Turning Lane Proposed for SR78 at Westfall’s Florist

by Arlean Selvy
Publisher

A turning lane on SR78 West, clarification and an expression of gratitude were reported to Woodsfield Village Council at its July 6 meeting.

Village Administrator Jeff Woodell reported information pertaining to placing a turn lane on SR78 at Westfall’s Florist and WesBanco Bank. He said the proposed lane would start west of Shear Expressions and three feet of space will be needed from that side of the highway. An additional one foot will be taken from the Duke and Duchess side of the highway. He explained that only four feet is needed to gain a turn lane.

Woodell clarified council’s motion to include businesses in the sidewalk grant program. Business are encouraged to replace sidewalks using the pattern described in the downtown revitalization plan. In order to help businesses, the village will tear out the old sidewalk at no charge to the owner. He said removal of the old walks is being done for businesses only. That portion of the grant does not apply to walks belonging to residential owners.

Woodell explained the downtown sidewalk improvement is “a plus for the village.”

Reporting for Woodsfield E-Squad Captain Dave Kuhn, Woodell said Kuhn had expressed his gratitude for the new building, which offers twice the space. A member of Lewisville Village Council, Kuhn was unable to attend the Woodsfield meeting due to a conflict in dates.

After explaining problems encountered by street department employees trying to use the new ODOT required paint in their paint guns, it was agreed the village will buy a new paint spray machine.

Woodell said ODOT is using a new type of paint that doesn’t work with the village equipment. He explained the new spray equipment will use 50 gallons of paint as opposed to the current 200 gallons being used at $18 per gallon.

The spray machine normally sells for $5,600, but he will be able to get one for $4,300.

“We have no choice as our guns won’t work with the new mandated paint,” said Woodell. He noted savings will more than pay for the guns in two years.

Motion to purchase the painting machine was made by Councilman Dale English.

Woodell said the lower dam is 18-inches down and employees had to build a dam on Sunfish Creek. He said the creek pump is running during the day, but no overtime is being worked. The administrator indicated the new waterline from Rubel Lake will be completed and the village should not reach a crisis.

The waterline extension was expected to start this week.

In another matter, it was reported that an 18-ft swing gate is in place at Rubel Lake and the area is posted.

An executive session was held concerning potential litigation.

Following the meeting, a motion was made to authorize Woodell and Mayor Bill Bolon to seek legal counsel to look into matters concerning the Cemetery Endowment Fund. The secret session lasted about an hour.

Councilwoman Carol Hehr voiced her amazement at the success of the Summerfest and fireworks held July 5.

“It was just wonderful!” exclaimed Hehr. “There must have been 400 to 500 people in town.”

Councilman Bill Moore echoed Hehr’s remarks and complimented the fireworks display. “There was something in the air at all times,” he said.

Council approved payment of $5,000 plus interest on a $40,000 note taken out for the Municipal Power Plant.

Estimated Budgets Accepted, Officials Warned to Examine Cuts for Savings

by Arlean Selvy
Publisher

The 2010 budget, tax levies and a transportation contract were among items on the July 13 agenda for Monroe County Commissioners.

Commissioners accepted the 2010 budget requests after Jeanette Harter, who works with the county budget, reported the current financial conditions of the individual offices. She suggested officials look at ways to cut before it’s too late.

The total 2010 estimated budget is $20,266,717.39 of which $4,312,245.12 is estimated for the county general fund.

According to Harter, the number represents the amounts requested by each officeholder.

With regard to the general fund, she said there is a projected deficit of $225,770.09. Harter noted the deficit is with a carryover this year of $32,430.38. “If for some reason the carryover is less, the deficit will be more,” said Harter.

The difference between the 2009 and the 2010 original requests is that the 2010 requests are $18,590 higher.

“At six months it’s not looking favorable,” said Harter with regard to this year’s budgets.

Pyles mentioned cutting one day a week from the courthouse workweek to keep em-ployees working as opposed to layoffs and asked what that could save. According to Harter it would be in the $20,000 to $40,000 range. She said the sheriff couldn’t close one day and the judges wouldn’t close. “By the time you whittle it down it’s not very much,” she said, noting she remembered it as being about $20,000.

