PIKE: County board moves forward with mural proposal; schedules payroll audit
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By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
Submitted graphic
At the Tuesday, Dec. 27, Pike County board meeting, board members approved the placement of a mural on the side of the Pike County Government Building in Pittsfield. The mural is to be completed by Springfield’s Free Sky Studios, and it will not be funded by any public funds.The concept design provided by Free Sky Studios features the natural beauty of Pike County and images of New Philadelphia founder Frank McWorter and Zebulon Pike, after whom the county is named.
At the Tuesday, Dec. 27, meeting of the Pike County board, board members voted to move forward with a project to paint a Pike County themed mural on the side of the Pike County government annex building in Pittsfield.
The mural is to be painted by Springfield’s Free Sky Studios at a cost of $50,000. Free Sky Studios is responsible for raising all of the funds from private sources. No public funds will be used for the mural project.
The concept design for the mural, which was provided by Free Sky Studios, features images representing the agricultural heritage of Pike County, as well as local wildlife and wildflowers. In addition, the concept design features New Philadelphia founder Frank McWorter and Zebulon Pike, after whom the county was named.
While Pike County has still not contracted an auditing firm to conduct the county’s full financial audit from the past fiscal year, County Board President Andy Borrowman reported that the county has contracted Pittsfield’s Jackie Borrowman to conduct an audit of the county’s payroll from the last fiscal year.
The payroll audit is anticipated to begin in February. Andy Borrowman indicated that he thought conducting the payroll audit would make it easier for another auditing firm to conduct the county’s full audit.
Also approved by the county board was the appointment of January Lawless as Pike County Animal Warden. Lawless has been serving as the interim animal warden since the resignation of former Pike County Animal Warden McKenzie Ballinger. Ballinger resigned after it came to light that the Animal Control office was severely over budget.
The board went on to approve a resolution appointing the Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor as the county’s agent. The appellate prosecutor represents the county during appeals and when the State’s Attorney has a conflict of interest.
Board members voted to appoint Bryce Lawson to the Valley City Drainage and Levee District for a term to expire in September of 2025.
The board also appointed Larry Wiese to the McGee Creek Levee and Drainage District for a term to expire in September of 2025.
Finally, the Pike County board voted to change the meeting time of the county’s highway committee meeting from 2 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.
