Building operator wants agency as tenant

Commissioners expect to get at least two more proposals for JFS sites.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Operators of the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center say their building would make an ideal location for Mahoning County's Job and Family Services agency.
Representatives of Oakhill Renaissance Place met Thursday with county commissioners to pitch the facility as a prospective home for the county offices.
"We are asking you to give serious consideration" to moving JFS to the renaissance center on the South Side, said Adrian Byrne, Oakhill executive director.
The JFS consists of the county child support enforcement agency and human services divisions. For years, the two agencies were housed in separate buildings: CSEA in the Erie Terminal building on Commerce Street downtown and human services in the McGuffey Plaza on the East Side.
Last year, the CSEA moved into the East Side site so the entire JFS operation now is under one roof. JFS has a combined 400 employees with an $11 million annual payroll.
Commissioner Ed Reese said the panel has maintained a month-to-month lease on the East Side site for some four years because commissioners aren't sure whether they'll keep JFS there or move it elsewhere.
Byrne said the rental rate being offered by Oakhill, compared to what the county pays now, would save the county $1.2 million in rent and occupancy costs over the first two years, and close to $4 million over the proposed 15-year lease term.
Features of building
Byrne said the building's features include free parking for 900 cars, 24-hour security and location on bus service for three bus lines. There also is an on-site health clinic and pharmacy, and a conference facility available to building tenants at no cost.
He said JFS would be an anchor tenant for the building, which already houses the county coroner, Youngstown Board of Health, Mahoning & amp; Columbiana County Training Association and other agencies.
Reese said he expects to receive a similar proposal in the near future from the city, which owns the Phar-Mor building downtown, and from the Cafaro Corp., which owns the McGuffey Plaza.
Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock said commissioners should make sure that any move fits with the city's long-term development plans.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;