Geauga officials seek to move county seat from Chardon

CHARDON, Ohio (AP) -- Geauga County commissioners have threatened to relocate the county seat from Chardon -- the county's home for 197 years -- to a rural area south of the city.
Not since 1876, when Mahoning County moved its center of government from Canfield to Youngstown, has an Ohio county seat changed, according to the Ohio Historical Society.
Geauga County officials said Chardon's problem is geography.
The city, about 40 miles east of Cleveland, is located at the northern end of Geauga County, making it inconvenient for most of the county's residents, who live along the county's western edge, particularly in its southwest corner.
The county also needs better office space, and building a new county complex would alleviate the space problems, commissioners argue. The county already owns land in Claridon Township, about six miles south of Chardon, near Geauga County's geographic center.
"We'd be foolish to not look at this," Commissioner Mary Samide said.
County officials recently sent a letter to the state attorney general's office asking how to relocate a county seat.
Chardon Mayor John Park said his city can't afford to have county offices leave. The city would lose about 100 government jobs, causing a ripple effect that would be felt by local businesses, he said.
Park said the city is searching for land to suit the county's needs, and would be willing to coordinate -- and possibly help finance -- the purchase of land for a new county office complex in Chardon.
The ball is in Chardon's court, Commissioner Craig Albert said.
"We'll stay, if they can come up with something to keep us," Albert said.