Commissioners open road bids

TIFFIN — Seneca County commissioners opened four bids Tuesday on a county road resurfacing project estimated at nearly $1.9 million and approved a slate of resolutions that included hiring outside legal counsel for the county health district. All four bids on the County Road 5 and County Road 43 pavement resurfacing project came in below the engineer's estimate of $1,869,347. M&B Asphalt submitted the low bid at $1,536,420.20, followed by Erie Blacktop at $1,690,278.95, Kokosing Construction at $1,741,206.76 and Gerken Paving at $1,791,931.50. The bids will be turned over to the county engineer's office for review and a compliance check before a contract is awarded. The board separately set a 10 a.m. July 7 deadline for sealed bids on a township repaving project funded through the Ohio Public Works Commission's Issue 1 program, with bids to be opened at 10:15 a.m. that day. Commissioners also set a bid timeline for the county's 2026 chip seal project. Among the resolutions approved, commissioners appointed Robert A. Zimmerman as special counsel to assist Van Kley Law in representing the Seneca County General Health District, at a cost not to exceed $25,000. The appointment is retroactive to May 15. The resolution passed without discussion. Commissioners also established a Court Technology Grant Fund on behalf of the Seneca County Clerk of Courts, accepting $62,986 from the Ohio Attorney General's office for software licenses, services and server hardware upgrades, and authorized a professional services agreement with Fishbeck for a facility condition assessment of the county Regional Transit Authority building. The board approved a series of supplemental appropriations, most tied to the sheriff's office, along with a $13,198.74 transfer from the general fund to cover chilled water line repairs at the jail. Commissioner Anthony Paradiso was absent. Commissioners Bill Frankart and Brent Busdeker approved the day's business by roll call. The county administrator's report listed June sales tax receipts at $1,093,939.82, up 4.66% from the same month a year ago and 8% from the previous month. Earlier in the meeting, Ruthann House, president and CEO of Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, appeared with staff and a program participant to mark Community Action Month, which is observed nationally in May but was rescheduled locally to June. House said the agency, which serves Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa and Seneca counties, operates on a roughly $70 million budget and is approaching 600 employees. "We're here for you, we're here for the community," House told commissioners. She said housing remains one of the region's most pressing needs, noting that rent increases that took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic have not eased. "We get on average about 500 calls a month for housing," she said. Deborah, a Tiffin resident and program participant who said she had rebuilt her life after domestic violence, credited the agency with helping her catch up on bills and find stable work. "This time around, it went phenomenal," she said. "I found an awesome job almost paying close to $20 an hour." Commissioners also issued a proclamation declaring June 2026 Responsible Fatherhood Month, presented to representatives of the Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services. The proclamation encouraged residents to "honor fathers and thank them for their vital parental role." Agency staff said the county established 49 paternities in 2025 and 23 through May of this year, and that 65 of the 79 children currently involved with the agency have identified fathers. Hancock County Commissioner Jeff Hunker attended the meeting, telling the board he was visiting neighboring counties "to try to learn how you run your county and how you run your meetings" and to build relationships.