MAHONING COUNTY Proposals offered for appeals court

A recommendation should go before commissioners within a month or so.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners took another step Friday toward moving the 7th District Court of Appeals into new quarters.
Commissioners and court officials heard presentations from the three developers who have submitted bids for office space to house the appellate court, which is on the fourth floor of the courthouse.
The appellate court, which reviews decisions of lower courts in eight counties, has run out of space. Commissioners sought bids in the fall for quarters outside the courthouse.
Proposals were received earlier this month from the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., which proposes putting the court in the former city hall annex at Market and Front streets; Southside Community Development Corp., which offered space in Oakhill Renaissance Place, formerly Southside Hospital; and the Ohio Valley Mall Co., which proposed a site in McGuffey Plaza on the city's East Side.
Details
Commissioners, court officials and their consultant, Greg Strollo of the architectural firm Hanahan-Strollo & amp; Associates, went over the bids in detail with the developers, said court Administrator Robert Budinsky.
"It kind of put a picture to the things they had previously presented in writing," Budinsky said.
He said the next step will probably be to visit each of the proposed sites, then begin evaluating the proposals. A recommendation should be ready for approval by commissioners within a month, Budinsky said.
Mahoning is the largest county in the appellate district, so is responsible for providing the court with space. The cost is split among all the counties, which include Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble.
bjackson@vindy.com