USDA grant moves ag center

TIFFIN — Seneca County commissioners on Tuesday approved a grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, clearing the way for the county to bid out renovation of the former Advertiser-Tribune building into the county's Agricultural Services Center. Commissioner Bill Frankart said a $540,000 USDA grant awarded late in the process is the reason work has not started. "Everybody keeps asking, like, why haven't we started yet," he said. "At the last minute we received a $540,000 grant, and so we had worked through that." Frankart said plans for the renovation are essentially finished and need only minor adjustments before the county can put the project out for bid and begin moving offices in. The county bought the former Advertiser-Tribune building at 320 Nelson St. for $950,000 in December 2023 and closed on the purchase in April 2024. It is to house the USDA Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio State University Extension and the Seneca Conservation District, which are now in the former county home. Renovation funding has been pieced together since. In March 2025, Congress stripped earmarks from the federal budget bill, costing the county roughly $1.1 million that both then-Sen. Sherrod Brown and U.S. Rep. Bob Latta had separately requested for the project. The agreement, one of four resolutions approved during the meeting, had been pending approval by the county prosecutor's office, which has since been received. Commissioners also authorized a memorandum of understanding for a continuity of operations support agreement on behalf of Seneca County EMS. The agreement with the Seneca County General Health District would allow the health district temporary relocation and operational support in the event of an emergency. A separate resolution authorized a professional services contract with Thrive Community Partners LLC, also pending prosecutor approval that has since been received. Commissioners approved a transfer from the American Rescue Plan Fund to the general fund. County Administrator Matt Clouse said the federal money must be spent by the end of the year and that purchases already made from the general fund qualified for the funding. "The transfer is being made over to apply those ARPA funds to the payments made from the general fund," he said. The board also approved eight supplemental appropriations, including $43,000 in the general fund for maintenance supplies, an $84,108.43 transfer out of the American Rescue Plan Fund and a reverse supplemental of $54,811.56 in the One Ohio Opioid Settlement Fund. Others included $1,000 for supplies, $1,000 for equipment and $35,000 for contract services in the general special projects fund, and two county capital projects appropriations: $73,500 for the northeast EMS station and $74,500 for the RTA building. All measures passed unanimously. Phone system problems County phone outages disrupted the meeting's three scheduled joint ditch hearings, forcing commissioners to conduct portions of the proceedings by cellphone and laptop as officials in neighboring counties struggled to connect. "We have major phone problems in the county," Commissioner Anthony Paradiso said. Commissioners completed hearings with Wyandot County and Sandusky County but were unable to reach Wood County for a three-county maintenance agreement. That resolution was set aside, and Sandusky County officials proceeded with items involving Ottawa County. Wood County later joined for a resolution covering a joint county ditch assessed at 7.932% across Sandusky, Seneca and Wood counties. In the Wyandot hearing, commissioners approved assessments of 5.62% and 17.55% to fund 2027 maintenance work on two joint county ditches. In the Sandusky hearing, commissioners approved assessments of 41.69%, 77.30% and 8.01% on three joint county ditches, along with a Sandusky County resolution authorizing proposed 2027 maintenance work on six ditches in Sandusky and Seneca counties. Commissioner Brent Busdeker said he intends to look at whether future ditch hearings can be organized in advance through Microsoft Teams. Paradiso responded that not every participant may have access to Teams, but all have access to a phone. Commissioners said hearings still must be scheduled with Huron, Hancock and Crawford counties. Administrator's report Clouse said the Sept. 1 regular meeting will move to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, and that a special meeting has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 11 to address time-sensitive contract negotiations between the sheriff's office and its union. He said the sheriff's youth center project has been pushed back by the contractor and is now expected to begin in early October. The county engineer's office has closed County Road 43 between State Route 67 and Township Road 106 for bridge replacement. The closure runs from Wednesday through Sept. 9. He also announced that Cheyanne Heyman has been promoted to assistant administrator. Commissioner reports Paradiso said the county's airport advisory board held its first planning committee meeting as part of a two-year master plan for Seneca County Regional Airport, with the goal of extending the runway 1,000 feet to 5,000 feet. He said an insurance committee met last week and will bring recommendations to the board Aug. 25, including an updated health savings account policy, an HSA contribution resolution, a wellness plan and the annual health insurance renewal. He said the county is anticipating an increase but that the process is ahead of schedule compared with past years. Commissioner Brent Busdeker said the Seneca County Violence Prevention Task Force has met and exceeded its fundraising goal for a Nov. 17 appearance by author and advocate Elizabeth Smart. The free event begins at 6 p.m. in Sieberling Auditorium at Heidelberg University, with a book signing to follow, and is open to the public. Frankart said the county has selected a consultant and is checking references as it works through the plan required for its own solid waste district. The county remains part of the Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Joint Solid Waste District until that planning is finished. Commissioners established the Seneca County Solid Waste Management District in March, a step required for the county to leave the joint district. The county filed its withdrawal request in October 2025, beginning a two-year transition under Senate Bill 147 that is to end with separation in late 2027. Commissioners have said they want local control of revenue generated by the WIN Waste Innovations landfill, which supplies most of the joint district's funding. He also reported attending a Bettsville council meeting, a regional planning meeting, the Bloomville block party parade, a bell dedication in Green Springs and the opening of the Attica Independent Fair's 150th year. Busdeker and Frankart both reported attending an educators breakfast where Linda Rose was named Educator of the Year. Commissioners announced a series of community input meetings in collaboration with the Seneca County Collaborative: 6-7 p.m. Sept. 22 at Seneca County Job and Family Services; 4-5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Fruth Wetland Nature Preserve; 10-11 a.m. Sept. 26 at the New Riegel Local School library; and 6-7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Attica Independent Fairgrounds. The board meets at 10 a.m. Tuesdays at 111 Madison St., Tiffin.