Commissioners discuss hydrologic station burn site and new IT equipment
COSHOCTON – The Coshocton County Commissioners met Wednesday, Feb. 25 with Jim Hampton of USDA to discuss the hydrologic station burn site located in a wooded area on county property on County Road 621. The burn pile was created in the 1950s and closed in 2012. At that time, an independent company was hired to complete a site assessment.
A number of environmental concerns were raised which included lead paint present in a building on the site and in the burn pile. The burn pile was removed in 2012 by William Albert Excavating. The building is still standing, but will probably be demolished.
A soil analysis was also performed and benzopyrene, which came from years of burning treated wood, arsenic, and lead was discovered. The infected soil was excavated 12 inches deep by Lepi Enterprises and soil below was tested with the results coming back clean. The soil removed was placed in a Level D landfill.
GSA will be appraising the property, which is expected to be complete at the end of April. It will then be decided whether or not to put the property up for sale and if the property will be sold as a whole property or in sections. If it is decided to sell the property, it would then go up for up for sale for up to four to six weeks.
Hopefully, the property will go up for sale in September or October. Currently, Ohio AG Research and Develop Center has projects underway on approximately 80 percent of county property. Their lease is up for renewal next month. Three employees are still on site.
There was some concern raised with a cistern being a safety hazard on the property. The dimensions of the cistern were not known at the time of the meeting, but the commissioners asked if it could be filled with sand, soil, or sediment. Hampton also said that some of the buildings on the property may be eligible for historical preservation. Most are in need of major repair.
It was also announced that the equipment on the water towers on the property are used to provide Internet connection to the residents in that area and if the land is sold, the county may lose that equipment. The water towers also provide emergency water to firefighters who are called to that area. The towers have never been used as an emergency water supply, but could be in the case of an emergency.
Jim Buxton also asked for a lease renewal on or before March 31. Ohio AG Research and Develop Center is currently waiting on the federal government to give permission for the use of their property that they own on the site. Buxton said there are still projects in the works on the property.
Mike LaVigne, county IT administrator, announced that the new equipment support network put in several years ago has reached the end of its life and can no longer support the county equipment. LaVigne would also like to upgrade the county Internet speed from 40×40 speed to 70×70 based on increased usage and the fact that everything now is placed on Adobe Creative Cloud.
The county is currently paying $942.49 per month for Internet usage. This will be increased to $1,155 per month. The lease payment signed in 2008 has been paid and the county will be signing another five-year contract. The IT department will be replacing and adding new equipment to each county location as well as refreshing the network and increasing speed between county buildings.
LaVigne announced that he would like to increase the Internet speed from two gigs to 20 gigs. The current system is too saturated, so the system is running slower. They will also be replacing two SANDS with two new devices that are Cloud-based which allows them to deal with troubleshooting issues more efficiently.
The county has a $65,000 budget for this project.
The commissioners also approved
- A motion to sign a letter of agreement for access to tower of facility number: Coshocton OH1/81530, Number: County Home MARCS/1 and a certificate of milestone completion Coshocton County P25 project for American Tower Corporation as recommended by Jon Mosier, Commissioners Director
- A motion to sign Resolution 2015-17, a resolution pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Sections 6103.04 and 6117.05, approving a water and sanitary sewer system transfer agreement to convey ownership of Coshocton County Water and Sewer Facilities to the City of Coshocton
- A motion to sign the Ohio Section 5310 Specialized Transportation Program (2014) Grant Contract between the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Coshocton County Commissioners (dba Coshocton County Coordinated Transportation Agency) for the purchase of two LTV-12-1 shuttles
- A motion to sign Change Order No. 1 for the Village of West Lafayette – Fire Hydrant Replacement Project with William Albert Inc. to change the completion date of the work to June 1, 2015
- A motion to sign Resolution 2015-18 in support of the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA) Appalachian Assistance Line Item
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Government
