Home Care In Fayette, OH

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FAYETTE, Alabama — Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield announced today that O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS) plans to invest $5.5 million to open a 130,000-square-foot steel fabrication facility in Fayette as part of a project that will create 70 full-time jobs within three years after operations commence.

OMS provides quality carbon steel and aluminum parts for customers that manufacture equipment for construction, agriculture, materials handling, transportation, and other industries.

The company’s custom steel fabrication center in Fayette will feature robotic and manual welding stations, a beam-cutting line, wet paint booth, press brakes, plasma cutting, and saw cutting capabilities to support medium- to heavy-gauge steel fabrication.

“O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ investment will bring advanced capabilities to its new fabrication facility in Fayette,” Secretary Canfield said.

“This is a positive development for the community not only in terms of job creation but also for growth potential in the future.”

‘VALUABLE ASSET’

OMS is a subsidiary of Birmingham-based O’Neal Industries, the nation’s largest family-owned network of metal service centers and component and tube manufacturing businesses.

The new Fayette facility, located in an existing building, brings the company’s total North American locations to 10.

“We are thrilled to have acquired the facility, and we are even more excited to have the skilled workers that were available in Fayette. People have always been our most valuable asset,” OMS President and CEO Kent Brown said. “In this time of unprecedented low unemployment and worker shortages across the country, good people have become even more valuable.

“We are grateful to the City of Fayette, Fayette County, our state, and the Economic Development Alliance for working diligently alongside us to make this new location a reality,” he added.

LOCAL IMPACT

Fayette Mayor Rod Northam welcomed OMS’ growth plans in the small town in rural Northwest Alabama.

“With over a hundred-year presence in Alabama, we are happy to welcome them to Fayette and build upon this proud legacy. We look forward to supporting their growth and appreciate their investment in our city and in our citizens,” he said.

Fayette has been on a roll lately, attracting several industrial projects and new investment in its downtown. Over 30% of workers in the Northwest Alabama region are employed at manufacturing facilities, according to the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance.

“We are excited and grateful that O’Neal Manufacturing Services has chosen Fayette for this investment. OMS is an outstanding company and employer, with a strong track record of partnering with local communities,” said Tom Wisemiller, president and CEO of Northwest Alabama EDA.

Brenda Tuck, Rural Development Manager for the Alabama Department of Commerce, said O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ new venture will benefit from a motivated workforce in Fayette.

“Alabama’s rural communities can offer companies like OMS many strategic advantages as well as an environment that allows companies to pursue ambitious goals,” Tuck said.

“The business world is discovering that rural Alabama has it all.”

A Texas firm plans to build a 107-megawatt solar power farm on 675 acres east of Fayette.

Arche Energy Project, LLC, a subsidiary of 7X Energy, Inc., based in Austin, filed a pre-application with the Ohio Power Siting Board to construct the project.

The project will be located on an irregularly shaped site made up of land leased on a long-term basis from property owners, said Cliff Scher, senior director of development for 7X.

The company has options to purchase land as well.

The site is roughly 1,000 acres bordered on the north by Co. Rd. S, the east by Co. Rd. 21, the south by Co. Rd. N, and the west by Co. Rd. 23.

The company announced plans for a web-based public meeting to discuss the project, last night, Tuesday.

A telephone-based public meeting is Thursday evening, July 16, 7 pm. Call 786-535-3211; access code is 589-182-957.

Why Fayette?

Scher said 7X is interested in Fayette for several reasons:

•The site is near the Toledo Edison East Fayette electrical substation, a 138,000- volt power transmission line along US20, and along major transportation routes.

•The availability and quality of sunlight.

•Topography, land use, and limited sensitive ecological and cultural resources.

•Landowner interest and participation.

“We’ve collected a year’s worth of data from an on-site meteorological station confirming that the solar resource is able to support the economics of a solar farm,” he said.

“This financial equation is different than it might have been around 15 years ago, because the cost of solar panels has come down tremendously over the last 12 years.

“That is one of the factors that helps us to sell electricity at a price that’s competitive with other sources of electricity generation.”

The Arche Solar Farm website states acquisition of land and land rights began in the first quarter of 2019, and continued through the second quarter of 2020.

Final design will be completed in 2021.

Construction is anticipated to start in the fourth quarter of 2021; with completion expected within 12 months.

Scher said the project will allow for about 100 to 200 jobs during the peak of construction, then two to three permanent jobs once the solar farm is in operation.

Investment

He put investment in the “millions of dollars,” adding the project is expected to add $800,000 to the tax base.

“Solar projects are financed in a similar way to most other capital infrastructure projects. That project finance process is dependent on large, reputable banks investing in the project,” he said.

“Before a project starts construction and after there is a contract in place to sell the electricity, the solar project would be financed and investors would make commitments.

“That project finance process is usually dependent on the project winning an electricity contract through a competitive bid process.”

Scher said the company has already purchased “equipment equivalent to 5% of the overall capital cost.

