News

This morning, the commissioners approved a $60,700 contract with a local public relations firm to create a communications plan and effort to educate Franklin County residents about resources that are available to them if they’re struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.  The commissioners invest more than $23 million in affordable housing and other homelessness prevention efforts each year, and in the past year and a half, they’ve added millions more in eviction and foreclosure prevention supports.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners this morning approved an additional $3.2 million in funding for their workforce training programs, Building Futures and Roads 2 Work.  The funding will come in the form of two contracts, the first of which is with the Columbus Urban League, which partners with the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council to offer the Building Futures pre-apprenticeship program that prepares former social services clients for middle class jobs in the construction trades.  The second contract is with IMPACT Community Action, which partners with Capital Transportation to offer the Roads 2 Work program to train underemployed Franklin County residents to get their commercial drivers’ licenses and connects them with careers in trucking.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners today approved a $90,000 grant to Franklin County Public Health to support increased education and communication throughout the county and in targeted zip codes to increase the wearing of masks and other COVID-19 mitigation methods.
 

Today, the Franklin County Commissioners approved a grant to A Kid Again, which fosters hope, happiness, and healing for children with life-threatening conditions and their families by providing therapeutic recreational experiences.  A Kid Again has been working in Franklin County for more than 25 years, allowing participating families to enjoy family-oriented adventures, including virtually and with Adventures-In-A-Box that create memories to last beyond the child’s life expectancy.
 

One of the resolutions passed by the Franklin County Commissioners at their weekly General Session meeting today will provide a $200,000 grant to Franklin County Public Health to prioritize health and wellness solutions for people of color in Franklin County.
 

The commissioners this morning allocated $5 million for grants rod nonprofit agencies that serve Franklin County residents and which have experienced revenue loss or increased costs due to the pandemic.  Grants of up to $50,000 will be available to nonprofits serving primarily low-income neighborhoods, with lower grant amounts available to other agencies.
 

Franklin County Administrator Kenneth N. Wilson issued guidance this morning to the approximately 1,400 employees of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners (BOC) regarding a new COVID-19 testing protocol.  Beginning on October 18, all BOC employees will be required to show evidence of two negative COVID-19 tests per week in order to work.  Employees wishing to opt-out of the requirement may do so by providing proof of having received the COVID-19 vaccine to the board’s Human Resources department. 
 

The commissioners this morning approved a resolution authorizing a grant to the Columbus Urban League to support minority-owned small businesses that have been hurt by the pandemic.  The $1,050,000 in funding will increase the availability of grants through the Franklin County Business Growth and Equity Alliance for historically underserved businesses.  The commissioners partnered with the Urban League last year to create the Equity Alliance which has supported nearly 3,000 small businesses with fewer than 25 employees.
 

A resolution passed by the commissioners at this morning’s General Session meeting approved a $26,045 grant to the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County, which represents more than 120 nonprofit health and human services agencies in Central Ohio.  The Chamber will be using the funds to purchase 120,000 medical-grade disposable face masks and deliver them to its agencies for distribution to children throughout the county.  Children under 12 are not yet approved to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and so are at potentially greater risk for contracting and spreading the infection.
 

Central Ohio is the birthplace of the American Federation of Labor and the United Mine Workers of America, and the commissioners celebrate the right to bargain collectively as among the most important to Americans.  We salute the men and women of Labor.
 
All county offices are closed today in observance of the holiday.