County staff to attend development conference; development authority to study southern sewer routes

County staff reported plans this week to attend a major regional economic development conference in Columbus, with planning-and-zoning staff (including Shelley) among delegates. The trip is framed as a regional strategy and growth opportunity, with county staff saying the conference will cover planning and preparation for future development.

In related infrastructure planning, the county's development authority agreed to commission a sewer study focused on the southernmost sewer district. Officials said they will convene a scoping meeting with key stakeholders this week to examine two potential routing options for serving that area. No timeline for study completion, estimated cost, or identified engineering firm was provided in the transcript; officials stated only that a first meeting is scheduled and that staff will provide further updates.

Staffing and IT were also discussed: officials said Kyle will meet with other staff to determine where Jason can assist, and that a new hire, Steve, is expected to start soon. The county intends to continue using its current phone system for at least an initial period while the state’s program is brought online; speakers said the state is expected to be ready by late winter (they mentioned February and possibly March) but did not specify a year.

What happens next: staff will meet to scope the sewer-study routing options and will return updates to the board; details about project cost, engineering procurement, and formal agreements were not provided in the record and remain to be published in future packets or meetings.