Hall assumes Holmes County commissioner chairmanship

The first order of activity of the weekly meeting of the Holmes County Commissioners Monday, Jan. 12 was the dissolution of the old organization of the board, along with Commissioner Dave Hall being accepted as the new chairman of the board and Eric Strouse becoming the acting vice president of the board.

Hall steps into the chairmanship role, taking over for Joe Miller after a very active and productive 2025.

“We appreciate Commissioner Miller’s leadership,” Hall said. “He did a lot in 2025, and I appreciate his vision.”

The first order of business was to keep the weekly public meetings at the old jail set for every Monday at 10 a.m., with the first and third Thursday of each month set for additional commissioner meeting times.

Any business documents for the business meetings need to be in by 9 a.m. the Thursday prior to the meeting, with all bill-paying opportunities set to take place during the weekly business meetings.

The county mileage rate was set at 72.5 cents per mile.

The commissioners also announced their volunteer appointments for the 2026 year. Miller will serve on the boards for 9-1-1, solid waste advisory and community corrections; Strouse will serve on the boards for Ohio Mid-Eastern Government’s Association, Family & Children First Council, Ohio State Extension Holmes County, OneOhio Opioid Board, Local Mercy Planning and the Holmes County Board of Revisions; Hall will participate with boards including Eastern Ohio Development Alliance, Holmes County Economic Development, Holmes County Records Commission, Issue 1 (Ohio Public Works) and community health planning with the Holmes County Health Department.

The board also set the holiday schedule for county employees, a list that included New Year’s Day Jan. 1, Martin Luther King Day Jan. 19, President’s Day Feb. 16, Memorial Day May 25, Juneteenth June 19, Independence Day July 3, Labor Day Sept. 7, Columbus Day Oct. 12, Veteran’s Day Nov. 11, Thanksgiving Nov. 26, a personal vacation day Nov. 27 and Christmas Day Dec. 25.

The commissioners went on to pass Resolution 01-12-26-1, authorizing the establishment of the Human Resource Fund to be included in the Holmes County budget.

The board also passed Resolution 01-12-26-2, approving the proposed Holmes County Enterprise Zone Agreement with ProVia to build a $27 million three-story complex next to its corporate headquarters in Walnut Creek.

Commissioner Strouse spoke at the Wayne-Holmes Realtor Association meetings Friday, Jan. 16, discussing the economic status and outlook for 2026.