TAKING CHARGE – Theodora Timmons strikes the gavel Thursday to start the Jefferson County Commission meeting. Timmons, 5, was celebrating Take Your Daughter to Work Day with her father, Eric, left, while Commissioners Tony Morelli, right, and Jake Kleineke, not pictured, looked on. -- Linda Harris

STEUBENVILLE — Jefferson County officials renewed their support Thursday for Ohio’s Issue 2, a statewide capital improvement program that pumps millions of dollars for infrastructure improvements every year into townships, villages, cities and counties across the state.

If it passes, the state would issue $250 million in bonds every year for 10 years — that’s $2.5 billion over the life of the 10-year renewal – all of it repaid from existing revenue streams, which means it won’t raise taxes.

“We use this program,” County Engineer Eric Hilty said. “Probably 80 percent of the asphalt on township roads comes from this program.”

Jefferson County communities have received just under $50 million in Ohio Public Works Commission funding for roads, bridges, water and sewer projects.

The program, implemented in 1987, has been renewed three times since then.

“We always hear ‘Jefferson County is not getting its share’,” Commissioner Tony Morelli said. “We’d always like to have more, but we got a significant amount of money to complete a lot of projects so it’s important. We want (people) to vote yes.”

Morelli pointed out there are only four state representatives against it. “All the others, Democrats and Republicans, are for it,” he said, adding, “One of the keys for me is it’s not a levy, it’s not like we have to pay more taxes — it’s money they already have that will be committed, so there’s no extra cost for taxpayers.”

Commissioners also reviewed Jefferson County Probate and Juvenile Court annual report:

*Probate Court highlights included finalizing 16 adoptions, 203 estates and 32 guardianships, as well as issuing 301 marriage licenses, 39 name changes and four minor settlements.

*Juvenile Court addressed 201 delinquency cases, 121 diversion/mediations, 45 unruly children, one adult charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child, 131 juvenile traffic violations, 24 paternity/support cases, 164 custody/visitation decisions and 27 cases involving allegations of child abuse or neglect.

Also Thursday, commissioners:

*Appointed Tom Gentile to a four-year term on the Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority, succeeding Geno Morelli who chose not to return for another term. A licensed pilot, Gentile’s plane is housed at the airpark and during his long tenure as a county commissioner he “worked closely with (the board) to advance improvements” to the property, including the most recent runway expansion.

*Signed contracts with S.T.A.R.T. for the County Road 11 bridge replacement, an Ohio Public Works Commission-funded project and with the Ohio Department of Transportation for resurfacing and pavement repairs on County Road 26 (Coal Hill Road), with a local fund share of $158,624 and the remaining $500,000 covered by the state.

*Contracted with ODOT for a load rating project involving 99 county bridges. The agreement spells out requirements associated with the project and establishes responsibilities for the administration of the project, which pairs $138,647 in state funding with $34,661 in local funding. Commissioners also agreed to pay $10,374 toward the cost of upgrading roughly 2,762 county signs with post reflectors, The state’s share is $41,496.

*Approved a memorandum of understanding for an $843 grant awarded to the county’s law library. Funding was awarded by the Consortium of Ohio County Law Library Resource boards.

*Okayed juvenile detention contracts with Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania. The agreements allow those communities to house youthful offenders in Jefferson County’s Juvenile Detention Center, which helps offset operational costs.

*Learned that Toronto officials would like to vacate a road leading to Timet the county had deeded to them more than a half-century ago. To clear up the title, Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Blake said they’ll be asked next week to sign a quitclaim deed, something that was overlooked when the property changed hands back in 1967.