Pyles noted a number of counties which are reducing employee hours to keep within the range of available dollars.

“A little bit of good news,” said Harter, is that the group and liability insurance line item shows $852 left over.

Harter said she is most concerned about the Board of Elections budget. “They are to the point of needing money ...” she said, noting they are transferring out of the salary line item. She said their problem is that they have to pay poll workers and will need money for the fall elections.

Harter noted, “... there will be major dollars needed.”

She said a meeting should be scheduled for the second week in August to consider budgets. “You definitely need to give consideration to [cutting] hours ...” she warned. “With the understanding you need to do something while you can ...” She noted if officials are going to consider this type of cuts it should be discussed in the next few weeks. “We can’t wait too much longer,” said Harter. “With revenues looking the way it does, if interest stays the way that it is, and we have another $100,000 reduction there, and sales tax just barely makes it - all the money that we have available right now to give to the departments is going to be eaten up by that shortfall. There’s still going to have to be cuts made,” concluded Harter.

A request for a levy resolution was brought to the table by Tammy Jones, Soil and Water Conservation District program administrator; Brad Miller, SWC Board of Supervisors; Bruce Zimmer, OSU Extension; and Beth Lusk, levy committee.

The four asked for a resolution to replace the .2 mill levy for SWC and the .7 mill levy for the extension office. Although no additional millage is requested, the replacement levies would be based on current evaluations.

It was noted that the levy for Senior Services will also expire in 2010. Representa-tives have not yet approached officials about a renewal or replacement levy.

Commission Clerk Allyson Cox will prepare the necessary resolution to place the issues on the November ballot.

Denise Potts, director, Mon-roe County Public Transpor-tation, approached officials to ask about the contract recently awarded by Jobs and Family Services to GMN Tri-County CAC for non-emergency medical transportation.

Potts explained her visit was a followup to her bid proposal for non-emergency transportation. She then reports the information to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

According to Potts, she was concerned about the safety factor for clients riding in private vehicles and wondered if there was sufficient insurance to cover the client should there be an accident.

The JFS program, according to Jeanette Harter, JFS director, may not have been sustainable had it stayed with JFS. She said

there is a need to replace the three vehicles used in the transport program.

GMN Tri-County CAC came in with the low bid of $149,081. MCPT’s bid was $154,000.

“It was not because we wanted to give up the program,” said Harter, noting that one of the three JFS drivers is now employed with GMN.

In answer to some of her questions, it was noted by Gary Ricer, GMN executive director, and Michelle Hollins, GMN senior program director, that volunteer drivers are being used and paid a mileage reimbursement; each driver has a $1 million insurance policy and drivers are required to take training.

Harter reiterated that the low bid was from GMN and there was no valid reason not to award the contract to them. “It’s a one year contract,” she said, indicating that MCPT can submit a bid next year.

Potts expressed her surprise at seeing Ricer and Hollins of GMN as well as Bill Long and Tammy Lucas, JFS employees in charge of the transportation program, at the meeting which she had scheduled with commissioners. “I didn’t know all these people were going to be here,” she said.

Action was taken following a short executive session called by Harter for personnel with regard to hiring. Jessica Leonard was named to replace Jennifer McKnight who resigned. Leonard moved from social worker to Childrens Services effective July 26.

Ormet Plan Relies on AEP Customers for Lost Revenue

taken from The Marietta Times
by Evan Bevins - July 7

An electrical rate discount sought by Ormet could determine whether the Monroe County facility stays open, but critics say the company’s proposal could result in other utility customers paying Ormet to use power.

According to documents filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Ormet is seeking an electrical rate tied to the price of aluminum, which dropped from $3,429 per metric tone in July 2008 to $1,416 per metric ton in April. The company says power accounts for 30 percent to 35 percent of the cost of producing aluminum.

“This contract is essentially an on-or-off switch,” according to a brief the company’s counsel filed July 1. “If Ormet does not receive sufficient assistance, it may be forced out of business.”

