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Franklin County commissioners approve package of contracts, grants and an appointment; affordable housing bridge fund postponed
Summary
At its March 24, 2026 session, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners adopted a series of resolutions funding road and school-safety work, web accessibility software, siren maintenance, community grants and workforce training, and appointed a representative to opioid‑litigation boards; action on a proposed $3 million affordable housing predevelopment bridge fund was postponed to March 31 for further review.
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners on March 24 approved a bundle of contracts and grants spanning transportation, digital access, emergency systems, workforce training and community programs, and appointed a county representative to regional opioid‑litigation governance. The board postponed action on a proposed Franklin County Affordable Housing Predevelopment Bridge Fund until March 31 after commissioners asked for further detail on administration and reporting.
The meeting opened with routine business before commissioners adopted several resolutions by voice vote. Key approvals included a $4,500 compensation package for temporary easements related to the Inis Road improvement project (Resolution 17426), and a $374,532.40 contract award to Decker Construction Company for the Safe Routes to Schools 2023 project to add speed tables, flashing beacons and sidewalks near elementary schools in Prairie Township (Resolution 17526). Nick Sulus, speaking on behalf of the Franklin County Engineer, said the Inis Road work is part of an ODOT-funded safety program to convert a four-lane roadway to a three-lane section with buffered bike lanes.
The board approved a $97,850 contract with Civic Plus LLC for DOC Access software to provide an ADA-compliant overlay for legacy PDF documents (Resolution 17626). Julie Lust of the Franklin County Data Center said the service will help the county meet Title II and WCAG accessibility requirements before an April 24 compliance deadline.
Commissioners also extended a siren‑maintenance contract with Jess Howard Electric Company for $450,000 (Resolution 17726). Jeff Young of Emergency Management said routine testing identifies three to four sirens a week that require service and that the extension will also support replacing some of the system’s oldest units across the county.
Several community grants were adopted: a $700,000 award to the African‑American Male Wellness Agency to fund large-scale wellness and outreach programs (Resolution 17826); a $110,000 grant for the Women Small Business Accelerator to support cohort-based training and peer mentoring for about 54 women entrepreneurs (Resolution 17926); and a $222,720 grant to the Ohio Black Expo to support its May Riverfront Culture Fest and related programming (Resolution 18026). The record shows Commissioner Boyce abstained from the vote on the Ohio Black Expo grant.
The board approved a $550,000 subaward to the National Center for Urban Solutions (NCUS Tech) for the Franklin County Broadband Futures Program, a six‑week fiber‑optic technician training initiative intended to enroll at least 50 new trainees and target 80% placement in employment (Resolution 18126). NCUS and a recent graduate described strong placement outcomes during the meeting.
Public‑health and housing investments included a $1.5 million subaward with Franklin County Public Health for a transitional housing initiative that provides temporary housing (up to 90 nights), community health workers and housing‑specialist support; presenters reported more than 207 families referred to the program since 2023 and cited demographic and outcome figures (Resolution 18226).
Purchasing approvals for county agencies were adopted as two separate items: 87 purchase orders totaling $3,336,941.82 (Resolution 18326) and four purchase orders totaling $6,350 (Resolution 18426). The meeting concluded with the appointment of Ernest Stockton as the county’s representative to the OneOhio Region 1 board related to national prescription-opioid litigation (Resolution 18626).
