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Harrison News-Herald E-Edition 12/3/22

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Scio firehall breaks ground on $826k addition

Saturday, December 3, 2022

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2022

HARRISONNEWSHERALD.COM

Clarion call for all landlords

New jail project nearly doubles in price, needs more funding

Left, Executive Director Debra Yeater; right, Operations Director Terrie Toothman. NH PHOTO

BY BONNIE RUTLEDGE Publisher

The old road leading to the firehall’s parking lot from main street has been consumed by the construction. NH PHOTO

BY CORNELIA GRACE Harrison News-Herald Reporter SCIO—The Scio Firehouse has been standing for over thirty years and, in that time, has only had one renovation. Last week, they broke ground on a much-needed addition. “We’ve been talking about the building for about five years now,” Fire Chief Ron Thompson said. “Engineering started on it last November, and we broke ground last week.” The addition will add two new bays and more storage space, creating almost 4,400 square footage. With emergency vehicles becoming larger and more sophisticated over the last couple of decades, fitting new vehicles into old bays has become a challenge. “We have a new engine, and the doors are barely wide enough for the truck to get in,” Thompson said. He also cited how they’ve had to “double stack” several of their vehicles because of space constraints. “Right now, we have six emergency vehicles, and two of them are behind other trucks, so we have to move things around to get them out.” The total cost for the project is about $826,000, and the projected timeframe is six months to complete. The department has been able to raise money for it through fundraisers and utilizing tax money from a fire protection levy. New bays will make all vehicles more accessible for multi-use. Thompson is looking forward to being able to use all their vehicles more efficiently and being able to properly store the new response trailer. Scio is staffed completely by volunteers and is always looking to add to its ranks. If you or someone you know is interested in joining, talk to a member of the department, send a message through their Facebook page or email them at sciovfd@frontier.com.

CADIZ—Rental properties are surprisingly difficult to come by in the county, a reality that challenges the Harrison Metropolitan Housing Authority (HMHA) each day. Landlords who will partner with the agency are in high demand, and the incentives are significant. The misunderstanding that modest-income people and families are “bad renters” across the board is a gross error that is getting in the way of renters and tenants doing business. The HMHA weighed in on the state of their affairs and the potential for landlords who partner with them. The entire goal of the MHA is to transition tenants from government-subsidized housing to non-subsidized housing. The housing authority either discounts their own rental housing owned by the HMHA or pays a portion of rent through a voucher program for a privately owned unit of choice. Bingham Terrace and Dunfee Court in Cadiz, Gable Estates in Hopedale, Penn Crest in Bowerston, and Steele Crest in Freeport are all housing options owned by HMHA. The Voucher program is where Harrison County landlords come into play. Lowerincome households choose their own rental unit in the private market. Landlords maintain the same relationship with renters as they would otherwise—including vetting each potential tenant, collecting rent through their mode of choice, etc. Landlords are free to manage their properties and write their leases how they see fit. The HMHA simply pays a portion of the rent on the household’s behalf. Each lease is signed for a year. The HMHA’s rent payment scale (which has risen from 2022) depends on the number of bedrooms in the rental unit. Below are the HMHAs 2023 fair market rates, what a Harrison County landlord could charge for a property through the voucher program: • Efficiency (no bedrooms/all one space): up to $640 including utilities • One bedroom house or apartment: up to $660 including utilities • Two bedroom house or apartment: up to $865 including utilities • Three bedroom house or apartment: up to $1,160 including utilities • Four bedroom house or apartment: up to $1,165 including utilities

*note that included utilities are not required but must be in order to charge the maximum fair market rate listed above. The HMHA’s funding for rental assistance through the voucher program is assigned by US Congress. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates funding to HMHA, but the housing authority is not a part of HUD, the state of Ohio, or the Village of Cadiz. It is a separate public body entirely. The Voucher program is not an entitlement program, meaning rental assistance is not freely given to all eligible households at the time they submit an application. HMHA only assists a certain number of households each month, depending on available funding. Households interested in receiving rental assistance must complete an application to be placed on HMHA’s waiting list. Currently, the HMHA’s problem is not funding but a lack of landlords. Five voucher holders are actively searching for units in the county, and with the turn of the new year, approximately 22 additional voucher holders will be approved and in need of living space. Vouchers are active for 90 days. If holders are unable to secure a rental unit in that timeframe, the voucher expires, and they must start the application process over again from the beginning. HMHA personnel explained that as many as three out of five vouchers issued expire because holders cannot find rental properties, a setback for all parties involved. Landlords must simply pass an inspection and fill out some paperwork for HMHA. It is important to note that under the voucher program, HMHA does not assist the rental unit; it assists the household who rents the unit. However, the HMHA works hard to provide educational resources and helpful partnerships with the landlords who work with the organization. The main benefit to the landlord for participating in the program is that the federal government guarantees a portion of the rent, on time each month, directly deposited into the landlord’s account. HMHA is looking for landlords. If you would like to request a Landlord Information Packet, please call Terrie at (740) 942-8372 option one or email ttoothman@harrisonmha.com.

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Commissioner Don Bethel listens to Sheriff Myers speak about the grant application. The grant will provide money for the new Harrison County jail. NH PHOTO/CORNELIA GRACE

BY CORNELIA GRACE Harrison News-Herald Reporter CADIZ—County Commissioners Amy Norris, Paul Coffland, and Don Bethel met for their regular weekly meeting the day before Thanksgiving. Sheriff Joe Myers was in attendance to have the commissioners sign off on a grant application. "We've been working with the governor's office as well as the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation on some more money for the jail construction," Myers said. "After we put pencil to paper, the costs have increased over the last eight months. The last money we received from the governor's office was $9.1 million. The jail project went up $5.2 million." Myers took the initiative and found a grant application that would cover the remaining cost of the new jail. The money would come from House Bill 657, which will appropriate monies for different state funds. "Hopefully, we can get some more money," Myers said. Commissioner Bethel asked about the odds of receiving the funds, and Myers responded with optimism that the county has a good chance. Next on the agenda was another jail-related item: Agreement 59-22. The agreement is a renewal contract between Harrison and Jefferson County for housing prisoners in Jefferson. Because Harrison currently has inadequate facilities for confining and supporting all their prisoners, they have long had a contract for Jefferson to provide those services when necessary. The agreement also reflects an increase in the cost of housing See JAIL Pg.- 5

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