WARREN Jobs proposal remains up in the air

Some county commissioners say the one-stop relocation plan will be stalled.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
WARREN -- The Trumbull County commissioners will decide within two weeks on a proposal that could move 200 jobs from downtown Warren.
The workers, employees of Trumbull County Jobs and Family Services, Ohio Bureau of Employment services, Trumbull County Child Support Enforcement Agency and other county social services agencies, would be relocated to a center designed to put all the services their clients need in one location.
Possible sites: The location preferred by the Workforce Policy Board, which has been examining the issue for more than a year, is the Ridgeview Plaza on U.S. Route 422, at the outskirts of Warren.
Last week, the board presented commissioners with this recommendation, and also with a second choice, a new building to be constructed near First United Methodist Church downtown.
"You have got to look at what is best for the people we are trying to serve," said Leo Grimes, chairman of the Workforce Policy Board. "That is all of Trumbull County, and all the people who use all the services provided by the agencies."
Opposition: Commissioners have pledged to choose which spot, or spots, they want within two weeks. Two of the three commissioners say, however, that they may delay the one-stop idea.
"We can put it aside," said Commissioner James G. Tsagaris. He said that moving would be a bad idea, because the department of jobs and family services is bound by its lease to remain at 150 S. Park Ave. for two more years.
That building also was examined by the Workforce Policy Board as a potential site but was rejected as being too expensive to rent and too run-down, Grimes said.
Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo Jr. says state and federal cutbacks, and the economic downturn, make him leery about buying a new county building.
"I'm kind of happy with the way it is," he said.
Making a profit: Proponents of the one-stop center say it could pay for itself, or even turn a profit, with rent from its government tenants. Three largest potential clients -- JFS, OBES and Vocational Rehabilitation Services -- now pay an annual rent of $750,000 combined, Grimes said. More than a dozen nongovernment agencies also have expressed interest in having a presence in the building, he said.
Angelo said, however, the amount of rent government agencies are able to pay could be reduced by budget cutbacks.
"I'm not going to put the county in jeopardy," he said.
The Ridgeview location preferred by the Workforce Police Board would allow the agencies to spread out in a mall-like setting on a single floor, which customers prefer, Grimes said. It also has plenty of parking.
There is less space to build at the First United Methodist Church, and it would have to be accompanied by a deck to accommodate parking, he said.
The prospect of jobs' leaving downtown worries downtown merchants and restaurant owners.
"I'm not concerned about our business as the whole downtown," said Sev Tripoulas, whose family owns the Hippodrome on High Street N.E.
"As people leave, it gets more and more empty," she said. "It scares people."
siff@vindy.com