By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A year ago at this time, the Wood County Commissioners were preparing for the unknown.
As COVID hit the country, the commissioners anticipated significant revenue losses for the county.
“We put our foot on the brakes to slow the expenditures that were planned for the year,” Commissioner Doris Herringshaw said this morning during the virtual “State of the County” address. “Many projects were put on hold.”
A year later, and life is still clouded by COVID.
“Life is less than normal at this moment,” Herringshaw said. “The pandemic continues to dominate daily life.”
Over the past year, with guidance from the Wood County Health Department, the county learned to serve the public in a different way, she said.
That included managing an election during a pandemic, said Commissioner Ted Bowlus. With creative approaches from the board of elections, courthouse security, and the buildings and maintenance department, an entirely new way of voting was devised, he said.
The commissioners had to learn new ways to hold public meetings. And the judges had to find new ways to hold jury trials.
The county’s Wood Haven Health Care halted in-person visitation and took extraordinary precautions to keep residents and staff safe. Those actions resulted in the facility having a very low number of COVID cases, Commissioner Craig LaHote said.
In the last round of CARES money, the county received $6.9 million. That was shared with various county offices, plus the Wood County Committee on Aging, Wood County Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, Wood County Developmental Disabilities, Wood County Park District, the Cocoon and First Step.
The county also offered two rounds of funding to help small businesses facing challenges due to COVID. The Wood County Small Business Relief Grant Program was created to reimburse local businesses – which were unable to access pandemic funding elsewhere – for COVID expenses.
Now, a year after the county saw its first COVID cases, positive signs of recovery are being seen in the county.
“We’re pleased with the economic prospects of Wood County,” Herringshaw said.
The county’s unemployment rate prior to COVID was 4.3%, Commissioner Craig LaHote said. It peaked at 16.9% last April, and dropped back down to 4.2% in December, he said.
The county saw job creation at the new Amazon site in Rossford, the NSG glass facility in Troy Township, the Home Depot site in Troy Township, the FedEx facility and the new UPS facility by the CSX hub in Henry Township.
The jail expansion project, which was put on hold last spring, is now moving forward to provide more space for booking, medical care, and women’s housing.
A section of the county landfill is being capped, and an expansion permit is being worked on with the Ohio EPA. The expanded area will provide landfill space for the county for another 100 years, LaHote said.
And following the retirement of Director Frank McLaughlin, the Wood County Child Support Enforcement Agency will go under the umbrella of Wood County Job and Family Services.
The planned events for Wood County’s bicentennial celebration had to be put on hold last year, but there will be a celebration this year commemorating the opening of the county courthouse 100 years ago.
And the new veterans memorial area on the grounds of the courthouse will be dedicated on Sept. 11, Herringshaw said.
“Last year was different – unlike any we have experienced,” Herringshaw said, voicing her appreciation to all those who worked to get the county through the pandemic. “We look forward to a better year.”
The State of the County address can be viewed on the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce website at https://www.bgchamber.net/.
