By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Darke County Commissioners have hired Julian & Grube to assist with a forensic audit of the county’s building regulations department.

Commissioner Matt Aultman explained the audit is necessary because an employee in a supervisory position left the office after numerous years of employment and not because of irregularities found. He said it was a housekeeping issue. The former employee knew the filing system, but it may be difficult for a new employee to know where the files are supposed to go and how the filing system works.

Because the employee also provided assistance to several townships, Julian & Grube will work with county employees to make sure all files are where they need to be.

Julian & Grube will provide up to 100 hours of forensic auditing services at a cost of $150 per hour. Travel time from their offices in Westerville will also be billed at $150 per hour for work requested on-site.

The commissioners also learned they are getting nearly $850,000 to assess three properties in the City of Greenville that could potentially be Brownfield Sites. The sites are Treaty Lanes on Sweitzer Street, the lot north of Sherwin Williams on North Broadway and a facility on Gray Avenue. The funds will help assess the properties to determine if there are any issues with contamination. The lot on North Broadway could also have tanks removed. If there is contamination, the county would apply for funds to remediate the issues.

Aultman pointed out the assessment is necessary for the development of these properties. He pointed to the Treaty Lanes property and noted there have been offers, but because there have been issues with the soil the deals could not go through.

In other business, the commissioners approved a change order to a contract to relocate the electrical vault at the Darke County Airport. The vault at been delayed due to supply chain issues and the project had passed the original timeline of June 1, 2023 to complete the project. The change order establishes Nov. 1, 2024 as the date to complete the project. There were no additional dollars added to the contract.

The Darke County Commissioners meet in regular session on Tuesdays and Thursday, 1:30 p.m., in the Darke County Administration Building on South Broadway, next to the Darke County Courthouse.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].