per year per vehicle. MV will maintain and service the fleet as part of the agreement;
n Authorized the disposal of eight surplus diesel generators previously used at pumping stations operated by the Department of Environmental Services. The generators were offered to townships that could use them, and Commissioner Daniel Claypool said several communities have taken advantage of the offer; and
n Appointed Alec Raffa and John C. Morrison to the Ashtabula County Airport Authority. Their terms expire Feb. 9, 2014.
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