“There are a number of additional steps required before Arche Solar would be able to be financed and start construction.

“There’s a need for further study on interconnecting to the transmission grid, and there’s a very important permitting process run by the Ohio Power Siting Board.”

Matt Butler, spokesman for the OPSB, said the pre-application was filed June 22.

The complete application process takes nine to 12 months.–David Pugh

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Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County is celebrating its 35th anniversary of serving patients and families. The not-for-profit hospice provider is inviting members of the community to its Community Open House on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 4-6 pm, at Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County (222 N. Oakland Ave., Washington Court House 43160).

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce also will recognize Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County with a recognition presentation at the event.

“For the past 35 years, we have been honored and privileged to provide superior care and superior services to those who are facing a life-limiting illness or injury,” said Missi Knisley, executive director of Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County. “As we look forward to serving the community for the next 35 years, we want to express our thanks to the members of the community who have supported our mission.”

Based in Washington Court House, Hospice of Fayette County was founded in 1987 as a community hospice to affirm life and provide comfort, symptom management and support in physical, mental and spiritual aspects when there is a life-limiting illness.

Committed to respecting and empowering individuals so they remain active in their decision-making and personal choices, Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County earned accreditation from The Joint Commission in 2014. It was selected in 2016, 2017 and 2020 for the prestigious Hospice Honors program of HEALTHCAREfirst and Deyta Analytics, recognizing hospices providing the highest level of quality as measured from the caregiver’s point of view.

In 2018, Hospice of Fayette County joined Ohio’s Hospice, a strategic partnership of mission-driven, not-for-profit hospices in Ohio committed to a shared vision of strengthening and preserving community-based hospices. Ohio’s Hospice was established in 2013 as a collaboration of Hospice of Dayton, Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties and Hospice of Miami County to ensure the longterm success of the shared mission of serving more patients and families with even higher levels of hospice care.

Today, affiliates of Ohio’s Hospice include Community Care Hospice, Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice, Ohio’s Hospice at United Church Homes, Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, Ohio’s Hospice Loving Care, Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties, Ohio’s Hospice of Central Ohio, Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County and Ohio’s Hospice of Miami County.

“As Ohio’s Hospice, we work together with other not-for-profit hospices to continue to provide compassionate, quality care locally in the communities we are honored and privileged to serve,” Knisley said. “Our mission is to celebrate the lives of those we have the privilege of serving by providing superior care and superior services to each patient and family.”

For more information about the Community Open House, call (740) 335-0149 or visit: https://www.OhiosHospice.org/OHFC35th.

FAYETTE, Ohio (WTVG) - The Village of Fayette’s water system has been in desperate need of repair for a while now, but that is all about to change.

The village is getting a $10 million worth of “water infrastructure grant money” from the state to fix the problem.

It’s part of the H2Ohio project, and Governor Mike DeWine said that it’s obvious Fayette’s water needs are dire.

“Fayette was picked frankly because they have an absolutely failing water system. This is really based on an urgent need to fix a big, big problem. The village of Fayette that has about 1500 people really has no ability to fix this problem. You can’t raise water rates high enough to pay for this,” said Gov. DeWine.

The village’s new water system will cost an estimated $14 million, so the $10 million from the state will relieve the majority of that burden.

“It felt like I personally won the lottery when they called me on Wednesday to let me know that they were putting together this event. I cried on behalf of everyone in this community because it is just un precedented the amount of money that we’re going to get, and it’s likely that we will never see this again in my career left with the village,” said Fayette administrator Genna Biddix.

But Fayette was not just given the money; it had to apply and show just how much the community needed these funds.

“There was a lot of hard work that went into this application, our staff has done an awesome job and we’re all ecstatic about receiving this money. It was a lot of work but it was well worth it, if you don’t ask you won’t get it,” said Fayette’s mayor Dave Borer.

The mayor said he is glad that they asked, and that Governor DeWine answered.

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Efforts are underway to expand the Rattlesnake Water System in preparation for future development at the Fayette County mega-site.

According to Fayette County Engineer Steve Luebbe, there are currently no issues with the water system, but the county wants wells in reserve that can be used if the demand for water in the area increases.

The Rattlesnake Water System covers the mega-site, the new McKesson facility that will be in operation later this year, and a small residential area located in West Lancaster.

The Fayette County mega-site, according to www.fayette-co-oh.com, is the “premier Mega-Manufacturing site in the State of Ohio and Midwest Region with 1,500+ acres located at the interstate of I-71 and U.S. Route 35.”

Two resolutions were recently passed by the Fayette County Commissioners to assist with locating and preparing more wells.

One resolution authorizes the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the purpose of groundwater investigation to expand the water supply in the Rattlesnake Water System at an estimated cost of $141,487.

In the second resolution, Luebbe was authorized to accept a proposal from National Water Services out of Lancaster to provide drilling options to help evaluate the availability of water for the Rattlesnake Water System at an estimated cost of $99,604.

