MOUNT VERNON — On Monday morning, the Knox County Commissioners met with Amy Schocken of Community Development Consultants of Ohio to hear an update on the community development block grant for the county.
One of the items discussed was a change order proposed for drainage near Ohio 205 in Danville. Chuck Coghlin of Bird and Bull Engineering said the proposed change involved boring under the road, instead of cutting through the pavement, because the highway had recently been repaved. Boring under the road, along with the installation of a storm sewer, is required by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The CDBG funded the construction of a sidewalk along Richards Street in Danville, and Schocken reported the project has been completed save for a 30-foot disputed section. Coghlin explained that a tree was in the way of the proposed sidewalk, and the property owner was not allowing the tree to be cut down. Coghlin said the issue was going to be addressed by the Danville Village Council, and that if council agreed not to take the tree down, the last 30 feet of the sidewalk would simply not be constructed.
Coghlin said he was optimistic an agreement could be reached, and the sidewalk would be completed in the future.
Schocken also informed the commissioners that bids were being advertised for a project to replace the sidewalk in Mount Liberty, on the south side of U.S. 36. Bids are scheduled to be opened Aug. 7; the project is estimated to cost around $24,000.
Coghlin reported the village of Centerburg is still interested in working with the county on the Rich Hill sewer project. The proposed project would connect the houses in Rich Hill to the wastewater treatment facility in Centerburg. Coghlin said he didn’t want the commissioners to think the village was not interested in discussing the proposed project further.
On Monday afternoon, the commissioners traveled to the wastewater treatment facility in Howard to meet with employees of the Knox County Water and Wastewater Department. The commissioners requested the meeting in order to explain why they did not approve pay increases for employees of the department who had recently received their wastewater I licenses.
Commissioner Bob Wise noted that several of the employees of the department had received more wage increases than the unionized highway department. Commissioner Allen Stockberger spoke briefly about the past, and trying to develop a fair pay scale for the department. Stockberger said that in the past, he had approved a step plan, which was meant to be a “cure all” in order to equalize wages. However, one of the major drawbacks of the step plan, said Stockberger, was that it didn’t address employees who had worked for the county more than 10 years.
Stockberger said the commissioners appreciated the employees of the water and wastewater department working toward and receiving their wastewater I licenses. He also said the commissioners did not have the subject of compensating employees for these licenses as well resolved as they should have.
L.G. Breckler, an employee of the water and wastewater department, said that obtaining a wastewater I license required a lot of time and effort, and the employees who received the licenses expected to be compensated for their efforts.
Stockberger replied that on average, county employees receive a 3 percent pay increase every year for cost-of-living increases. He said he and Wise erred by approving previous wage increases, which were above 3 percent, for the department, and that the commissioners should have stayed with a 3 percent increase. If this had been done, said Stockberger, they would have been able to approve pay increases for employees who have obtained certifications and licenses.
Ron Simpson, superintendent of the water and wastewater department, said employees of the department would begin to see longevity pay in 2009. These payments would be more like bonuses, explained Stockberger, in that they would not be hourly wage increases, but rather a one-time payment distributed at one time during the year. The amount would be based on the amount of time spent with the department.
