Harrison County commissioners award bid for Officer Wellness Program
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CADIZ -- The Harrison County Board of Commissioners awarded Southeastern Ohio Counseling Center in Old Washington, Ohio, the bid to provide the Officer Wellness Program for the Harrison County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday.
The sheriff's office applied for a grant through the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services and the governor's office last year.
"We received this through the governor's office. This is one of his initiatives to help retain officers as well as keep them well," Sheriff Ronald J. Myers said.
The program focuses on providing mental health services for first responders.
The commissioners reviewed three bids for the program on Aug. 2 from Grace to Hope Counseling Services LLC in Tippecanoe, Southeastern Ohio Counseling Center in Washington, Ohio, and JLC Services Inc. in Cuyahoga Falls.
The bids were tabled for review at the Aug. 2 meeting.
"A few of the commissioners last week as well as the prosecutor came up with their opinions of those three packages, and we're here today to award one of those contracts," Myers said.
Commissioner Paul Coffland explained that the commissioners scored the bids individually, and the prosecutor tallied the scores.
"We're recommending that Southeastern Ohio Counseling Center be awarded this bid and move to a contract stage," he said.
Coffland explained that the program would provide services for officers from Sept. 5 through Dec. 13, 2024.
"This is covering individual assessment for six weeks, pre-assessment, post-assessment, outline staffing, telehealth and qualifications and, of course, the billing of services," Coffland said.
The commissioners all voted in favor of the motion.
For more information about the Officer Wellness Program, visit ocjs.ohio.gov.
In other news, the commissioners unanimously voted to appropriate $270,400 to Emergency Medical Services to replace an ambulance.
The commissioners also all voted to appropriate $3,000 to the engineer's office for road salt and $110,000 for materials to repair roads.
The commissioners also discussed an amendment to a previous agreement between the board and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction regarding the construction of the new county jail.
General Assembly Central Ohio bonds were previously issued by the state treasurer in the amount of $9,124,020. According to the new contract, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has agreed to provide $14,324,000 for the total cost of the project. All commissioners voted in favor of the agreement.
The board of commissioners also appointed Commissioner Dustin Corder to the 2024-25 Eastern Ohio Development Alliance.
Coffland made the motion to appoint Corder because Corder will be in office throughout 2024 and 2025. Coffland and Commissioner Amy Norris voted in favor of the motion with Corder abstaining from the vote.