COLUMBIANA CO. Plans set for law library

Renovation of the building is expected to last through most of the summer.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Conversion of a former bank into the Columbiana County law library is set to begin next month.
The county Law Library Association expects to close on the $206,000 purchase of the onetime Consumer's Bank Building before month's end, Judge Thomas Baronzzi said Thursday. Judge Baronzzi, of the county juvenile and probate courts, also is president of the association.
Although the group is overseeing the purchase, the county will own the structure because public funds are paying most of the cost.
A $41,000 contribution from the county bar association will partly cover the price. The remainder, as well as an estimated $20,000 in renovations, will be paid by a court fund fueled with fines and costs from criminal cases.
Ohio law requires counties to provide space for a law library. Attorneys and judges use the facilities for legal research. The law library will not be open to the general public.
Time frame
As soon as the county takes possession of the structure, which is expected in early June, it will begin moving the library from its cramped location in the courthouse basement about a half a block to its new spot at 32 N. Park Ave., Judge Baronzzi said.
Renovations to the new space will continue throughout the summer, with the library fully operational by summer's end, he added.
"I'm thrilled that it's finally coming together," he said. "We've been three years looking for space."
Plans call for using the first floor of the two-story, 8,500-square-foot structure for the law library.
The building's top floor is being leased by a title company, which is expected to remain in the building and make its lease payments to the county.
Renovation work
Renovations will include installing shelving to hold the library's nearly 10,000 volumes and remodeling two bathrooms to ensure they're accessible to people with disabilities.
A federal grant will be sought to fund the estimated $90,000 cost of installing an elevator in the building.
Once the law library is moved from the courthouse basement, it will free more room in that building for the recorder, auditor and sheriff's offices, commissioners have said.
They also have said that they expect to use the former bank building's basement. It's unclear now for what purpose.