Currently, there are three production wells — all of which are tied into a treatment plant. All three wells are operating normally.

According to Luebbe, through expansion efforts, two additional wells have already been drilled and tested that can become production wells when needed.

In other news from the Fayette County Commissioners’ office, several resolutions were passed at a recent meeting:

It was authorized to use ARPA funding for the reimbursement of COVID-19 health insurance claims cost in the amount of $53,270.77, for the period of March 2021 through December 2021 as Fayette County is a self-funded county.

Luebbe was authorized to enter into a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Sodium Chloride requirements for the 2022-23 winter season.

Luebbe was also authorized to enter into an agreement with CTL Engineering, Inc. out of Cincinnati for vibration monitoring at Interstate 71 and U.S. 35 for potential future development at the mega-site at a cost of $7,800.

Luebbe was authorized to accept the proposal of Eagon & Associates, Inc. out of Worthington for hydrogeologic services for well field expansion and capacity evaluation at an estimated cost of $41,973.

A purchase through the Ohio Department of Administrative Services Cooperative Purchasing Program for a Kobelco excavator was authorized. The purchase price will be $237,899.

The final resolution authorized the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office to sell surplus inventory through GovDeals, Inc. that is no longer in service or used, including: a 2014 Dodge Charger, three 2012 Dodge Chargers, a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee, three Sho-Me LED Deck Light Bars, five Plastic Long Gun Cases, four Sho-Me Grill Lights, one Sharp Microwave Oven, 11 Mossberg Shotgun Pistol Grips, one Magnavox VHS – DVD Player, and three 2012 Charger Cruiser Cages.

As part of the resolution, the following items are to be discarded due to repairs not being feasible or having little to no value: 11 Federal Signal Interceptor 400 siren/light controls – damaged, one Pentax 35mm camera — end of life, one Federal Signal Touchmaster Delto siren/light control – damaged, one Panasonic 12” B&W monitor — end of life, one Federal Signal PA-640 siren/light control – damaged, four MSA SCBA units — end of life, one Code 3 V-con siren/light control – damaged, 50+ Ballistic Kevlar Panels — end of life, eight Galls Traffic Buster siren/light control – damaged, 19 Filing cabinets — end of life, three Havis Radio/Equipment consoles (parts) — end of life, three Jotto Desk Computer mounts — end of life, one Bag Buster Air Bag Deployment Device — unsafe to use/end of life.

There were two contracts entered into:

The first contract was with Maggard’s Nursery to provide labor and materials to treat the lawn at the Fayette County Courthouse with five rounds of fertilization and weed control, including a pre-emergent starting April through October for approximately $425.

The second contract was with Fillmore Construction LLC out of Leesburg for the 2022 Fayette County Chip Seal Program for $195,670.

Bids will be received on April 29 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ office for the Lakewood Hills Area Water System Improvement Project. Engineer’s estimate for the project is $1,278,971.

There were two bids received for Fayette County Bridge materials. The first was from Mack Industries out of Mount Vernon for $87,480. The second was from Encore Precast out of Dayton for $93,860. The engineer’s estimate was $60,000. Per the recommendation of Luebbe, the bids were rejected due to both being greater than 10% over the engineer’s estimate.

During the Fayette County Land Bank meeting, the treasurer’s report was shared with a beginning balance of $207,072.16. The first half of a real estate settlement was received in the amount of $45,601.67, making the new balance $252,673.83.

Assistant prosecutor Dan Drake updated the board on the status of gaining access to the properties that the Land Bank is interested in for the Brownfield Remediation Program and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Programs — the property owners are not inclined to grant access to the properties. Drake will continue talks with property owners.

An agreement is planned to be entered into with Ramboll for services assisting the Land Bank with the identification and initial screening of sites to apply for grant applications. The approximate cost will be $10,000.

Mark Miller and Nathan Zukowitz, attorneys at law, have presented a proposal for consideration to be legal counsel for the Fayette County Land Bank. They would handle foreclosures from start to finish. The cost includes up to 40 foreclosures, any and all staffing needs to manage the foreclosures, attendance at monthly meetings, and advising the Land Bank on legal questions and advice. The cost of those services would be $55,200 annually plus court costs, advertising, exam fees, deed preparation and county recording fees.

April Keaton spoke to the board on the challenges of foreclosure proceedings that are currently completed through the prosecutor’s office.

The proposal for Miller and Zukowitz to provide legal counsel was accepted.

The next Land Bank meeting is scheduled for April 18 at 10:30 a.m. in the County Administration Building, second floor meeting room.

Information in this article was provided by the Fayette County Commissioners’ Office. Stay with the Record-Herald weekly for more updates. The Fayette County Commissioners’ Office is located at 133 S. Main St., suite 401 in Washington Court House, and their office hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can be reached at 740-335-0720. Condensed minutes from the meetings are available on the county website.

Reach journalist Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.