Clermont County commissioners approve grants, disaster-relief application and routine contracts; personnel action approved

The Clermont County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 3 approved a package of grants, spending authorizations and routine administrative actions, including a $149,431.30 subgrant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services to fund crime-intelligence and digital-forensics software, and authorized the county to apply for state disaster-relief funds tied to severe storms in March and April 2025.

The board approved the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) subgrant award at the meeting after adding the item to the agenda. Michael Flores, assistant prosecuting attorney, described the award as a state-funded subgrant (state grant number 2022JGA03V6759) for the purchase of crime-intelligence software, digital-forensic software, salary and related equipment for use by the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s office. The subgrant is for $149,431.30 and requires no local match. The motion to accept the subgrant passed by roll call (all three commissioners voting “Yes”).

The board also voted to authorize President David L. Painter or another designee to sign a letter of intent to apply for the Ohio state disaster relief program relating to the March 30–April 10, 2025 severe storms and Ohio River flooding. The agenda item described the county’s application as seeking approximately $20,018.67 in state disaster-relief funds with a 25% local match of $6,672.89 (total $26,691.56). Pam Haberkost, director of the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency, told the board the state’s preliminary review identified about $984,631 in eligible expenses across jurisdictions in the county and said the state program could return “close to a million dollars” to impacted jurisdictions; she also said the county engineer’s bridge repair could be an outlier at roughly $660,000. The motion to authorize execution of the letter of intent passed by roll call (all three commissioners voting “Yes”).

Other approved actions included:

- A resolution authorizing payment to vendors in the total amount of $3,188,494.34 as outlined in the BCC invoice report and authorizing the county auditor to issue warrants under Ohio Revised Code Section 319.16 (approved by roll call).

- Execution of an extension to the state/local agreement for the FEMA BRIC-funded update of the Clermont County hazard-mitigation plan: the previously approved $50,000 award was revised to $23,000 with a required local match of $7,666.67 provided as in-kind services by community stakeholders; the revised grant timeline extends the project to Jan. 15, 2027 (motion approved by roll call). Pam Haberkost said the county has already met the in‑kind match and will launch a draft for a 30‑day comment period in October.

- Authorization for the president or designee to sign a subgrant award agreement for the 2025 OCJS JAG program (motion approved by roll call).

- Acceptance of one permanent water easement for the Chapel Road water-main replacement project (payment to grantor $660.13) and multiple authorizations to advertise for bids related to Water Resources chemicals and construction projects in Batavia and Union townships (motions approved by roll call).

- Adoption of resolutions to request a state speed-limit change on portions of Clough Pike and other road items, and to set the time and place for the 2025 county/township roads-and-bridges meeting on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Highway Operations Facility (motions approved by roll call).

- Reappointment of Brian Pace to the Metropolitan Housing Authority of Clermont County (term 11/18/2025–11/17/2030) (motion approved by roll call).

- A personnel action: the board approved the probationary termination of Morgan Steele Kinder, social service worker 2 in the Department of Job and Family Services, effective Sept. 3, 2025 (motion and roll call approval).

- The board moved into executive session under Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(1) and (G)(2) to discuss personnel matters and property acquisition; commissioners said no formal action was taken in executive session and business resumed afterward.

Board discussion on the items was brief for most matters; several items were introduced by department directors and involved routine procurement or grant administration steps. Where staff provided additional detail, the board accepted the clarifications before voting.

The meeting record shows unanimous recorded votes for the items listed above in the roll calls read into the record. The board concluded its session after approving the agenda items and adjourned.