The appraisal of the total insured value on Highland County properties was more than $77 million, a decrease of 3.6 percent from an appraisal done three years ago, and will result in a savings of more than $1,400 on insurance premiums, County Risk Sharing Authority (CORSA) Membership Services Manager Ali Redmond said in her presentation to county commissioners Wednesday.
Todd Heskett of the Heskett Insurance Agency in Hillsboro was also in attendance.
The newest appraisal was done by HCA Asset Management, and showed that the 2016 appraisal of total insured value of county properties was at $80,069,947 with the current appraisal at $77,206,061, a decrease of $2,863,886 that resulted in a 3.6-percent overall decrease.
Redmond told commissioners Gary Abernathy, Jeff Duncan and Terry Britton that appraisals are normally done every four years, and that by using the current property rate, the premium would decrease $1,432.00.
One issue that will require the commissioners’ attention had to do with the Highland County Courthouse insurance, and whether the policy in force would be for replacement cost or reproduction cost, which could result in a dramatic difference in the annual premium.
“Reproduction cost is when you restore a structure to its original, historic look,” Heskett said. “You’re going to have plaster and not dry wall, with any other woodwork and finishes in the building being close to the original.”
The current policy is for replacement cost, Heskett said, which entails any construction that would employ modern materials and modern construction techniques.
He told commissioners a decision would need to be made by mid-November for renewing the current replacement cost contract on the courthouse, or upgrading to the more expensive reproduction plan.
Abernathy mentioned the historical nature of the courthouse, pointing out that it is the oldest courthouse still in continuous use in the state of Ohio.
He also expressed his support and congratulations to the Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education and all those involved with the unanimous vote of approval Monday in a compensation agreement with the City of Hillsboro.
The tax increment financing (TIF) agreement will pave the way for construction of a proposed hotel development project to be located near the intersection of SR 73 and Harry Sauner Road.
“It took a lot of discussion to get there, but I think this is a real game changer for the county,” Abernathy said. “I personally was really happy with the outcome, and the county will possibly be getting more involved in this with what is called ‘gap funding.’ This is really a big deal and I want to commend everyone who worked hard to reach a resolution on that.”
Also Wednesday, a bid was accepted from S & S Contractors for work to be done at the North High Business Center, with Duncan adding that the county utilizes the back side of building for storage.
The company’s bid of $3,500 was accepted for repair and modifications to the lighting system in order to enable lights to be independently turned on and off in sections, rather than lighting the entire building as is currently the case.
In other matters, a total of 10 resolutions were approved by commissioners, nine of which were line item budget transfers, while one approved the re-appointment of Molly Barnett to a four-year term at the Southwest Ohio Regional Prevention Council from Jan 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2023.
A trio of contracts was accepted at Wednesday’s meeting which included a two-year contract between commissioners, the Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) and the county prosecutor; and another for satisfaction of a mortgage on Highland County Community Action Organization property.
Another contract was an annual standard commitment between Highland County and the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
