107 new parking spots in fairgrounds’ plan

The Wayne County Fairgrounds will have 107 additional parking spots when a new lot east of First Bank Expo Hall is completed.

During the Dec. 17 monthly workshop, Wayne County Council members unanimously gave permission for the project to proceed, promising to appropriate full funding next year. Mike Sharp, the county’s highway supervisor, and Brandon Sanders, the county engineer, have estimated $197,375.33 for project materials. Council’s approval permits ordering to begin.

According to Steve Higinbotham, the county administrator, the estimate has risen more than $17,000 after the lot was expanded by a dozen spaces and the cost for repairing grassy areas was included. The additional parking spots will increase the total around First Bank Kuhlman Center and Expo to 306 paved spots.

Higinbotham told council the highway department will complete the work, tracking labor and equipment hours that will be covered by general fund money council provides the highway department. 

A fairgrounds committee has identified storage inside Expo for county-owned tables and chairs as the next priority, followed by electrical and water system improvements for camping areas.

There’s currently $260,408 in the fairgrounds’ naming rights fund after receipt of First Bank’s 2025 payment.

Higinbotham also presented council and commissioners Wilco Custom Electronics’ $15,894 estimate to install six cameras in the chambers room of the Wayne County Administration Building. The cameras would be run through a TriCaster control board, eliminating the necessity for Whitewater Community Television to have a single camera on a tripod to stream and record meetings.

The system would be similar to what Richmond installed in its council chambers inside the Richmond Municipal Building.

Commissioners voted 2-1, with Jeff Plasterer opposing, to move forward with the installation using cumulative courthouse funds.

EMA grant

Matthew Cain, director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, reported that the agency was awarded a $9,800 hazardous materials management grant. The money will pay for a vendor to complete a commodities study that identifies hazardous materials traveling through the county on highways and rail lines. It will also identify materials that local businesses store.

Council created a budget and contractual line item for the grant money.

As the 2025 budget year closes, council approved transfers from seven departments. It also granted Beth Leisure, the council finance committee chair, permission to work with the auditor’s office on rectifying any other budget issues before the year ends.

Other actions

• The 2026 salary ordinance and a resolution providing employees longevity pay were both passed. Max Smith, council’s president, said employees have expressed gratitude for receiving longevity pay this year, the first year the county provided stipends from $400 to $2,000 for employees who’ve worked at least five years.
• Three department heads received permission to post job openings. The surveyor’s office will need an office manager after a retirement; the health department will replace a part-time nurse who resigned with a part-time medical assistant, saving nearly $4 per hour; and the probation department will fill an open clerical position.
• Sheriff Randy Retter presented a resolution council unanimously passed permitting him to spend commissary funds in statutorily permitted ways. He would still need council’s permission for expenditures outside statutory guidelines.
• Council and commissioners approved interlocal agreements with fire departments in Fountain City, Cambridge City, Perry Township and Milton and Washington Townships. The agreements transfer ownership of new county-provided radios to the departments.
• Council reappointed Rodger Smith to the Wayne County Board of Health.