Ormet applied for the arrangement in February, and a hearing was held June 11.

Ormet proposes paying a set discounted rate in the first year of the arrangement. Then, from 2010 to 2018, the company would file a target price with the PUCO, based on an average price of aluminum that would provide the company with the minimal cash flow to keep operations going - the equivalent of “life support,” the brief says.

If the monthly price was below that number, Ormet would receive a discount. If the price exceeded the target, Ormet would end up paying 102 percent or 105 percent of the approved market rate.

In documents filed in the case, the PUCO staff acknow-ledges the importance of assisting Ormet, which employs about 1,000 people and has an annual payroll of more than $54 million. However, the staff has advised against approving Ormet’s proposal, saying it could result in Ormet getting free electricity or even being paid to receive it.

Involuntary investors

State law entitles Ormet’s electrical provider, AEP Ohio, to recover revenue lost in the discount arrangement, which would be considered an economic development activity. The source for the recovered revenue would be other bill payers.

The PUCO staff argues this would make those customers “involuntary investors in Ormet.”

The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel says some predictions for 2010 place aluminum prices so low that Ormet effectively could be paid as much as $77.1 million by AEP customers. However, in its July 1 brief, Ormet’s counsel says the preferred industry source projects a higher price for aluminum.

Ormet is currently paying $45 per megawatt hour under a temporary agreement approved by the PUCO. PUCO’s approved market rate is $53.03, meaning AEP is entitled to recover the difference.

In the first year, the company proposes paying either $38 or $34 per megawatt hour, depending on production levels. The PUCO staff supports that part of the deal but calls the plan to link discounts to aluminum prices “fatally flawed.”

What Ormet proposes from 2010 through 2018 is filing a target average aluminum price that would allow the company to generate the minimum cash flow to keep the facility running. If the monthly price, as determined by the London Metal Exchange, dropped below that target, Ormet would receive a discount. If it exceeded the target, the company would pay a premium of two to five percent.

The company’s rate schedule and books would be open to audit by an independent third party.

PUCO staff members say in a July 1 brief that the international price of aluminum would have to reach $2,725 a metric ton before Ormet would have to pay the premium. And the price would have to get higher than $1,941 before the company would have to pay anything.

Ormet’s brief says that by the end of 2009, aluminum prices could approach $2,000 per metric ton, according to the Harbor Intelligence Aluminum Price Outlook report, the preferred indicator in the aluminum industry.

The PUCO staff says the amount of revenue that AEP Ohio would be entitled to recover under Ormet’s plan is almost impossible to estimate but could be anywhere from $28 million to “a breathtaking $205 million.”

Alternative proposal

The PUCO staff recommends capping the potential discount at 25 percent of the regular rate and setting a ceiling of total benefits to the company equal to its payroll. That cap, it says, would result in about a three percent increase in customers’ bills, compared to the 12 percent increase that would result if the benefits reached $205 million.

Ormet opposes those recommendations, saying they are arbitrary and do not protect the company from sudden, volatile price shifts. In addition, delaying a decision on the remaining years of the plan endangers the company's ability to refinance its debt, Ormet’s brief says.

Expressing concern over the proposed 10-year length of Ormet’s plan, the staff recommends periodic reviews to determine whether it is still necessary and an 11 percent per-year reduction in the cap to wean the company off the subsidy.

In its filings on the case, AEP Ohio has said it will leave the amount of the discount up to Ormet and the PUCO; the company’s primary concern is recovering the revenue lost in any discount, as well as that lost under the current arrangement.

There is no deadline for the PUCO to rule on the matter, although commission spokeswoman Shana Eiselstein said a decision is generally not long in coming after a hearing. The hearing in this case was held on June 11.

Around the Burnside

Smiles never go up in price or down in value.

When your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep is your downfall.

Think you could eat seven hotdogs in a minute? If you could, you could win the National Hotdog Eating Contest. The winner ate 68 hotdogs in 10 minutes and the guy is skinny looking. I feel sorry for the second place winner who only ate 64 1/2 hotdogs. I’m not sure how large those dogs are but even bite size I’d have trouble with that many. He said he thought he might be able to down 70.

