Mahoning County could own prime locale in Youngstown

The Southside Community Development Corporation is considering donating its Oakhill Renaissance Place, the former Southside Medical Center facility, to Mahoning County government if commissioners Edward Reese, Vicki Allen Sherlock and David Ludt are interested. They had better be -- if for no other reason than to demonstrate to the voters that they are serious about saving money.
What SCDC is offering the county is an extensively renovated, well-maintained complex that could easily accommodate the Department of Jobs and Family Services now located in the McGuffey Plaza on Youngstown's East Side.
Reese, Sherlock and Ludt are on the record as saying that they want to move JFS out of McGuffey and that a central business district location would be ideal. They had expressed an interest in the Phar-Mor Centre on Federal Plaza, but Bank One, which holds debt of more than $2 million on the building, squelched that deal.
That prompted Sherlock to take a close look at Oakhill Renaissance Place, which had been touted several months ago by the SCDC as tailor-made for the Jobs and Family Services department.
County officials, including Sherlock, Ludt and Auditor George Tablack, met with SCDC principals last week, after which the commissioners received a letter from board Chairman Robert L. Ferguson stating that the corporation "is interested in exploring the donation of our property at Oakhill Renaissance Place to Mahoning County."
Ferguson laid out five reasons why it is a win-win deal for Mahoning County and his organization, but the most compelling one should strike a responsive chord with the voters, who are being asked to renew a sales tax in November.
Maximum returns
"The donation [of the property] will provide the maximum returns to the county by reducing occupancy costs, while providing comfortable, efficient office accommodations for visitors and staff. This will allow a higher percentage of the county's budget to be used for other important services."
Mahoning County is paying about $37,000 a month in rent for space in the McGuffey Plaza. It has been on a month-to-month agreement with the owner, the Cafaro Co., after the expiration of the lease 18 months ago.
Commissioners have declined to sign another lease because they're exploring other options for JFS and because the county doesn't want to pay for much-needed major repairs at McGuffey.
The 400 employees of the Jobs and Family Services department want to move; the county's financial condition -- it will face a $3 million general fund shortfall even if a 0.5 percent sales tax is renewed in November -- justifies the move; and the proposal from the SCDC for a takeover by the county of Oakhill Renaissance Place makes the move possible.
Sherlock says commissioners will most likely vote Aug. 3 to authorize Tablack and his staff to begin negotiating with SCDC on the property transfer.
This project should be on a fast track. The November general election is just around the corner.