Recycling options are being explored in Mowrystown, according to Tara Campbell, deputy director at the Highland County Community Action Organization (HCCAO), at the Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.
Campbell said they have continued to look at options for recycling in Mowrystown, but that it’s been a challenge. She said Rumpke doesn’t have a truck available to get to that part of the county. She also said she reached out to Adams-Brown Recycling about possibly coming up to get a dumpster in the village, but was told they were short on drivers.
Campbell said she thought about getting a dump trailer, just a small pull-behind for a pickup truck, and working with the village to dump it every couple weeks or each month. However, she said they’d have to “obviously” find grant money to purchase something like that.
She said she thinks it’s important that if the outlying parts of the county are interested in recycling and litter prevention, the organization should work on getting those areas the access they should have.
In other recycling news, Campbell said that HCCAO was able to put a recycling dumpster at Rocky Fork Lake. It was put at the campgrounds just as people enter on the right side. She said they’ve been working on posters and fliers for the people there to get the word out.
Campbell also said that the date for the annual Tire and Electronic Recycle Event was finalized for Saturday, Sept. 24 at the North High Business Center parking lot from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. She said it would be run pretty much the same as last year.
Additionally, Campbell discussed the annual Recycling and Litter Management Grant Program, which was out for any townships, schools, villages and city in Highland County to do a litter and recycling cleanup day, project or whatever they want to do. She said the deadline for applications for projects from is May 1.
She said the maximum allotment would be $4,500, but whoever applied for a project would have to pay at least 10 percent and the grant would cover the other 90 percent. Campbell said the organization would have to complete its projects and turn in its receipts for reimbursement by Nov. 1, 2022, so HCCAO could make sure everything was submitted and reimbursed by the end of the year.
For other recycling projects, Campbell said that the idea for a paper shred day was tossed around as well as a hazardous waste day. She said there have been discussions with the Suicide Prevention Coalition and the county Veteran’s Service Office about having a Drug Takeback Day, and that someone mentioned doing a shred event along with that because the partnerships would allow them to pay for it.
In other news, commissioner president Jeff Duncan said that HCCAO’s application for an Appalachian INSPIRE Grant required a letter of support from the commissioners, which the board approved.
“They are applying for the ARC INSPIRE Grant that allows them to expand their recovery and workforce support services to those in our community that are in post-treatment and recovery from a substance abuse disorder,” Duncan said.
Campbell said the organization currently has a grant for 1.5 years from the Paint Valley Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health (ADAMH) Board that allows it to give recovery and wellness services to people in recovery, post-treatment or in treatment and doing well. She said the grant ends in September and they’ve been looking for another grant to continue that “great work.”
She said the new grant adds a workforce component to it which would allow the organization to pay for certifications, training, education and support that would help the people in the program get into employment or get promoted in their current job. Campbell said it would be a three-year grant that the organization might be able to sustain by doing billable services as the program is expanded, with billing for its peer supporter as well as Campbell’s work as a licensed counselor with the program.
Duncan said that HCCAO came to the meeting to look for approval for another grant, specifically an authorization to execute for a 2022 Community Housing Impact and Preservation program (CHIP) Grant, which the board of commissioners approved.
Mark Current, HCCAO housing director, said the current run of this grant ends March 31, 2023, and the renewal of the grant would run through 2025 from the Department of Development. He said the grant lets the community do home repairs and home rehabs and “usually” allocates $400,000 for the county and $300,000 for the city of Hillsboro.
Current said the organization giving the grant encourages partnerships between entities and that, historically, the county has been the lead entity. He said the renewal will be like past agreements where the money targeted to the city and the money allocated to the county. However, Current said that money isn’t “to the dollar” and is dependent on the applications received.
Current said the organization would find out if they received the grant by October of this year, and following that would be able to take applications for the grant funds.
He also said that currently, the grant allows HCCAO to spend $18,000 on a repair, which is when the organization brings one part of a home up to standard. A rehab brings every part of the home up to standard and allows for up to $64,000 to be spent on a single home.
In other news, Duncan said the board received the new sales tax numbers for March and that the numbers continue to be a “pleasant surprise.”
He said the numbers for the month totaled $880,175, which was $91,882.65 better than March 2021. He also said that for the first three months of the year, the numbers were $239,193 better than the same time a year ago. Duncan said the numbers being up is good news, but that he would be surprised if the county could sustain it.
Duncan said he received a call from the architect at the dog pound who said they were still waiting on information about a sewer hook-up. They said as soon as that is received, everything should be finalized and the project will be put out for bids.
In other news, commissioner Dave Daniels said the board has been working on a delinquency issue with the Rocky Fork Lake sewer project. He said they have started shutting off people’s services for those that didn’t pay and that when some were notified that their services would be shut off, they immediately paid their delinquent taxes.
Daniels also mentioned that one of the Airport Authority board members stepped down, which meant that two appointments to the board are now required. He said interested people could drop off their resumes. However, he said there wasn’t a time frame for when the appointments will be made as one of them has been available “for some time.”
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
