MOUNT VERNON — Knox County commissioners appointed Amy Seward as Knox County EMA director on Thursday, effective June 15.
She replaces James T. DeChant, who resigned effective June 12. DeChant plans to rejoin the Fredericktown Police Department.
Seward joined the Emergency Management Agency in June 2023 as deputy director.
Prior to that, she spent 17 months serving Knox Public Health as the emergency preparedness and safe communities coordinator.
With Seward’s move into the director’s position, commissioners will restructure the deputy director position. It will return to the model commissioners previously used with KPH.
“We will contract with Knox Public Health, and we will have that employee work 16 hours a week for Knox County EMA,” County Administrator Jason Booth said.
The contract amount is $34,112 annually, a significant savings compared to what the county paid for a full-time deputy director position.
“We subsidized through the general fund about $116,000 a year to EMA,” Booth said. “By doing this, we will probably free up between $50,000 to $60,000 in savings, maybe even a little bit more, to the general fund.”
Commissioners plan to move EMA from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office to the Knox County Transit center on West Chestnut Street when the transit hub is completed.
Commissioners approve CDBG applications
Commissioners conducted a second public hearing on June 9 for the federal Project Year 2026 Community Development Block Grant applications. The first hearing was March 4.
Danville is applying for a $750,000 Neighborhood Revitalization Grant. Improvements include restroom facilities at memorial Park, sidewalks on Market and Walnut streets, and street improvements on Market and Richards.
The village will also share in a $156,000 allocation grant. Danville’s share is $67,800 and will help cover the cost of 270 feet of storm pipe and three catch basins on South Market Street.
Danville Mayor Joe Mazzari said virtually all the improvements include a safety aspect.
Berlin Township trustees will use $57,000 for improvements to the township house. Improvements include removing the existing side ramp and replacing it with a new 48-wide-by-70-foot-long ramp constructed of treated wood with composite decking and railing.
The remainder of the grant, $31,200, goes toward administration and management and fair housing fees.
The state will award the grants in August and release the funds in February 2027. Construction can start in February with a completion date of August 2028.
Also on June 9, the commissioners extended the piggyback homestead exemption for 2027.
