Deal OKs only portion of repairs

The county can pay for computer wiring at Oakhill.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners can't spend public money to renovate the portion of Oakhill Renaissance Place planned for the new permanent location of the Job and Family Services Department, but they're able to pay for the temporary relocation of the offices.
That's part of an agreement reached last week, and filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, in the lawsuit filed by Ohio Valley Mall Company against Mahoning County commissioners.
OVM, a division of the Cafaro Co., is the landlord for the county's Department of Job and Family Services in the Garland Plaza, North Garland Avenue, on the city's East Side.
The county commissioners bought Oakhill -- the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center -- for 75,000 last summer in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and plan to move JFS to temporary quarters at Oakhill next month, using the former hospital rooms in as-is condition until renovations can be made to permanent quarters within the building
The temporary move was precipitated by complaints from JFS employees of respiratory problems because of mold at the Garland location.
After spending about 4.8 million to renovate the former hospital space at Oakhill, the county wants to move JFS from temporary to permanent quarters within the Oakhill building.
How deal was reached
The agreement reached last week came out of two telephone conference calls among counsel for both parties and Visiting Judge Richard Markus.
"Under the revised case management order, the county has agreed not to spend [public] money on demolition," permanent improvements or renovation to the portion of Oakhill planned for the permanent relocation of JFS, said Linette Stratford, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor.
The county will wait until the resolution of the case.
The agreement allows the county to pay for the temporary relocation of JFS offices to Oakhill, though, Stratford said. Those expenditures may include relocation costs, computer wiring and other expenses at the Oakhill building.
The architect for the project, Olsavsky-Jaminet of Youngstown, can proceed with drawings for the renovation work on the building, she said. Under the agreement, the county is permitted to spend money to pay for the architectural drawings.
Also as part of the agreement, OVM withdrew a motion that effectively sought to prevent the county from spending money on permanent renovations to the Oakhill JFS space.
Atty. Tom Anastos of Cleveland, who represents OVM, said the company withdrew the motion because the county agreed to what the company was asking for.
"We also agreed to an accelerated calendar, moving the trial date from mid-October to the end of July," Anastos said. The trial is set for July 23.