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Washington County Commissioner Kevin Ritter, chosen as 2023 commission president during the group's recent organizational meeting for the year, presented the commission's top five priorities for the coming months at Thursday's regularly scheduled commission meeting.
Ritter said the priorities are not necessarily listed in order of importance, but they are all issues that are based on the past several months of county activity.
I. Comprehensive 911.
An enhanced 911 system will better serve the public, Ritter said, and the commission will continue to pursue it for that reason. Commissioner Charlie Schilling has led on this project, he noted, and has made significant progress in bringing together a number of different interests to work toward a shared goal.
At this time, an architect is developing plans on how to adapt the former WASCO building off Muskingum Drive for a countywide emergency system and Schilling will be following up on that.
II. Water infrastructure
The county will continue to aggressively compete for state and federal funds that can be matched with local dollars in order to ensure residents of Washington County have safe and clean water. Ritter referred to the commission's Safe Water Initiative, a project begun at the start of 2022 when the needs of the 13 water companies in the county were surveyed and compiled by the county grant department. The completed report was presented to the state as a list of needs exceeding $60 million in the county's various communities.
A most pressing need among those has been already been addressed with a new $2.2 million water filtration system for the Village of Lowell, paid for by the state.
Soon, Ritter said, commissioners will be talking with Ohio EPA Assistant Director Mark Johnson about a similar need in the Village of New Matamoras, which has had iron and manganese problems, as well.
III. Lift station project
The county sewer system has a total of 24 lift stations. Because of budget constraints, many haven't received needed upgrades or service since they were installed, Ritter said. The sewer department is in the process of evaluating and servicing each of those locations. It's already known that aging infrastructure needs to be entirely replaced in some cases. The county grant department will work to identify and pursue state money that could be available through House Bill 168, the H2Ohio Fund and other sources.
IV. Wage parity for the prosecutor's office
According to state law, wages for the Public Defender's office are determined by the state, while wages for the County Prosecutor's office are set by each county.
In less wealthy places such was Washington County, there is often a big difference between what the state allocates and what the county can afford. The disparity is made even worse by the fact that the state can offer a more extensive benefit package than the county, Ritter said.
The county commission wants to address the discrepancy and create a level playing field when it comes to hiring and retention.
V. Ohio 821 bridge project
This project has been on the ODOT drawing board for 15 or 20 years. Although there were feasibility studies and plans drawn up, the project came to a halt when there problems securing some of the land needed. However, building a bridge that would allow trucks to bypass downtown Marietta has safety, wear-and-tear and convenience benefits, Ritter said. County commissioners want to revisit the project and plan to meet with ODOT District 10 representatives to see whether it would make sense to pursue the project now.