CADIZ - Faced with an increasing number of Marcellus shale researchers swarming her office each day, Harrison County Recorder Tracy Boyer has agreed to extend the office hours for those companies willing to cover the added expenses.
Boyer told county commissioners on Wednesday that the office will increase hours until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on Saturday the office will now open be from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., " ...with the condition of the donation of your gas company to facilitate these kinds of hours and for security to be in the building," Boyer stated. "The donations are here. One check will go to the recorder's office and one to the engineer's office so the taxpayers do not have to pay for the additional hours."
The commissioners will appropriate those funds at their next meeting into the county special revenue fund, it was noted.
Boyer told commissioners that the recorder is coordinating security with the sheriff, and currently there is just one company with approximately 40 employees taking advantage of the extensions.
"I am in current talks with two other companies about extending hours again, so I am looking in the near future to extending the hours again," Boyer added. "We are hiring a few more temporary employees and we will have to do that again when we extend the hours further."
"I feel it is important because the recorder's office is the hub," she said, adding work was completed to add four more computers in her office, which have been order.
"We are doing our best to speed up the process so people in the county who are singing their leases can get their money faster," the recorder stated. "The office is packed to overflowing while many of the researchers are actually working in the hallways of the courthouse, and today we have some working on the floor."
Boyer also told the board that the project to scan and upload by ACS Corp. of Texas is going well and, scanning has been accomplished and the information should be in place on county computers by the end of this fall.
Currently, in addition to Boyer, there are two full-time employees in the recorder's office along with four part-timers with two to three additional temporary hires planned.
In other matters, commissioners approved Treasurer Vicki Sefsick's request to establish a new fund for overpayment and pre-payment of county property taxes.
Commissioners also approved an agreement with Map Research Technologies in Rockford, Ill., for maintenance on the county Location Based Response System after Harrison County Prosecutor Shawn Hervey had reviewed the document.
In other business, commissioners:
Granted permission for the engineer's office to solicit bids on paving for county Road 6.
"The paving will be on the remainder of the road between Clendenning Lake and Tippecanoe," said Doug Crabtree representing the engineer's office. The project is being funded through an Ohio Public Works Grant.
Learned the engineer's office is working with the village of Bowerston to extend a water line to Harrison Mining facilities. The project is being funded through a grant from OMEGA.
Learned from fellow Commissioner Barbara Pincola that work to delay the modernization of the courthouse elevator until after the next tax deadline is being considered. The project is slated to take place from July 2-31 and the commissioners are hoping to push back the project until August after second-half property tax season rush is over.
