(Chillicothe)- The Ross County Commissioners have established an updated protocol for visitors of all Ross County government buildings, in light of the current COVID-19 outbreak.
When possible, they ask that you conduct business over the phone or by mail. If you must come to a county office for official business, they ask you to follow these guidelines for the safety of all in the building:
If you are ill, please do not enter the building.
VISITORS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK, unless specifically exempted under ODH order dated 7/23/2020.
If you do not have a mask, one will be provided.
Hand sanitizer is provided at the entrances to the county offices. Please use when entering and leaving a county facility to prevent the spread of COVID 19.
Maintain social distancing (at least 6 feet apart).
Take others into consideration and cover your cough or sneeze.
This new directive was issued by the Ross County Commissioners, via a press release on Tuesday, 1/18/22.
(Chillicothe)- Ross County is seeking assistance for securing state funds for redevelopment of former industrial sites. The Ross County Commissioners with the Ross County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank) are the entities seeking this assistance.
Through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), the county is seeking a qualified environmental consulting firm to provide assistance with: (a) securing state grants for the assessment, cleanup, or redevelopment of brownfields properties, and (b) implementation of environmental remediation, risk assessments, community outreach, and other environmental or planning components of grants for which funding is secured.
For more details on applying for this consulting contract, go to the following link: CLICK HERE:
A new Code of Conduct Policy for attending and or addressing meetings of The Ross County Commissioners has been approved and submitted to the public, through local media.
Some of the logic of the conduct policy is to address a recent ruling from the Ohio Attorney General that states, while public meetings can still be streamed live, members of the public that want to address the board must do so in-person.
SCOPE OF APPLICATION: This policy applies to all persons attending public meetings of the Ross County Board of Commissioners.
POLICY: This Code of Conduct is intended to promote open meetings that welcome debate of issues Considered by the Board in an atmosphere of fairness, courtesy and respect for differing points of view.
Public Meeting Decorum Persons in the audience will refrain from behavior which disrupts a public meeting of the Board. This will include making loud noises, clapping, shouting, booing, hissing, interrupting Board members or other members of the public, or engaging in any other activity that disturbs, disrupts or impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Persons in the audience will refrain from creating, provoking or participating in any type of disturbance involving unwelcome physical contact or verbal abuse.
Persons in the audience will silence and refrain from using mobile phones while the meeting is in session.
The foregoing policies set forth in this Section 1 apply to meetings of the Board and meetings of Board committees.
Agenda The county clerk, as board secretary, shall maintain the agenda for the county board meetings. Advance public notice of all regular and special meeting dates and times shall be determined by the board. Notice of each meeting shall be publicized according to statute.
Submission of potential agenda items may be made: By the public to the county clerk in writing, email, or over the phone during posted business hours only until 4:00 p.m. two working days prior to the meeting. Agenda items submitted by the public will be included on the agenda but discussion of these items is at the board’s discretion.
To the Board of any County Commissioner or County Administrator who will consider the inclusion of the item on the final agenda, until 4:00 p.m. two working days prior to the meeting. The county clerk may not accept agenda items without approval of at least one board member.
At a regular or special board meeting only for an upcoming meeting. Requests for items to be placed on the agenda shall be described clearly and explicitly, i.e. discussion of, resolution for, open or award bids, approval of, and whether official action is necessary.
The agenda shall not be altered later than twenty-four hours before the scheduled commencement of the meeting, except for items of an emergency nature. The county board shall have the right to modify the agenda to include items of an emergency nature
An agenda shall be published at 9:30 am the Friday, prior to the next board meeting. Distribution of the agenda to the public at this time shall be at the discretion of the board chair and/or the county clerk. The agenda will be posted at the county clerk’s office, and/or county board meeting room.
Commissioner’s packets shall be prepared and available for distribution to board members the Friday afternoon prior to the next scheduled meeting. All materials received by 9:30 a.m. the Friday prior to the meeting will be distributed in the board members’ packets. Materials received after the packets have been distributed to the board members will be available prior to the meeting.
The clerk may request at least one copy for the clerk and each board member of ALL materials relating to agenda items. One copy shall remain at the county clerk’s office for record retention.
Addressing the Board Each group must be present in the meeting and will be given fifteen (15) minutes to speak on an agenda item, subject to extension at the discretion of the Chairperson.
Groups of attendees are encouraged to designate a single member to speak on behalf of the group. The group may distribute the time among various speakers if deemed necessary.
Each speaker should provide his or her name at the beginning of his or her remarks for the formal record. If a speaker represents an association or group, he or she should identify the entity he or she represents.Speakers should discuss only those topics for which they have requested to speak.
Speakers’ comments should be directed to the full Board.
If an individual wishes to submit written comments, he or she may submit it to the clerk of the board, and the comments will be distributed to the Board at the discretion of the Board President.
The policies set forth in this Section 2 do not entitle members of the public to address meetings of committees of the Board. Board committees may permit public comments at their sole discretion.
Meetings: All meetings will be live – streamed starting January 2022 for viewing purposes only.
