Offices to move to county annex

The Market Street move is a commitment to the city and the county, the director said.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A move in the next few weeks will give the Mahoning County commissioners' Reuse & amp; Recycling Division more office space and room to expand programs, said Jim Petuch, director.
Petuch said the recycling division, also known as The Green Team, will move its offices from 108 Westchester Drive off Mahoning Avenue in Austintown Township to the county annex at 2801 Market Street by Jan. 9.
The recycling division will occupy space vacated by Children's Services, which moved into a new building at 222 W. Federal St. this spring.
The recycling division paid $30,000 per year in rent to Austintown Township. Petuch said the division will pay an allocation to the county for use of the building and utilities, but is not yet certain of that amount.
Recycling the building
The annex space needs some renovation before the recycling division's 10 staff members move in, including painting and cleaning carpets, he said.
Petuch said he wants to work more closely with Youngstown Litter Control and Recycling and Youngstown State University's recycling and recreate divisions. The Market Street location gives the division better access to those agencies, as well as to Youngstown city schools, he said.
He is developing several ideas for new programs which can work out of the Market Street space. He said making use of an existing building is setting a good example for the reuse and recycling division.
"We're excited about this move," Petuch said. "We're recycling the building. This is a good move that shows our commitment to Youngstown and the county."
Reuse idea
One of Petuch's ideas is to support reuse education by using some of the new Market Street space for a reuse center for educators. Area teachers will be able to pick up items for their classrooms free of charge, he said.
Greeting cards, packing material, cardboard paper towel and toilet paper tubes, for example are some reuse items teachers routinely use for classroom art projects.
Petuch said reuse is part of a recycling strategy that begins with a mindset of first using less, then reusing items as much as possible before recycling. Recyling is good practice, but reuse is even better, he said.
The recycling division will also continue to expand its recycling efforts, with 10 new community Recycling bins to be placed around Mahoning County in the coming weeks, Petuch said.
tullis@vindy.com