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Lawrence County commissioners approve routine business, hires and contracts; table Macedonia water grant
Summary
At their first 2025 business meeting, Lawrence County Commissioners approved a slate of routine motions — including hires, contracts and grants — and voted to table a first amendment to a water and wastewater infrastructure grant for further review.
Lawrence County Commissioners on Jan. 10, 2025 approved a series of routine administrative motions, hiring actions and contracts and moved a water-and-wastewater grant amendment to next week for additional review.
The actions included approvals of meeting minutes, floodplain permits, appropriations and transfers under $50,000, several personnel hires for Job and Family Services and EMS, a $65,000 administrative contract, an environmental review certification for an exempt project, and an extension of a collective-bargaining agreement through Jan. 31, 2025. The board also authorized a grant agreement with Dollar Energy Fund to administer Union Rome sewer relief payments and appointed proxies and reappointments for the Lawrence County Land Bank. A first amendment to a water and wastewater infrastructure program grant agreement for the Macedonia Water Project was discussed but tabled pending clarification.
Why it matters: The approvals keep county operations moving — funding transfers, staff hires and intergovernmental grant paperwork affect service delivery and budget administration. Tabling the water grant amendment delays a decision on a project members said they had not had time to review.
Votes at a glance (key motions and outcomes)
- Appoint Colton Copley as 2025 Lawrence County Commissioners president — Passed (Finley: yes; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Appoint Holliday as 2025 vice president — Passed (Finley: yes; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Set 2025 business meetings for Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. — Passed (unanimous). - Set 2025 workshop meetings (Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m.; and a 1–4 p.m. session same day) — Passed (unanimous). - Approve minutes of Dec. 10, 2024 — Passed (unanimous). - Approve listed floodplain permits — Passed (unanimous). - Approve appropriations and transfers dated Jan. 10, 2025 (under $50,000) — Passed (Finley: abstain; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Receive/file 2024 end-of-year transfers and appropriations — Passed (unanimous). - Receive county auditor certificate that appropriations do not exceed official estimate of resources for FY 2025 — Passed (unanimous). - Approve Kevin Turvey as 2025 aviary inspector, $2,000 yearly rate plus mileage reimbursement — Passed (unanimous); commissioners requested a reporting mechanism and a follow-up with Turvey about last year’s report. - Approve CAO 2025 administrative contract for services (amount listed as $65,000) — Passed (Finley: abstain; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Approve environmental review for an activity/project listed as exempt or categorically excluded (referenced as not subject to section 58.5; project code bx24onebndashoneb) — Passed (Finley: abstain; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Approve collective-bargaining agreement extension for ASME 8 Ohio 8 and Local 892 until Jan. 31, 2025 — Passed (unanimous). - Authorize Missy Evans, Director of the Department of Job and Family Services, as signing designee for intercounty allocation adjustments for calendar year 2025 — Passed (unanimous). - Receive on file Lawrence County Department of Job and Family Services monthly report ending November 2024 — Passed (unanimous). - Approve new hires for Department of Job and Family Services (Stephanie Barber, Luke Malone, Dave Carey) — Passed (unanimous). - Approve increased dog tag fee for 2026 to a flat fee of $16 — Passed (unanimous). - Approve Lawrence County EMS personnel actions (multiple promotions, hires, rehires, and resignations including Lori Morris resigning as director of finance effective 1/5/25) — Passed (unanimous); commissioners offered public appreciation for Morris’s service. - Approve grant agreement between Lawrence County and Dollar Energy Fund for Union Rome sewer relief funds — Passed (unanimous). - Appoint Dylan Bentley as proxy for Mike Finley and Corey Watson as proxy for Colton Copley for the Lawrence County Land Bank, and reappoint Mike Finley and Colton Copley to the land bank — Passed (unanimous). - Receive and file inventory list from the Lawrence County prosecutor’s office — Passed (unanimous). - Approve juvenile residential contracts for Adams, Fayette, Gallia and a county listed in the transcript as Sayoda for Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025 — Passed (unanimous). - Approve 2025 Marine Patrol Grant effective Jan. 10, 2025 (Sheriff’s Department submission) — Passed (unanimous). - Appoint Mike Finley to the storm water task force — Passed (Finley abstained; Holliday: yes; Copley: yes). - Motion to enter executive session regarding collective bargaining with County Administrator Dylan Bentley and Sheriff Jeff Wallace present — Passed (unanimous).
Matters tabled: The board tabled a motion to approve the first amendment to the water and wastewater infrastructure program grant agreement between the Ohio Department of Development and the Lawrence County Commissioners (referred to in discussion as the Macedonia Water Project) because one commissioner said they had not had adequate time to review the materials. The item was set for further consideration the following week.
Process notes and next steps: Several votes recorded individual abstentions (notably Commissioner Finley on select personnel/contract items). Commissioners asked staff to follow up with Kevin Turvey about reporting and with CAO/administration staff on documentation for grant and contract items. The board moved to an executive session on collective bargaining at the meeting’s close.
