Morrow County leaders hear probation's plea for reserved parking, cite vandalism and heavy caseloads

Greg Thomas, speaking for Morrow County Probation Services and the municipal court, told the Morrow County Board of Commissioners at its Feb. 4 meeting that an earlier agreement to reserve five parking stalls for probation had not been implemented and asked the board to correct an email he said contained inaccuracies.

"That will be exclusively for probation," Thomas said of the five reserved spots discussed in a 2024 meeting, and added that the courts believed the judges and probation had agreed to the arrangement. He said the issue matters partly because probation officers need ready access to vehicles while doing fieldwork.

Thomas also described repeated vandalism when probation vehicles are parked out of camera coverage. "We have incurred thousands of dollars of vandalism through things happening to the windshields, to people walking by and keying the cars," he told the commissioners, and said the office feared increased risk if vehicles were moved away from monitored areas.

He cited a safety incident to underline the concern: probation officer Isaiah Wentz slipped on ice while shoveling between county vehicles, injuring his hip and back; the injury was reported to the county's workers' compensation system.

Thomas provided operational figures for probation: the office supervises 498 offenders; it has supervised offenders in 46 Ohio counties and eight states; it completes roughly 500 hours of field work annually; and it recorded 151 probation-violator arrests since Jan. 1, 2025. "151 people on probation have been arrested in the last 13 months," he said.

On staffing and fleet, Thomas said probation employs about 20 people across adult, juvenile and specialty functions, and operates seven vehicles (including an older 2005 municipal court vehicle). He said five of the fleet vehicles were paid from grant funding and two from the general fund, though he could not confirm payment details for one vehicle.

Commissioners acknowledged the courts' concerns but emphasized the need to preserve customer parking during busy periods such as tax season. One commissioner noted the county land bank expects to acquire and remove a vacant house adjacent to the lot later in the year, which could add about 10 parking spaces.

The board said it would "explore" placing signs reserving spots and follow up on the implementation details Thomas requested, and Thomas offered to work with county staff to resolve vehicle-log or camera-recording questions.

The presentation closed with Thomas thanking the board and offering continued cooperation as the parties seek a practical solution.

The commissioners did not take a formal vote on parking at the session; they directed staff to continue working with probation and to report back.