Viewers or individuals not on the meeting agenda will not be permitted to discuss agenda items through audio-visual equipment. Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct, use of inappropriate or abusive language toward members of the Board or Board committee or other attendees, and any conduct which will disturb, disrupt or impede the orderly conduct of Board meetings shall result in removal from the meeting. All meetings of any public body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times. A member of a public body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting.
The Ross County Commissioners have allocated Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to cover the cost of testing for any qualified resident of Ross County who needs a test. Adena Health System will execute the testing program through its multiple COVID-19 testing facilities, after the person contacts the AdenaCOVID-19 Hotline at 740-542-SAFE (7233).
“Ross County was fortunate to be awarded funds from the CARES Act,” said Commissioner Steve Neal. “The costs associated with COVID-19 testing is forcing some families to make a decision to forgo or delay testing when experiencing symptoms of the virus. This collaboration with Adena, the City of Chillicothe, and the Ross County Health District gives us an opportunity to provide testing for qualified Ross County residents at no cost to them, and saving lives.”
If a resident of Ross County – or any county in the south central and southern Ohio region – believes they have symptoms of Coronavirus; or if they are not showing symptoms but have been in contact with someone confirmed to have the virus, they should call the Adena COVID-19 Hotline before seeking care. Once callers access the COVID-19 Hotline, a screener will conduct a brief interview to determine if testing is needed. An appointment will then be set up for the caller at one of Adena’s Urgent Care testing facilities throughout the region.
Patients with COVID-19 symptoms will:
· Be scheduled for a required exam at the testing location; and
· Testing will be administered and sent to Adena’s lab for processing.
Patients not showing symptoms butwhohave been in contact with a COVID-positive person will:
· Be scheduled for a curbside nasal swab at their nearest testing facility;
· The patient will NOT exit their vehicle; and
· Receive a COVID PCR Test with results provided in two to five days, depending on statewide testing volume.
Because of the virus’ high risk to others, COVID-19 testing is NOT a walk-in service at Adena Urgent Care locations or physician offices. For anyone in need of a test, the first act is to CALL Adena’s COVID-19 Hotline at 542-SAFE to begin the process of setting up an appointment.
Expanding community-wide testing also includes the addition of in-school testing for any Chillicothe City Schools student. This in-school testing is being provided with CARES Act funding that has been awarded to the City of Chillicothe.
“Any Chillicothe City Schools student with COVID-19 symptoms, or who has been identified by the Ross County Health District as being in contact with a COVID-19 positive person can be tested at school, and at no cost to their family,” said Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney. “By having in-school access to testing, school personnel can quickly identify and separate students who may be carrying the virus or exposed to it faster and more effectively.”
To be tested at school, a child’s parent or guardian must approve the use of in-school testing. Parents may also request testing for their child if they are symptomatic or if they have been exposed to a person confirmed to have the Novel Coronavirus.
With Chillicothe’s in-school testing program, the Ross County Health District is providing the testing swabs, with samples being collected by the school nurse. Once complete, the swab is taken by courier to Adena’s laboratory for processing and results. Non-symptomatic students will have the COVID PCR Test, which could take several days for processing, depending on statewide volumes. Symptomatic and asymptomatic students will be dismissed from school to quarantine or isolate – if showing symptoms – at home until they receive Health District clearance to return.
“Thanks to Mayor Feeney and the City of Chillicothe for identifying CARES Act funds to launch this needed testing protocol in our city schools,” said Debbie Swinehart, Superintendent, Chillicothe City Schools. “This assistance will enable us to identify and separate infected students, reducing risk to other students, faculty and staff.”
Testing costs for students attending Ross County area schools will be covered by the Ross County Commissioners CARES Act dollars. Testing is not currently being performed within county schools, but parents/guardians with a symptomatic child/children or a non-symptomatic child should begin the testing process for their child/children by first calling Adena’sCOVID-19 HOTLINE at 740-542-SAFE and following the steps outlined above.
“The commitment of our community partners in supporting this specific health care need of individuals, families and children comes at a time when we are seeing more cases of the virus in our hometowns and region,” said Adena President and CEO Jeff Graham. “By making sure no family has to decide if or when to come forward for COVID-19 testing is nothing short of a blessing for many people, and the overall safety of our communities and region.”
To meet growing community need, Adena has doubled the number of staff serving patients through its COVID-19 Hotline, cutting down on-hold time. The Health System has also increased staff in its Urgent Care/Testing locations to meet the increasing number of people in need of COVID-19 testing, as well as treating the patients expected as we enter influenza season. Adena has begun similar talks with other communities in its nine-county service region.
Graham assured, “Despite this long span of providing intense care for patients with COVID-19, and the growing volumes of people entering the testing process, Adena’s dedicated caregivers continue to stand ready to navigate the current spike in cases, and to meet the health care needs of people in our communities.”
Ross County Commissioners took measures Monday declaring a state of emergency regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic. (See the document below)
The proclamation was declared to go into “immediate effect for the preservation of the public safety, health and welfare of the citizens of Ross County.”
