MAHONING COUNTY CSB will get new building downtown

When the Children Services Board moves out of the South Side annex on Market Street, a police agency will move in on the second floor.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners have decided on a new home for the county's children services agency. Now they just have to build it.
Plans are in the works for a new building on West Federal Street, on what's known as the Masters block, said county administrator Gary Kubic.
The vacant Masters block, made up of several buildings including the former Masters Tuxedo store, will be razed to make way for new offices for the Mahoning County Children Services Board.
The project will cost between $4 million and $5 million and calls for a 35,000-square-foot building with parking for 100 vehicles. The lot will be for CSB employees and visitors, Kubic said.
CSB has 128 full-time employees, though only about 100 work in the main office, Kubic said.
Construction options
The property is owned by the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. Commissioners are considering having that group oversee construction of the building, similar to what was done with the George V. Voinovich Government Center, also on West Federal.
Under that scenario, the CIC would hire the contractors and see that a building is constructed to meet the county's needs.
"Basically all we would do is move in," Kubic said, noting that the county would ultimately own the building.
Commissioners also could opt to oversee the project themselves.
Kubic said he hopes to have all those decisions made within 60 days, after which the process of finding a contractor could begin. He was not sure when actual construction would start.
Once it begins, construction should take about 18 months, Kubic said.
Reactions
"We are looking forward to a move very much. It's been a long time coming," said Denise Stewart, CSB director. "We've just been waiting for some direction from the commissioners."
The agency has been on the second floor of the South Side Annex on Market Street, in the Uptown district, for years. That building, though, is no longer suitable for CSB's needs, so commissioners have spent more than a year trying to find better quarters.
Stewart said the annex is run down and does not provide adequate privacy for staff members who need to counsel families and children.
All that will be included in the new facility when it's built, she said.
Cost
Commissioners haven't yet nailed down a final cost for the new building, but stressed that it won't be paid with general fund money. The building will be funded with money the CSB has saved over the years out of its own budget, which is not subsidized by the county general fund.
Kubic was not sure how much money the agency has saved, but said it's enough to pay for the entire project.
Commissioner David Ludt said that it's important for people to realize that funding the construction of the building "has nothing to do with the sales tax."
The county has a pair of 0.5-percent sales taxes on the books, one of which expires at the end of this year. An attempt to renew it was rejected by voters in May, so the panel plans to put it back on the ballot in November.
If it's rejected again, the county will lose about $12 million in operating revenue. Commissioners are already planning budget cuts, just in case.
They were initially concerned that going ahead with construction of a new building would confuse voters, making them think that finances aren't as tight as commissioners have warned.
"Any time you have a defeat like that, you have to reassess everything," said Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock.
Funding
But Stewart said CSB is outside the county's general fund, getting about half its annual operating revenue from a property tax levy. The rest comes from state and federal programs for children placement and services.
She said the agency has spent its money conservatively over the years, squirreling away as much as possible to pay for a new building when the time came. The time is now and the money is there, she said.
"We've just been keeping things low-cost and patching things together around here in anticipation of a move," she said.
With that in mind, commissioners have decided to start the project.
"I'm all for going forward," said Commissioner Ed Reese. "I don't think we should put a hold on services for children."
Ready to roll
Sherlock and Ludt also are ready to roll because the money's in place, though Sherlock said commissioners should work close with city officials to ensure that the building blends with other projects that might take place downtown.
Besides enabling the county to better serve its children, Reese said relocating the CSB also will clear the way for a new tenant at the annex.
Commissioners have been steadily relocating county agencies out of the annex into other buildings, mostly in the suburbs. Children services is the last agency remaining on the second floor.
Once children services moves out, the second floor will be remodeled and the Mahoning Valley Drug Task Force will move in. The task force is housed downtown in the City Center One building but wants to establish a full-time police presence on the South Side because that's where the bulk of its activity is.
The task force will reimburse the county for the cost of upgrading the building to suit its needs.
bjackson@vindy.com