Client drop-in center will be relocated

An underground fuel tank is holding up the sale of the former Woodside Hospital.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Mental Health Board expects to begin moving its client drop-in center to its new site, the former Northside Branch of the public library at 1344 Fifth Ave., early in May.
Ronald Marian, mental health board executive director, said the deal to sell the current drop-in center property at 858 Fifth Ave. to Select Specialty Hospital for $200,000 is nearly complete.
Select Specialty, a long-term-care facility located in St. Elizabeth Health Center, plans to build a new hospital on a block of parcels that includes the drop-in center property.
The mental health board recently purchased the North side building from the Public Library of Youngstown & amp; Mahoning County for $250,000. At its meeting Thursday, the board authorized Marian to advertise for bids and award contracts to renovate the facility. The board plans to spend $150,000, which includes a $100,000 Ohio Department of Mental Health grant and $50,000 in local funds, on the renovation, Marian said.
Another situation
The discovery of a 10,000-gallon, fiberglass underground fuel tank containing diesel fuel is holding up the sale of the former Woodside Hospital. The mental health board has a buyer ready to pay $280,000 for the property at 800 E. Indianola Ave., but the bank will not loan the buyer money until the underground tank is removed, Marian said.
He said he plans to ask the buyer to participate in the cost of removing the tank and also will ask the state mental health department, which turned the building over to the county health board, for financial assistance.
In other action, the board approved:
Up to $15,000 as a cash match for a 2007 $50,000 grant for the Felony Mental Health Court operated by Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The mental health court provides a treatment in lieu of jail option for nonviolent offenders.
$25,000 for Catholic Charities to continue its program that helps people with mental illness when they are released from correctional facilities.
$10,000 for Catholic Charities to continue its bereavement program.
$3,000 for the Mahoning Valley Dispute Resolution Services program, which helps mental health clients resolve disputes with landlords and others.
$1,000 for NAMI (National Alliance of Mentally Ill) Mahoning Valley to help pay for clients and their families to attend the NAMI Ohio conference on May 5-6.
alcorn@vindy.com