Commission OKs buying Park building to house JFS

The chairman said the county doesn't need 'another 80-year-old building.'
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners decided to buy the Park-Porter Building, on North Park Avenue downtown, to house the combined Job and Family Services and One-Stop job training center.
The decision Wednesday ended months of disagreement among the three commissioners and negotiations with owners trying to rent or sell their properties. The decision paves the way to keep 250 jobs and the agencies' clients downtown.
Part of the deal allows the county's Job and Family Services office on South Park Avenue and One-Stop facility on West Market Street to stay put for several more months. Also, the Child Support Enforcement Agency would stay in the county's Stone Building on High Street, rather than combining under one roof with JFS.
In recent weeks, the commissioners narrowed their choices to buying a property rather than leasing, and then to just the Park-Porter Building, Gibson Building on East Market Street downtown and the former Best Products store in the Great East Plaza in Niles.
Park-Porter, 280 N. Park Ave., is owned by a group represented by Kurt W. Sauer. It houses the Veterans Services office, an insurance company and several legal offices.
Lone dissenter
Commissioners Paul Heltzel and James Tsagaris voted for the Park-Porter location and extension of the leases. Daniel Polivka, board chairman, voted against them. He instead made a motion -- which died for lack of a second -- to buy the Gibson Building for $3 million.
Heltzel said the main reason for choosing Park-Porter is the price. Commissioners agreed to pay $699,500, about a fourth of the Gibson building price and about a third of the Best Products location price. Cafaro Corp. was offering to sell the former Best Products space for $1,970,000. The county was offering to pay $337,500.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Heltzel said. The building will require a new roof, two new roof air-conditioning units, handicap-accessible doors and handicap-accessible bathrooms, among other things.
Polivka was in favor of the newer Gibson Building, saying he thinks the JFS offices and One-Stop offices could have relocated there more quickly than to Park-Porter. Gibson had offered to sell its building for $3 million. The county previously offered $2,588,500.
"We needed another 80-year-old building like we need a stick in the eye," Polivka said. The Gibson building was built in 1997. Park-Porter was built in 1922.
Polivka also said he has concerns about water problems in the basement and possible asbestos issues. Part of the motion commissioners approved was that the purchase is subject to environmental inspection.
Renovation time
Heltzel said he didn't know how long it would take to renovate Park-Porter but the county would have plenty of time. Polivka estimated the renovation cost at about $1.5 million.
Heltzel said one factor in the decision was the inability of the county to come to terms with the Kleese Development Associates, which rents the space the county uses for the JFS and One-Stop locations. Those leases were set to expire at the end of this year.
The county is now committed to leasing the JFS location for 18 months, Heltzel said. The county will advertise for bids for the One-Stop location., The renovation of Park-Porter probably won't 18 months, Heltzel said..
"We were behind the eight-ball," Heltzel said, because the lease was running out and a new site wasn't available.
Nick Perod, who represents Kleese, said the county has a five-year option on the buildings, and Kleese has been willing to negotiate down from five years to 18 months but isn't willing to reduce it to any smaller amount of time.
County officials report the current leases cost $539,496 annually for the JFS location and $118,253 for the One-Stop location. Anthony Carson Jr., county administrator, said the county should pay about the same monthly rent under the lease extension as it has for the 12 years of the current lease.