MAHONING COURTHOUSE Officials OK domestic court renovations

The project is two years in the making, but should take only a month to complete.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A long-awaited plan to improve security at Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court finally will happen.
County commissioners approved a contract Thursday with Aberdeen Construction of Boardman, opening the door for improvements to begin.
The $26,500 project will be paid for with a grant from the Ohio Supreme Court. The money must be used for courtroom security.
What's planned
The plan is to install a reception area from which people will be directed to the courtroom or a waiting area. Access to court offices, and especially to Judge Beth A. Smith's chambers, will be restricted.
A locked door will be installed at the hallway entrance to the court offices, which is an open door accessible to anyone. The door will have to be buzzed open for entry.
The domestic relations courtroom and offices are on the fourth floor of the courthouse.
Mark Huberman, chief magistrate, said the current configuration leaves court offices and the judge's chambers easily accessible to anyone who wanders in from the hallway.
That's a hazard because of the emotionally volatile nature of cases that are handled there, he said.
Huberman said construction should start almost immediately and be finished within 30 days. "It really isn't that big of a project," he said.
Getting the project off the ground has been a major task for court officials, who have pushed it for some two years.
A dispute between commissioners and Judge Smith was the first obstacle. Commissioners felt they were cut out of the planning process and that the project should have been run past a committee of officeholders.
Once that hurdle was cleared, the project moved ahead to the bidding process, which is required under state law. Only one bid was received and it was rejected for being too high.
A second round of bids was thrown out because of a mistake in the project specifications that had been given to bidders.
Everything fell into place with the third round of bids, which led to Thursday's action by commissioners.
bjackson@vindy.com