Seneca County Commissioners approve contract for new EMS station

Tiffin, Ohio — Seneca County officials are moving forward with plans to build a new full-time EMS station on the east side of the county.

The Seneca County Board of Commissioners approved a contract with RCM Architects on Thursday morning for engineering services on the project. The new building will be located on East US 224.

In March 2022, the commissioners agreed on an option to purchase approximately 3 acres of land on US 224 in Bloom Township. After 120 days, they decided to acquire the property, which cost about $52,500. Last summer, the parcel was officially purchased.

In February 2022, the board announced they would invest as much as $750,000 in the new EMS facility. The station will serve both paid and volunteer staff of Seneca County EMS, providing reliable emergency medical service coverage for county residents and those in the SCEMS coverage area.

The joint ambulance district, which approved a 2.5-mill levy in November, works closely with the county to provide emergency medical services across the rural areas of the county that are not already covered by another agency. The passage of the levy helps the JAD and SCEMS by staffing more paid personnel to assist current staff and volunteers.

Commissioner Anthony Paradiso attended last week’s Seneca County Joint Ambulance District meeting and said he felt it was the best meeting to date.

“The tone was great,” Paradiso said, adding that between volunteers and paid personnel, there are four squads staffed 24/7 to cover the county.

In other news, Commissioner Tyler Shuff gave a presentation on the Seneca County General Health District Board and the District Advisory Council.

Multi-jurisdictional health districts are overseen by a District Advisory Council per Ohio Revised Code, and Seneca County’s DAC has 24 members, one from each township (15), village (6), city (2) and the county (1). The DAC meets once annually in March for the purpose of electing a chair and secretary, making necessary appointments to the nine-member board of health, receiving and considering the annual or special reports from the board of health and making recommendations to the board of health for the betterment of health and sanitation of the community.

The Seneca County General Health District’s Board is made up of nine total members, with five being appointed by the DAC, two by the city of Tiffin and two by the city of Fostoria. In practice, this gives the county 1/24 of the vote on five-of-the-nine members of the health board. The PowerPoint presentation also notes that not all representatives are present at meetings, making it so this representation is not an exact figure.

Additionally, the County Fiscal Officer Barb Patterson announced that the county’s final day using Richland County Building Department for commercial inspections and permitting is set for May 31. On June 1, SAFEbuilt is set to take over this role. Moving to SAFEbuilt is to cost the county $29,000 upfront for software costs, and the county must provide office space for the company. Additionally, the county will receive five percent of all fees collected by SAFEbuilt.

In new business, the commissioners approved:

• A $240 reduction to the Victims of Crime Act Grant Fund in the Transfers Out Line.
• A $700 supplemental appropriation to the VOCA Fund for other expenses.
• A $10,000 supplemental appropriation to the VOCA Fund for salaries.
• A $40,000 supplemental appropriation to the Clerk of Courts Computer Research Fund for contract services.
• A $5,702.81 supplemental appropriation to the Community Development Block Grant Fund for homelessness prevention.
• A $4,000 supplemental appropriation to the Seneca County Emergency Management Agency Fund for software licenses/services.
• A $65,470.45 supplemental appropriation to the Wireless 911 Fund for contract services.
• A $16 supplemental appropriation to the Unclaimed Funds Fund for the unclaimed money trust.
• Amending a resolution certifying unpaid assessments to the county auditor for collection per ORC.
• Amending a resolution approving the recommendations of the Tax Incentive Review Council Findings regarding Enterprise Zone and Community Reinvestment Area Tax Abatements for companies located in the county for tax year 2022.
• Accepting the bid from Great Lakes Demolition Company for the superstructure replacement – prestressed box beams project.
• Setting time, date and place to receive sealed bids for the Ohio Public Works Commission Issue 1, Round 37, Program year 2024 Road Project.
• An engineer services agreement with RCM Architects for the proposed new Seneca County EMS Station on the east side of the county.