Officials closer to moving center

A buyer has made an offer on the Mental Health Board's Fifth Avenue client drop-in center.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Board of Mental Health has taken another step toward relocating its client drop-in center, at 858 Fifth Ave.
The center would be moved up the street to the former Northside Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, at 1344 Fifth Ave.
At its meeting Thursday, the board authorized Executive Director Ronald Marian and Board President Andrew Hamady to enter into a contract to sell the property at 858 Fifth and buy the former library property.
The drop-in center is the last piece of property not optioned in the block of parcels on which Select Specialty Hospital, a long-term-care facility located in St. Elizabeth Health Center, plans to build a new hospital.
Hamady said the Lauth Property Group, which develops hospitals for Select Specialty, has offered $200,000 for the drop-in center property, which he said has an appraised value of $40,000. Further, Hamady said, the library is willing to sell its Northside Branch, which has been appraised at $420,000, for $250,000.
Capital projects
In other action, the board agreed to earmark the $280,000 it expects to receive from the sale of property at 880 East Indianola Ave. for capital projects. The building formerly housed the Eastern Mental Health Center, which moved out when it was merged with Parkview Counseling to become Turning Point Counseling Services, Marian said.
The mental health board also approved placement of a pharmacy at the Turning Point facility at 611 Belmont Ave. for Medicaid clients by Qol (Quality of Life) Meds. The company will rent 250 square feet and provide pharmacy services for Turning Point and the adjacent D & amp;E Counseling Services, both mental health board contract agencies.
alcorn@vindy.com