Black Diamond Development, LLC, which runs the Black Diamond Tavern seen here, has started a nonprofit visitors’ bureau for Perry County.
Black Diamond Development, LLC, which runs the Black Diamond Tavern seen here, has started a nonprofit visitors’ bureau for Perry County.
NEW LEXINGTON – On July 6, the Perry County Commissioners held their weekly meeting featuring updates on a potential visitors’ bureau for Perry County, bid openings for the Fairview Assisted Living building’s roof, vacating of Clayton Township Road 205, and lastly, updates from the State Treasurers’ office, Perry County Waste Reduction & Recycling, and the Perry County Dog Shelter. Commissioners Scott Owen, Derek Householder, and Ben Carpenter were present.
When Bret Adams from the Black Diamond Visitors Bureau in Shawnee spoke to the commissioners he appeared a bit frustrated at a lack of communication between the biard and himself. This was in connection with a future project the commissioners are working on to create a Perry County Visitors Bureau, an agency the county has never had, as well as what is happening with the county’s bed tax funding.
A visitors bureau is essentially a resource center that visitors to the county can use to find out about what the area has to offer. This can include places to stay, attractions, places to eat, and more. Many surrounding counties have visitors bureaus, and many have found success and have earned significant funding and grants through having one. Black Diamond Development, LLC, , which also runs businesses such as the Black Diamond Tavern, started their own visitors bureau in Shawnee in 2022.
So far, according to Adams, there has been $1 million invested in Shawnee due to the efforts of the privately run bureau, and he predicted that $5 million more will be invested in the future. Adams seemed a bit frustrated that the commissioners hadn’t answered many of his letters and calls. The commissioners apologized for this, but also let him know that they have been very busy.
Black Diamond has floated a proposal regarding bed tax funds. These are tax dollars the commissioners get from people who pay for lodging in Perry County. As part of its proposal, Black Diamond would get around $10,000 yearly from these funds to help further build up their own projects, such as their visitors bureau, and to assist the county to grow its tourism market. Adams even suggested that Black Diamond could potentially manage the funds better than the commissioners due to the company’s unique skillset, as well as the relationships it already has made throughout the county.
The commissioners didn’t accept the proposal as it stood, with a point of concern apparently being that Adams and the Black Diamond company’s major focus seems to be in Shawnee and Somerset, rather than county-wide.
The commissioners seemed to think a more feasible design for a partnership with Black Diamond would be a setup in which the company, if it has any projects that need funding through the bed tax, will request such funding on a case-by-case basis, rather than having the company receive an automatic annual allotment of, say, $10,000.
Despite their differences, both sides still seem very interested in potentially working together to bring more visitors to Perry County.
In their efforts to establish a Perry County Visitors Bureau, the commissioners are currently working on a website for the new agency, as well as providing a kiosk area in the commissioners building that people can stop by and visit. Currently, a summer youth employment intern is staffing the bureau and working with potential partners such as the Park District, Black Diamond, and the Perry County Chamber of Commerce to help develop the project.
For more information regarding the new visitors bureau, please contact the Perry County Commissioners Office at their phone number (740) 342-2045 or visit them at their building at 212 South Main St. Lower Level in New Lexington.
Also taking place during the meeting was the bid opening for the Farview Assisted Living building’s new roof. The county received a total of eight bids, all with very different price points and services offered. Vandermark Contractors from New Lexington offered a bid for shingles at $65,000 and metal at $175,000. Lloyd Building Contractor from Jackson submitted a bid for asphalt shingles, $112,500, and metal, $166,550. Revere Roofing out of Mt. Vernon submitted a bid for dimensional shingles for $61,400 and metal for $137,900. Midstate Contractors from Marion County offered a bid for steel for $424,120. Troyer Roofing from Somerset offered a bid for shingles at $116,000 and metal at $174,000. Master Renovations from Orrville offered a bid for shingles at $52,900. Dan Shroeder Roofing submitted a bid for standing seam roofing at $222,095. Lastly, E. Lee Construction from Delphos offered a bid for shingles at $76,960 and metal at $233,960.
The commissioners took all the bids under advisement from their maintenance department to see what their best option would be moving forward.
Right before the bid opening was a public hearing for the Clayton Township Road 205 vacation. According to Perry County engineer Kent Cannon, the road that would be vacated is the one that “runs through the landfill” by Tunnel Hill road. The Clayton Township Trustees signed a petition to have it vacated, as nobody was using the road, and requested the commissioners approve the petitions. With nobody objecting to the vacation, the commissioners approved the petition as presented by the township trustees.
Next up, Cody Petit, a public affairs liaison from the State Treasurers’ Office, provided some updates. He talked about the Ohio Gains initiative, which makes a change to the Ag-LINK program. Ag-LINK is a program through which farmers can get “up to a 3% interest rate reduction on new or existing operating loans up to $150,000,” according to the Ohio Treasurer’s website.
Ohio Gains is a program meant to lower costs for Ohio’s agriculture community, public universities, and hospitals. This program improves upon the Ag-LINK program by “adding agricultural cooperatives as eligible borrowers and removing existing loan and program caps to provide borrowers with greater flexibility,” according to the Ohio Treasurer’s website.
Petit also mentioned the ECO-Link program, which can provide a “3% reduction on a 5-year bank loan (for $25,000),” or a “3% rate reduction on a 7-year bank loan (for over $25,000 to $50,000),” according to the Ohio State University Energize Ohio extension. More information regarding Ag-LINK, ECO-Link, and Ohio Gains can be found on the Ohio Treasurer’s website, tos.ohio.gov, or by calling their number at (800) 228-1102.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Matt Reed and Hallie Clark from Perry County Waste Reduction & Recycling. Topics discussed included possible county funding for a litter deputy, to help cover a need the agency feels should be filled by a full-time position.
Reed also mentioned in the meeting that the construction and demolition debris waste fee needed to be increased to match the municipal solid waste fee. This was an idea brought up by commissioner Householder that Reed thought was an excellent suggestion, “so things would quit being misclassified.”
County Dog Warden Kerrie Taylor reported that the county dog shelter had been shut down for two weeks prior to the meeting, to clean the facility. At the time, the dog shelter had 24 kennels for 37 dogs in total, of which a few would be going to a rescue, and one was going to a vet. Taylor said the dogs were doing well, with all the animal re-boostered and re-wormed.
Taylor reported that due to a hack of its Facebook page, the shelter had to launch a new one because the old page had been hijacked and is unrecoverable. This new Facebook page is titled “Perry County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center of Ohio,” as opposed to the hacked page, which is “Perry County Dog Shelter.” The shelter is attempting to shut its old page; however, the process is a struggle, Taylor indicated.
If you have any inquiries about adopting a dog from the shelter, you can visit their new Facebook page at facebook.com/Perry-County-Dog-Shelter-and-Adoption-Center-of-Ohio-104178542354891 or call their number at (740) 342-3785.
Also during the meeting, the commissioners announced that they have granted a request from Habitat for Humanity for $40,000 in funding. This will be used to help cover the extra costs in the current building market, which is making new buildings cost around $20,000 more than usual. This funding covers two future houses for Habitat for Humanity.
The commissioners also congratulated Perry County Children Services, which had earned a best practices incentive from the Ohio Department of Child and Family Services for their efforts in the field. Perry, along with 52 counties, will be receiving around $50,000 for their excellent performance.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Would you like to receive our news alerts? Signup today!
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.