YOUNGSTOWN CIC approves hiring project consultants

Consultants will oversee architectural, engineering and minority hiring rules.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Downtown's redevelopment agency made several moves to monitor the coming construction of a new office building and a new court.
The executive committee of the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. authorized Wednesday the hiring of consultants to oversee architectural, engineering and minority-hiring rules on the new Mahoning County Children Services building.
CIC will build the $7.1 million, four-story building at West Federal and Hazel streets next to the George V. Voinovich Government Center. Work is to start within a few weeks.
Consultants and cost
The committee approved hiring architect Brenda Williams to monitor architectural work on the building. She is to be paid $70 an hour, not to exceed $36,000. That is a lower amount than CIC paid a Cleveland firm to monitor architectural work on the $8 million Voinovich Center, officials said.
The committee approved spending up to $7,000 for an engineering firm to monitor steel and other structural work on the project. The agency is reviewing bids from three companies seeking to do the work.
Monitoring costs are factored into each project.
The committee also authorized a contract not to exceed $40,000 with the Youngstown Area Development Corp. to monitor minority-hiring issues for the children services building and the new 7th District Court of Appeals.
Work on the new $3 million court on West Federal Street is to start later this year.
The agency paid YADC about $37,000 just to monitor the Voinovich project.
YADC estimated monitoring of the children services building at $31,500 and the new court at $15,000 to $20,000.
YADC offered to oversee both projects for $40,000 because each is happening at about the same time and just across the street from the other, officials said.
rgsmith@vindy.com