WASHINGTON COUNTY, DISTRICT CLERKS UPDATE COMMISSIONERS ON RECORDS PROJECT
The Washington County and District Clerks presented newly preserved documents to commissioners at their meeting this (Tuesday) morning.
County Clerk Beth Rothermel and District Clerk Tammy Brauner showcased updated commissioners court dockets and minutes from district court, as part of the county’s ongoing process to preserve old documents. Data from numerous old books has been transferred to books with protected pages and sturdier covers.
In addition, several district and county officials that have been influential in this restoration project are recognized in displays that show the difference between the new and old books. Brauner said she feels there is a great team representing Washington County, and she wanted to put additional history into the books the county is trying to preserve.
Brauner said her office had 44 books repaired or replaced this year, while Rothermel’s had 26. Brauner noted the ongoing project can be “very expensive”, as pages are scanned and protected individually. Rothermel estimates it costs up to $3,000 for a single book, and roughly $61,000 has been spent this year to restore and reimage her office’s 26 books. Costs also include receiving a digitized copy of the book.
Brauner stressed that the project is not being paid for with tax dollars, but with fees collected from filing new cases in the clerks’ offices. These fees go into a fund account dedicated to records preservation, which is paying for this project.
The court also received final vote counts from November 6th’s General Election. Rothermel announced that 58 percent of the 23,242 registered voters in the county took part in this year’s election, over 13,400 voters. Of that 58 percent, 72 percent, or over 9,700 voters, voted early.
Rothermel added that 2014’s gubernatorial election drew just 41 percent of registered voters, while 2010’s brought 51 percent.
During the Road and Bridge monthly report, County Engineer Ross McCall stated that several county roads were having asphalt stripped to remove potholes. These roads include Old Independence Road, Rocky Hill School Road, and William Penn Road. McCall expects these roads will not have pavement until early spring of 2019.
In other items, Washington County Veterans Service Officer Kenneth Mueller announced he would retire from his position on January 31, 2019. He also announced that an interview committee had selected Eric Posern to be his replacement. Mueller said he would be training Posern for the position over the next few months.