By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Commissioners approved delinquent accounts and airport project costs. Commissioners Marshall Combs and Larry Holmes were present.

Each year, the commissioners approve the lists of delinquent accounts for the different Sewer Districts. If the sewer charges are not paid, they may be certified to the Darke County Auditor for collection and the county auditor shall place them on the real property tax list and duplicate against the real property served by the sere connection and proceed to collect the unpaid charges in the same manner as other taxes.

Charity Hutt, Sewer Districts Administrator, advised the commissioners that out of the 800 people billed, only 81 are unpaid as of Thursday. The county sent 177 letters out to delinquent accounts on Aug. 16, and they received 96 payments by the deadline. It was also reported that the number of delinquents is two percent higher this year than it was last year.

Total dollar amounts for the sewer districts include $5,067.48 is still owed for new Weston-Burkettsville, $17,616.51 is owed for the Village of Wayne Lakes Sewer, $1,112.27 for Stillwater, $1,905.16 for Rolin Acres, $8,217.07 for Rossburg, $2,591.26 for Yorkshire, and $1,137.62 in Osgood, and $1,122.45 in North Star. Pitsburg, however, is a little different.

“For the Village of Pitsburg, it automatically goes to the real estate assessment,” Hutt said. “They pay for it, and I get a list in March or August when the settlements come in. Then we track what they pay, and it just continues to roll over every year.”

The commissioners approved a project work order as part of the Master Agreement signed Jan. 25, 2024. The agreement is with Butler, Fairman and Seufert, Inc out of Indiana. It is to support the General Services the company will provide as a general consultant out at the airport.

“This is for the engineers we are using out at the airport,” Combs said. “This is going to be the general services agreement, and it lists the hourly rates for the different positions and engineers throughout the year as we continue to work on projects.”

The billing rates are effective January 2024 and may be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the compensation payable to the engineer. Work order number three was also approved for the Automated Weather-Observing System (AWOS) Replacement. The current equipment was installed around 2007, two plus years beyond the industry standard service life of 15 years.

“This project of the AWOS system is outdated and has lived its life, so the FAA has recommended that it be replaced completely,” Combs said. “It looks like ODOT will be covering 90 percent of the costs, the FAA is in for five percent, and the county will be responsible for the last five percent.”

In order to break down costs, ODOT will be providing a maximum state amount of $356,250, for a total project cost of $375,000. The engineer on the project shall receive a total fee not to exceed $45,200 unless a modification of the agreement is approved in writing. The lump sum will be based in accordance with the following schedule:

Project administration services for $8,280, scoping and contract documents for $14,580, construction safety and phasing for $4,460, airspace for $1,290, bidding or negotiating phase for a total of $5,950, and a total of $10,640 will be going towards construction observation services.

The commissioners meet every Tuesday and Thursday for their publicly held Regular Sessions in the Administrative Building: 520 S Broadway. Meetings are held starting at 1:30 p.m., and all are welcome to attend.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].