The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is moving to a model of regionalization for its coordinated transit plans, Chris Hetzel, Highland County mobility manager, said at the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

Hetzel said he received a PowerPoint packet from ODOT saying that the organization will be shifting from each county having its own transportation plan to a regionalization model. He said Highland County would be in Region 7, which includes Highland, Adams, Brown, Ross, Pike, Vinton, Jackson, Scioto, Lawrence and Gallia counties.

He said that each county will still update its goals and strategies each year, with the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC) the lead agency for the new plan, which has already started the process. He said the next time Highland County would have a new plan is 2026.

“So, the goal of regionalization is to be able to break down those barriers and be able to expand our transportation to other counties at an affordable rate,” Hetzel said. “For the average consumer more geared towards, you know, not more geared toward but focused on senior citizens, the disabled, low income, but it’s available to everybody.”

Hetzel said that a group of eight people, including himself, researched and found the National Center for Mobility Management, a branch of the Federal Transportation Administration, that gives grants to do research studies. He said the group called itself The Region 7 Mobility Council and received one of the four grants.

He said the group got the first level of the grant worth $20,000 and is working on it right now. He said the group was working on meeting with its facilitator from Washington, D.C. to create a goal and presentation for their bosses.

Hetzel said the grant would help the regionalization because the same information is coming from the surveys and interviews with elected officials, business owners and residents about their transportation needs.

Hetzel said ODOT’s goal with the plan was to have one call center per region where all the calls would go, after which they would be distributed to their respective areas.

In a separate matter, Doug Riley, a concerned citizen from Mowrystown, was in attendance to discuss his home issues. He said he’s lived in Mowrystown since 2013 and has a street drain in his backyard. He said the pipe is collapsing and has created nine or more holes that have continually gotten bigger. He also said the property around his house has started to sink due to getting washed through the pipes. Despite this, he said he’s talked to multiple mayors and nothing has changed.

Commissioner Terry Britton said the village should be responsible for that and that Riley should go back and get it worked out. He said the commissioners would try and send a note to the village as well as the Highland County Health Department.

The commissioners approved the purchase of 40 pumps at the Rocky Fork Lake sewer system from Crane Pump and Systems for $74,800.

The commissioners also approved a Backflow Re-Certification estimate from Cornele Plumbing for all three of the needed areas for $475.

There were also four authorizations to execute: a commercial application permit from Pike Natural Gas at the Record Storage Building, electric distribution by AEP Ohio at the Records Storage Building, a contractor’s application for payment to Doll Layman, Ltd. at the Rocky Fork Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a change order request for roofing changes by Alpha Construction and Weller’s HVAC.

Concerning Contract 2, Alex Butler, Highland County auditor, said it was for flyover photography that both he and Christopher Fauber, Highland County engineer, would be using. Butler said he would use it for the state-mandated 2024 reappraisal year where they would reappraise all property as mandated by the state.

There were 14 resolutions approved by the board including:

* Res. No. 24-09 is an authorization for the Highland County Engineer to use Ohio Revised Code to establish an alternative vacation leave schedule for four 10-hour days from April 2024 to October 2024.

* Res. No. 24-13 is the appointment of Dennis Kirk, attorney, to the Law Library Resources Board, effective on Jan. 10, 2024, and ending on Dec. 31, 2028.

* Res. No. 24-14 is an authorization for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the Capital Improvement Airport fund in the amount of $32,000.

* Res. No. 24-15 is an authorization for a reimbursement of funds from Child Support Enforcement to Public Assistance in the amount of $90,000.

* Res. No. 24-16 is an authorization for a reimbursement of funds from Child Support Enforcement to Public Assistance in the amount of $23,992.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.