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Residents and staff praise programs, raise water and tax concerns during commissioners' comments
Summary
During the public‑comment portion of April 9, speakers highlighted the jail IGNITE program, requested a Constitution banner display, raised questions about DuPont settlement disbursement and water safety, and noted frustration over property tax adjustments.
At the end of the April 9 meeting, several county staff and residents offered brief comments on community events and concerns.
Sheriff Warden reported the jail’s IGNITE program was selected as Program of the Year at the CIT conference in Columbus, saying the program "is changing lives." Betsy Cook of Living Democracy requested permission to bring a traveling U.S. Constitution banner to the courthouse steps on April 25; commissioners approved the request contingent on the prosecutor’s approval.
Resident Dee W. Arnold read a statement about injection wells and the DuPont settlement, stating that "safe drinking water is a basic right" and asking which agency will dispense settlement funds. Commissioner Charlie L. Schilling said the settlement was between the State of Ohio and DuPont and that distribution would be handled by the Ohio EPA; Commissioner Eddie D. Place said he supports clean water and trusts the process. Flite Freimann, Director of Job and Family Services, and Mr. Place noted they were not aware of any instance where brine injection contaminated a drinking water aquifer; Freimann told the board that, according to the EPA, deep injection wells are the safest method for disposing of brine and said there has not been a recorded instance of aquifer contamination.
Other comments included congratulations to the City of Marietta for a mountain‑biking designation, reminders about construction season safety from County Engineer Roger Wright, and a note from Recorder Teresa Judson about an America 250 coin giveaway on the Recorder’s Facebook page. John Fisher reiterated ongoing frustration about the lack of an update from the state on property tax adjustments; Mr. Schilling said he expects reductions and understands the frustration.
The board took no formal action on the public comments beyond agreeing to the Constitution banner request contingent on prosecutor approval and encouraging follow‑up where appropriate.
