MAHONING COUNTY Bids sought for work on annex

The government annex building is gaining another tenant but could soon lose two more.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The evolution of Mahoning County's South Side Annex building was to continue today.
County commissioners were expected to solicit bids today to replace the building's air conditioning system, preparing it for its next incarnation as headquarters for the Mahoning Valley Drug Task Force.
The building at Market Street and Southern Boulevard in the city's Uptown was built in 1956 and was a Treasure Island and Sears store before the county bought it in 1975. It has needed a major overhaul for years but the county could not afford it, said Gary Kubic, county administrator.
Earlier this year, commissioners borrowed $4.2 million to upgrade county facilities including the annex. The loan will be paid back over 20 years at 6-percent interest, mostly with revenue from a 0.5-percent sales tax approved by voters last year.
Commissioners had debated whether to tear down the building, sell it or sink money into making it suitable for county offices. A study last year by a professional consulting firm estimated the total cost of needed repairs at about $2 million.
Kubic said the building's roof is being replaced and the cooling system is next. The county still can't afford to make all the necessary repairs but will do as much as it is able.
Office shuffle: The county educational service center recently moved from the annex's second floor to offices in Boardman, opening the door for the drug task force to move there from its location in the City Centre One building downtown, Kubic said.
He was not sure when the move will take place.
Lt. Dave Allen, commander of the drug task force, said he's excited about the move because it will give his officers a stronger presence on the city's South Side, which is where the bulk of its activity is. It will also give his department more office space.
The task force will use grant money and other funding sources, such as proceeds from drug arrests, to reimburse the county for a portion of the remodeling costs, Allen said. He was not sure when renovations will be completed so his officers can move in.
Kubic said commissioners will now turn their attention to finding new office space for the children services board, the last tenant on the building's second floor. He said the task force wants the entire second floor of the building, and the CSB wants to relocate.
The board of health, planning commission and building inspection department moved from the second floor to Austintown in 1999, and the coroner's office moved to the Oak Hill Renaissance Center on the city's South Side later the same year.
Commissioners are also considering moving the board of elections, which occupies most of the first floor, out of the annex to a new location, though that move is not imminent, Kubic said. The clerk of courts' vehicle title department would move from the east side of the first floor into the space now occupied by the elections board.
Other upgrade: Commissioners were also expected to seek bids for replacement of the air conditioning system in the county administration building on Boardman Street, which once housed the county jail. Commissioners and other county departments now have offices there.
The administration building is included in the buildings to be upgraded with the loan funding, Kubic said.