Allen County commissioners approve grants, contracts, appointments and bridge contract in unanimous vote

The Board of Allen County Commissioners approved a package of resolutions at their April 9, 2026 general session, including grant applications, appointments, personnel hires and a major bridge contract.

Commissioners Brian Winegardner, Beth Seibert and Cory Noonan convened at 9:00 a.m. and approved the meeting agenda before taking votes on the consent agenda and individual resolutions. The consent agenda included travel and supplemental appropriations (Res. #259-26, #260-26, #261-26), an amended warrant of transfer to EMA and 911 funds (Res. #239-26A), the reappointment of Tara Joyce to the Allen Water District Board of Trustees (Res. #262-26), the appointment of Amber Martin to the Mental Health & Recovery Services Board (Res. #263-26), and hires for the Dog Warden's Office and Job and Family Services (Za—Kyla McClellan, Res. #264-26; Jierre Dansby, Res. #265-26). Commissioner Seibert moved to approve the consent agenda; Commissioner Winegardner seconded, and the roll call was unanimous.

The board authorized submission of a 2026 grant application to the Ohio Pet Fund (Res. #266-26). It also approved a contract with West Ohio Community Action Partnership (WOCAP) to provide fair-housing services tied to the PY 2026 Community Development Block Grant allocation and general fair-housing work (Res. #267-26).

On community development matters, the county accepted qualifications and a proposal to implement the PY 2026 Community Development Grant Program as part of the competitive procurement process (Res. #268-26) and set the date, time and place for the first public hearing on the PY 2026 CDBG allocation, authorizing the Clerk to advertise (Res. #269-26).

The commissioners approved a Water Pollution Control Loan Assistance Agreement through Ohio EPA for Allen County Public Health (Res. #270-26). That agreement includes a principal forgiveness loan of $150,000 to assist with septic repairs, system installations and sewer connections.

The board approved Pre-Award Condition Forms from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment grant for the WORTH Center and authorized the vice president of the Board to execute them (Res. #271-26).

Infrastructure actions included authorization to advertise for bids on the Bixel Petitioned Ditch #1349 with a scheduled bid opening on April 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. (Res. #272-26) and acceptance of a contract with R.G. Zachrich Construction, Inc. for the Columbus Grove-Bluffton Road Bridge Replacement Project in the amount of $989,364.14 (Res. #273-26), reported by staff as roughly 20% below the engineer's estimate. The board also approved a permanent easement with Panda, LLC to permit removal of the existing bridge on Kerr Road in Perry Township (Res. #274-26).

All motions were moved and seconded by the commissioners as noted on the record and approved by unanimous roll call.

Next steps: the Clerk will advertise the public hearing for the PY 2026 CDBG allocation and will post the bid notice for the Bixel ditch project; contracts and grant paperwork will be completed according to each resolving action.