Harrison County commissioners approve contracts

The Harrison County Board of Commissioners approved Contract 4-26 with the county Board of Health to fulfill requirements for tuberculosis testing for county residents.

The contract outlines definitions under Article II, including active tuberculosis, communicable tuberculosis, physician qualifications, pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculosis.

Under the agreement, tuberculosis treatment is limited to cases involving active tuberculosis and infected contacts.

“The tuberculosis control unit shall serve all residents within its jurisdiction, regardless of the length of time that the individual has resided in the area or the individual’s income and resources,” the contract states.

The contract runs for four years, beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31, 2029. The annual cost is not to exceed $8,400.

Deb Knight, director of Harrison County Job and Family Services, also presented an amendment to Contract 8-25 between the county and Jefferson County Community Action for a youth program.

“There was a mistake in the original contract,” Knight said. “The total funds available in the original contract was incorrect.”

Knight said the original amount was listed as $247,325 but should have been $235,000, a difference of $12,325. She said no other changes were made to the contract, which expires June 30, 2026. The bidding process for next year’s youth programming is already underway.

Commissioners also approved Agreement 16-26 for the Freeport Sanitary Improvement Project.

The private service connections portion of the project includes installing sanitary drain connections to the new public sewer system and abandoning existing septic systems for 23 properties in the village of Freeport, according to the agreement.

Verdantas LLC of Dublin is serving as the project engineer. The contract states the work is to be substantially completed within 120 days after the project begins and fully completed within 150 days.

A bid submitted by Cast & Baker Corporation of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, for a 2013 Carlson paver initially was tabled for further discussion after being received March 30. At the commissioners’ April 1 meeting, the board approved the single bid of $29,000, as announced by Commissioner Dustin Corder.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Corder commented on the recent approval of Resolution 24-26 regarding the sheriff’s levy renewal, noting it came just days after a large-scale manhunt and the killing of suspect Michael Decker.

“You know I think sometimes we take for granted, you know, living in a small rural county like we do, and I think we were reminded that a lot of the things that happen around us can happen in our county,” Corder said.

Other commissioners joined Corder in expressing appreciation for law enforcement and outside agencies that assisted.

“It’s nice that we have men and women in the county that have committed their lives to protecting ours,” Corder said.

The sheriff’s renewal levy is expected to generate $1,165,943 annually, or about $35 per $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, for five years.