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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County commissioners had a lengthy discussion about investment plans with county Treasurer Ray Agresta, during Thursday's meeting.
The discussion was prompted by a letter from the regional airport authority asking for the county's investment board to review options for the Jefferson County Airpark's account.
During the course of the discussion, Agresta noted that a plan for county investments has been in the works for several months but a delay with Huntington Bank's trust department has prevented the plans from proceeding.
Agresta said part of the process was funds being put in a custodial account with Huntington for Meeder Investments, an investment advisory company the county is using. Another part of the plan was a separate account for the airpark.
"For whatever reason, Huntington is dragging their feet on releasing $5 million out of our trust to Meeder for investments," Agresta said. "That is the problem. It is our money, we don't have any stipulation with when we can close out the account."
Agresta said he has been in communication with Gary Folden of the airport authority about the matter.
He said Meeder is trying to reach a higher level of Huntington's management to get the funds released.
According to Agresta, the final paperwork was submitted in early February and the funds were still not released to Meeder.
"I'm extremely disappointed that Huntington Bank is sitting on $5 million in their trust account," Commissioner Tom Gentile said. "They are benefiting from that money rather than putting it to work for (the county) as it was requested. That really bothers me."
"Where is the accountability for that?" Commissioner Dave Maple asked. "We're losing potential dollars, and they are gaining the administrative dollars off of this."
The commissioners discussed the idea of having Assistant Prosecutor Mike Calabria send a letter to the bank.
Agresta also said a representative from Meeder was willing to attend a meeting with the airport authority board to detail options for investment of the funds once they are released.
Maple said the airport authority will need to make a recommendation to the county investment board for review, and that the county investment board will have the final determination.
Maple noted an interest in hearing from the airport zoning commission in regard to how the coronavirus restrictions have affected their progress. The commission was formed by the airport zoning board, which is the commissioners, in response to plans to reopen the Crossridge Landfill.
During the weekly payment of invoices, it was revealed the county courthouse had been sanitized by Apollo Cleaning last weekend.
Commissioner Thomas Graham said that was a precaution taken because of the potential that someone carrying the virus had been inside the courthouse.
"The reason we did it is because we potentially thought there may have been someone in the courthouse who may have had the virus," he said. "Without verifying that, there was some talk about that. To ease a lot of fears and concerns, we went ahead and did that over the weekend."
The cost was less than anticipated. Maple said it was the second time the courthouse had been sanitized.
Maple said he had spoken with the county Emergency Management Agency, and the EMA did not need any additional funds to combat the virus at this time.
He said he checks with them weekly.
A phone conference was held with Jobs and Family Services director Betty Ferron in regard to a request from the health department for Temporary Assistance to Needy Family funds for COVID-19-related projects.
Ferron said she will send the request for review to make sure it meets the requirements for the TANF program and have an answer for the commissioners and the health department within a week.
There was also a discussion about an additional cost recommendation about the HVAC renovation project at the Towers Building.
Cattrell Cos. Inc., the contractor on the project, said it experienced delays out of its control, which added to the cost of the project. The delays were said to be because of rooms not being vacated for work when needed causing the plans to be altered.
McKinley and Associates, the county's engineering consultant, agreed there were additional costs, but recommended a much lower increase than what Cattrell requested.
"It's about a $40,000 difference between what McKinley is proposing and what Cattrell wants," Graham said.
The commissioners moved to arrange an executive session with both parties in the near future.
"This really shows that there were, at times, significant communication problems," Maple said.
The commissioners completed the final step in the wetlands mitigation, approving a final payment.
"This is the final step," Maple said. "Once the check is received, we no longer have a wetland."
Jim Branagan, the county engineer, said there have been fewer new slips this spring than the previous two years on the county's roads.
He said his department continues to keep people spread out and work in split shifts due to the coronavirus. He said they plan to begin working at full capacity next week while continuing to practice social distancing.
The engineering department recommended contracts for three projects and mowing services.
A contract was awarded to A.P. O'Horo Co. for the county Road 53 bridge project. The bid was for $1,911,000 was below the estimate of $2,111,160.15.
A contract for the county Road 19 slip repair project was awarded to Ohio-West Virginia Excavating for $145,229. The estimate was $160,939.
Alan Stone was awarded the contract for the slip repair project on county Road 56 with a bid of $270,938. The estimate was $354,975.51.
A contact for mowing services was awarded to Quick Mow for $44,116.80.
The commissioners also moved to purchase three parcels of land from the Jefferson County Land Revitalization Corporation for the water and sewer department in the Belvedere subdivision. A sewer pump station is located on or near the parcels.
The airpark was approved to hire Robert Miller of Wellsville as a part-time maintenance and grounds employee.
The commissioners moved last week to freeze non-essential hires. Representatives from the airpark spoke with Gentile to explain the essential need for the position to be filled.