Clermont County commissioners approve vendor payments, small contracts and organizational changes; bids to be advertised for two county projects

BATAVIA, Ohio — The Board of Clermont County Commissioners approved a set of nonconsent items on Feb. 19 that included vendor payments, a small services agreement for emergency planning exercise support, multiple personnel and organizational updates, and requests to advertise bids for two county projects.

The board voted unanimously on each item recorded in the meeting transcript. Commissioner Batchelor, Commissioner Corcoran and Commissioner Painter each answered "Yes" during roll-call votes on the nonconsent items.

Key votes and authorizations

• Payment authorization (Resolution 015-25): The board adopted Resolution 015-25 to approve payment to vendors in the total amount of $1,976,595.92 as outlined in the BCC approval invoice reports and directed the county auditor to issue warrants in compliance with Section 319.16 of the Ohio Revised Code. The motion carried on a unanimous roll call.

• EGLE Preparedness service agreement (item 11): The board authorized execution of a service agreement with EGLE Preparedness of Columbus, Ohio, for local emergency planning committee full-scale exercise support not to exceed $5,940, with the work to be completed before June 30, 2025 and an after-action report due by July 31, 2025. Pam Haberkost, Clermont County EMA director, said the department also received a $5,000 donation from the Duke Energy Foundation to help cover expenses that cannot be recouped via FEMA grants; she said those funds would be used to jump-start recovery expenses.

• Advertise bids for EMA Center renovations (item 12): The board authorized advertising for bids for the Emergency Management Agency Center office renovations, with a nonmandatory pre-bid meeting scheduled for March 13, 2025 at 10 a.m. local time at the EMA Center, 2279 Clermont Center Drive, Batavia, and bids due March 27, 2025 at 2 p.m.

• Community and Economic Development staffing (item 13): The board adopted a revised table of organization for the Department of Community and Economic Development adding one full-time plans examiner (class number 79265, pay range C) to create two residential plans examiners on the staff roster.

• Personnel classification for water resources (item 14): The board amended Appendix 4.09 of the county personnel policy to add a job classification titled "WRD source water protection coordinator" (class number 59645, pay range A).

• Water resources reorganization (item 15): The board approved a revised table of organization for the Water Resources Department to abolish multiple vacant positions and add the source water protection coordinator, reallocating personnel under the director of operations for water and wastewater divisions; meeting discussion noted some confusion in the reading about the exact count of abolished positions but the board approved the overall reorganization.

• MGS water treatment plant building improvements (Resolution 016-25, item 16): The board adopted Resolution 016-25 to amend Resolution 148-24 and re-advertise the MGS water treatment plant building improvements (project #6401-60244). Staff said the project received no bids the first time, specifications were revised and the engineer's estimate adjusted; a nonmandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for March 20, 2025 with bids due April 3, 2025.

Other routine actions

The board also approved the regular-session minutes of Feb. 12, 2025, and approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting. The meeting record shows no recorded dissenting votes on the nonconsent items listed above.

All actions recorded above were approved on the Feb. 19 meeting date and appear in the minutes as read and voted on during the session.