I saw a kid at FFA camp wipe out 45 meatballs at lunch one year but he took longer than 10 minutes. He could really chomp down the food every meal and he liked everything on the table. He was kind of skinny too.

Did you watch the fireworks in Woodsfield on the 5th? What a show! I think folks in a large part of the area came to watch. I’m sure no one was disappointed. The final blast, Wow! The good thing was after it was over we were on 78 on our way home in very few minutes as traffic seemed to move right along. Even moved faster than people walking. I think just about everyone and their second cousin were watching.

Getting a face lift. The Community Center in Lewisville is getting a face lift. The windows are being replaced. What an improvement.

I’m not sure if you read the news of years ago or not. I enjoy reading this news as sometimes it brings back memories of how it was back then. For example, last week in the Beacon, in 1969, the year we moved to the county, at Landefeld’s Garage you could buy a Catalina 4 door sedan for $3654 or a Catalina Ventura 2 door hardtop for $3969. Nowadays the good old boys will give you $4500 for your old gas guzzling clunker toward the purchase of a car that is more efficient and costs probably what you could buy three Catalinas for in 1969.

I’ve heard it said, “There’s nothing new under the sun” or “History repeats itself” and maybe it’s true. In the Caldwell Journal-Leader last week was a little bleep from 70 years ago. I was about 14 at the time and I remember hearing or knowing something about Renrock but I have no idea what. This is what I read in the July 6 issue.

“Renrock is located on what was once the old ‘Barnesville Road’ over which larger droves of cattle, sheep and hogs were driven to Pittsburgh. Now it is state highway No. 76 and the truck loads of stock that pass over it do not get the attention that the old herds did with their drivers yelling and cracking their whips. But what I want to say is that the highway has been smoothed from ditch to ditch and we hear it is to receive a new top of stone and tar. It’s wonderful what changes the auto and gasoline are making. The hitching rack, the buggies, saddles, buggy whips, lap robes and fly nets have gone into hiding.”

See what I mean? What makes it necessary to keep improving our roads and highways but cars, trucks and gasoline? Maybe even to the point of the old boys in Washington telling or almost forcing us to buy and drive a certain type of auto.

History is repeating as the Amish move in with their buggies and horse drawn equipment which brings back a lot of memories even if I only had a retired race horse and a small mule to work with. I would almost have given an arm to have had a hay loader to hook on the back of the wagon.

Sign on a telephone pole on 78 between Caldwell and Lewisville “40 isn’t old if you are a tree.” On the other hand, who wants to be a tree? Not me.

Can you tell me where all the time goes? Here it is almost the middle of July already and I’ve only had about three rhubarb pies so far. The good news is there is enough rhubarb in our freezer to keep me in rhubarb pie all winter. This is a first but not the last.

Another nice write-up about a member of the Frontier FFA receiving a state honor. Wonder how long it’s been since an FFA chapter in Monroe County has had an article in our local paper? I remember our chapter getting third place in the district chapter scrapbook, which included all the articles from the local papers. Wouldn’t it be nice to have history repeat in this case? I can’t help it; it’s in my blood.

I really do not remember when they drove cattle to Pittsburgh as that was before my time, I think. I do remember the Barnesville Livestock Sale on Saturdays. It was really something to get to go to the livestock sale. We really never had only a few calves to take to the sale and Dad usually sold it to a dealer before it was unloaded. Dealers always seemed to buy, then sell through the sale hoping they would bring more dollars. It must have worked more times than not because they kept doing it.

When I worked in the Extension Service I was involved with the feeder calf sale. I really enjoyed working and getting in the way at these sales. They could really move, grade and sell cattle at these sales. I guess they still have the feeder calf sales. I also always enjoyed the lamb pool. About all I can do now is remember.

They are putting the new windows in the front of the community center. I have something to do. Sit and watch them.

Monroe still is the only county without an FFA Chapter.

There are only two lasting things we give our children, one is roots, the other is wings.

Going to Church on Sunday gets the week off to a good start.