WILMINGTON — A startup meeting is scheduled Wednesday for the Clinton County “land bank” board.
Two county commissioners and the county treasurer are the incorporating members of the county land re-utilization corporation (LRC), often called a land bank.
Clinton County Commissioners Pat Haley and Kerry R. Steed and Clinton County Treasurer Jason Walt will appoint additional members to the board, one of whom will be a representative from the county’s most populous town, Wilmington.
In an update from Clinton County Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Taylor Stuckert and Assistant Clinton County Prosecutor Andrew McCoy, the commissioners were told Monday that the LRC board can be comprised of either five, seven or nine members. McCoy serves as legal counsel to the county commissioners.
A land bank’s purpose is to clean up blighted properties, clearing the way for the land to be re-utilized. The properties typically are heavily tax delinquent or have assessments against them.
Kathi Spirk and Cheryl Babb, representing the Clinton County Family and Children First Council, met with county commissioners in a separate Monday appointment. They went over a change in how the Ohio Department of Health will fund the Help Me Grow program, starting July 1.
The funding method will go from a periodic allocation to a reimbursement process.
Spirk presented a brief history of Help Me Grow.
It is designed, she said, to ensure Ohio’s children — birth to 3 — receive a healthy birth through prenatal services and the resources for a healthy start in life through two pieces: early intervention and home visiting.
The early intervention component aims to identify and serve children with existing developmental delays, or those with medical diagnoses with a high probability of delay, stated Spirk.
The home visiting program provides expectant or new parents with the information, support and encouragement they need through home visits, she said.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768 or on Twitter @GHuffenberger.
