Lucas County is moving forward with plans to construct a new county jail.
At the November 29 meeting, the county commissioners authorized the sheriff’s office to apply for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s capital improvement jail projects grant.
The sheriff is seeking $10.07 million from the state pool of $50 million.
Ohio House Bill 687 set aside the funds for construction of–or renovation to–jails statewide.
“The sheriff’s office currently operates a pretrial detention facility that is antiquated, unconducive to property and efficient inmate management and needs to be replaced,” Commissioner Gary Byers said.
Designed and constructed in the mid-1970s, the facility has been under federal consent decree since opening in 1977 for its inability to provide appropriate conditions of confinement.
“The design has resulted in a facility that is highly inefficient for staffing and for safe and productive inmate management,” noted Commissioner Pete Gerken.
Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak added, “The facility has reached its usable life as is evident by the multitude of capital repairs required this year.”
The commissioners believe a new jail is necessary, “one that will appropriately address conditions which impact the life and safety of both the inmates and the corrections staff.”
In a related matter, the commissioners signed a letter of intent to construct a new pre-trial detention center that maximizes long-term operational benefits for the county.
Court Jurors
A change in how jurors are selected at municipal court has been approved by the commissioners.
An agreement with Toledo Municipal Court now calls for the lower court to be its own separate branch of the jury system.
In the past, municipal court received jurors from the county common pleas court, but that arrangement didn’t always work out when common pleas had no jurors to spare.
Under the new agreement, municipal court will select its own jury pool, and the city will provide a daily pay of $10 for grand juror and half-day jurors, and $20 for full days.
Ditch Damage Payments The commissioners approved payment of damages for the Morrison and Van Fleet ditch projects. The claims cost $11,518 and $113,889 respectively.
During work on the ditches, several property owners experienced damage to their parcels, including crop and draining tile damages.
The property owners and their settlement amounts are: Sara and Robert M. Torres, $1,162; John R. Curtis, $4,262; B&J Reed Properties LLC, $18,713; Reed Family Farms LLC, $14,579 and $3,155; Monclova Township, $467 and $13,775; Thomas J. and Mary P. Zwyer, $10,469; C&R Holdings LLC, $11,109 and $24,284; Charles E. Plymale Sr. and Kim M. Plymale, $15,069; William J. and Linda A. Szymanski, $600 and $1,351, and Richard H. Kamm, $6,412.
Personnel
The commissioners approved a number of personnel matters.
They appointed Lynn Thompson to certified inspector in the department of planning and development at an hourly rate of $36.38.
They also promoted Jennifer Corona, personnel officer in human resources for $21.32 per hour.
The board appointed Kimberly Alexander to network support specialist in the department of job and family services for $20.96 per hour.
Four personnel also were hired as economic support workers at a pay rate of $15.16 per hour for the department of job and family services.
Other Business
In other business, the commissioners:
•Contracted with Tyler Technologies to provide case management software at common pleas courts for $2.3 million and Matrix Pointe software for the prosecutors office, $405,900.
•Renewed a contract with Lexis Nexis to provide legal research tools at a cost of $168,086.
•Approved the purchase of a 2022 Jeep Cherokee from Charlie’s Dodge for the juvenile court at a cost of $36,232.
•Accepted an emergency manage performance grant for $67,380. The grant requires a 50/50 match by the county. They also accepted a state Homeland Security grant of $35,920 for the purchase of mass casualty and fatality management equipment.
•Entered into a joint agreement with the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District for performance of drainage improvement maintenance and stormwater education. The total cost for engineering support is not to exceed $100,000 and education outreach and support, $30,000.
•Accepted a grant of $160,650 from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency for hazard mitigation measures at 8056 Cedar Point Road in Oregon.
•Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the personnel department for 2023 at a cost of $444,790.
The commissioners also entered into agreements with six other agencies for the period from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
They are Catholic Charities Diocese of Toledo for opportunity kitchen program services, $130,000; Center of Hope Family Services, Inc. for elevate program services, $383,000; Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio for career path program services, $93,100; Harbor Inc., for CareerLink program services, $150,000; Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority for home to stay program, $139,000, and Toledo Public Schools for truancy prevention, $305,000.
•Authorized a memorandum of understanding between the county engineer and sanitary engineer’s office for lidar contour mapping and orthoimagery services at costs of $10,000 and $15,000 respectively.
•Amended a contract with Kokosing Industrial Inc. of Westerville for site and facility improvements at the water resource recovery facility in Monclova Township. The amendment includes additional work at a cost of $138,349.
•Reached an agreement with Maximus Inc. of Concord Township, Ohio, for professional services for $15,500. The agreement includes a building rental study for 701 Adams Street.
•Approved a memorandum of understanding with ODOT for acquisition and storage of rock salt and brine this winter.
•Rejected and agreed to re-advertise for bids for the rental of mats and mops, because the bids received either did not meet specifications or were incomplete.
