Approval of committee would ensure decrease

At Tuesday’s Lawrence County Commission meeting, Commissioner DeAnna Holliday brought up a letter to be sent from the commission to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting that he sign the charter and appointment of individual members for the USDA Forest Service Eastern Region (9) Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC).

The action would ensure that Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act fee changes are approved as needed in national forests.

“Lawrence County in Ohio is 25 percent National Forest. Like many rural counties that contain National Forest system lands, Lawrence County is very dependent on economic benefits from nature-based tourism. National Forest decisions about fees can invite tourists to come to the area or drive them away,” the letter states. “Currently, the Wayne National Forest has a fee proposal that calls for ‘reducing trail permit fees for off-highway vehicle (OHV) users and eliminating fees for horse and mountain bike users.’ The proposal will bring forest fees in agreement with the fair market value of the Tri-State region.”

Other reasons the letter lists as why the fee proposal is needed include making Lawrence County more inviting to tourists, improving the economics from nature-based tourism and improving the working relationship between the Wayne National Forest and the public authorities.

“Your approval for the RRAC is urgently needed before December 2017 to ensure that the RRAC committee can be established and the fee proposal approved in February 2018 before our next spring tourist season begins,” the letter states.

All three commissioners approved the letter to be sent.

In other action at the meeting, the commission:

• Approved the weekly Dog Warden Report dated Oct. 14, 2017.

• Approved 12 appropriations.

• Approved five transfer funds.

• Proclaimed November 2017 as National Home Care and Hospice Month in Lawrence County.

• Approved a Resolution authorizing the Lawrence County engineer to prepare and submit an application to participate in the OPWC State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement Program and to execute contracts.

• Approved Krista Blankenship and Angela Haney to the Lawrence County LEPC.

• Received and filed the Certificate of County Auditor that the total appropriations from each fund do not exceed the official estimate of resources.

• Approved Commission President Bill Pratt to sign the Application in the amount of $17,610 in State Fiscal Year 2018 Grant Funds under the Ohio Airport Matching Grant Program for use at the Lawrence County Airpark.

The next Lawrence County Commission meeting is 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 in the commission chambers on the third floor of the Lawrence County Courthouse.