A possible county partnership concerning fiber internet was discussed at the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

Representatives from Glo Fiber, formerly Horizon Fiber Telecom Services, were present to discuss their company and how it could help the board and its Internet services.

Rick Provenzano, a regional sales manager with the company, said they have partnered with both local and county governments previously, as well as some schools and health care organizations.

Commissioner Dave Daniels asked both Provenzano and Josh Martin, another Glo Fiber representative, if their offerings were just Internet or if they included total communication packages like Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other similar offerings.

Provenzano said the company has “quite a few” different services, such as firewall cyber security protection and other similar areas. He said they have their own private fiber that isn’t tied to any other providers. He said the company “typically” meets with the prospective partner’s IT director and figures out what they have and how they might match up in terms of what they would need for a possible partnership.

Daniels said that the board would get the company’s contact information and see if there was a time the board’s IT director or another person in the area could meet with them to discuss a possible partnership.

“Competition in the marketplace is always a good thing,” he said. “I think that we would welcome the opportunity for you to sit down with our IT director and look and see if, first of all, if we can save money, if we can improve service and those kind of things.”

In other news, Highland County Jobs and Family Services (HCJFS) representatives were in attendance to watch the proclamation for April’s Child Abuse Awareness Month, and also delivered updates on the foster care system in the county.

Jeremy Ratcliff, HCJFS director, reported that there are currently 176 children currently in the custody of the county, with around 20 to 30 more not in the agency’s custody but in its purview.

Commissioner Terry Britton said that the two have previously discussed how other than those children displaced due to drug issues, there might also be families that have had issues stemming from not working.

Ratcliff said “it’s fair to say” that the majority of them are related to substance use issues. However, he also said that things such as untreated mental health, unemployment, lack of work and poverty all lend themselves to “increased rates of child abuse and/or neglect.”

The board of commissioners approved an elevator contract switch from Otis Elevator to Schindler Elevator. Daniels said the cost of the contract buyout was $2,442, with the new yearly renewal $1,920 compared to the old yearly renewal rate of $4,038.

The board approved a bid from Knoblauch’s Lawn Care for lawn care services at multiple county buildings.

Knoblauch’s had a bid of $50 for the mowing at the Highland County Courthouse; $15 for the employee parking lot; $90 for the old Highland County Dog Pound; $90 for the new Highland County Dog Pound; $400 for spring landscaping, maintenance and mulching at the Hi-Tec Center; $250 for; fall clean-up and dead-heading; $80 per spray for the weed control in the flower beds;, $120 per mowing if needed at the Hi-Tec Center; $700 for the spring landscaping, maintenance and mulching at the Highland County Courthouse; $200 for the fall clean-up and dead-heading; $75 for the spring landscaping, maintenance and mulching at the Highland County Administration Building; $75 for the fall clean-up and dead-heading and $80 per spray for weed control in and around the Highland County Dog Pound.

Daniels put out a notice that on June 1, 2024, all Class C and Class D liquor permits will expire and every permit holder will be required to file for a renewal. He said this gives an opportunity for the public to have input and told people who want to send in a statement to do so to the Division of Liquor Control and its legal section on Tussing Road in Columbus, no later than May 2, 2024.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.