Oakhill owners consider donating building

Commissioners have said they would rather own a building than rent one.
By BOB JACKSON
and DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- Owners of the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center say they might be willing to donate the building to Mahoning County, which is looking for a new home for one of its county agencies.
The offer was made to commissioners Thursday in a letter from Robert L. Ferguson, chairman of the board of the Southside Community Development Corporation.
SCDC owns and operates the former hospital, now known as Oakhill Renaissance Place. The organization has been pitching Oakhill to commissioners as a possible site to house the county's Department of Job and Family Services.
Ferguson wrote in the letter that the county's presence in the building will "anchor the South Side neighborhood and become a catalyst for other positive influences."
"The donation will provide the maximum returns to the county by reducing occupancy costs while providing comfortable, efficient office accommodations for visitors and staff," the letter says. "This will allow a higher percentage of the county's budget to be used for other important services."
Relocation talk
Commissioners have talked for months about relocating the JFS from its location in the McGuffey Plaza on Youngstown's East Side. JFS is made up of the county child support enforcement agency and department of human services, with a total of about 400 employees.
Commissioners had focused their attention largely on buying the dormant Phar-Mor Centre downtown. But that option fell through recently when Bank One, which holds debt in excess of $2 million on the building, stopped negotiating with the city, which was trying to broker a deal on behalf of the county.
Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock said she thinks "special interest groups" were behind the snag, but she would not elaborate.
Adrian R. Byrne, executive director of SCDC, said the commissioners' desire to own rather than rent space is what spurred his organization to explore the possibility of donating Oakhill to the county, rather than entering into a lease agreement.
The SCDC submitted an informal, unsolicited lease offer to commissioners earlier this year.
SCDC's goal
He said the SCDC's goal is to spur development of the South Side. Having the county in Oakhill as an anchor tenant would go a long way toward that end, he added.
The building already is occupied by several smaller private and public sector tenants, including the Youngstown Health Department and the county coroner's office.
Sherlock said commissioners will most likely vote at their Aug. 3 meeting to authorize Auditor George Tablack and his staff to begin negotiating with SCDC on a plan to accept the building.
"We are in a lease situation now that is not in the best interest of the county," Sherlock said. The county does not have a long-term lease in place for the East Side property, which is owned by the Cafaro Corp.
Its last lease expired about 18 months ago, and the county has been paying about $37,000 a month, on a month-to-month basis since then, while commissioners decide whether to relocate.
In need of repairs
Commissioners have said the East Side building needs major repairs, but that the county, not the owner, is on the hook to pay for them under current lease conditions.
"How long are we going to stay in that situation?" Sherlock said, noting that she thinks it's time to move.
Sherlock questioned why Commissioner Ed Reese refused to attend a meeting this week with SCDC to talk about the possibility of relocating JFS there.
Reese expressed concern that the meeting might be illegal because it involved possible negotiation over property without first advertising for bids. But Sherlock said she consulted with the prosecutor's office, which said there was no problem.
"It concerns me that Ed would not meet with us even after the prosecutor said it was legal and proper," Sherlock said.
In response, Reese said he was given about one hour's notice about the meeting, and already had other plans. Also, he said when he was told of the meeting, the prosecutor's office hadn't given an opinion on the legality of it.
"She can meet with whoever she wants, but she can't tell me what to do," Reese said. "I thought she was doing this on her own. I've met with them before. How many times can I meet with them? I don't need Vicki Sherlock to tell me about going to meetings."
Before any decision on moving JFS to the former hospital, the county needs to examine the building's structure, the length of its leases with tenants and the cost of renovation, Reese said.
bjackson@vindy.com