Government offices to leave downtown

The move will mean 160 workers will be out of the village’s shopping and eating area.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Columbiana County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to enter into an option to buy land for a new facility north of the downtown area on Dickey Drive.

The action came despite Gov. Ted Strickland’s wanting to keep government offices downtown. Strickland represented Lisbon when he was a U.S. representative.

Also, two architects have said the county can renovate the county’s Department of Jobs & Family Services, 110 N. Nelson Ave., and the board of elections, 41 N. Park Ave., for about half the cost of new construction.

The commissioners entered into an option to buy the 4.6 acres from businessmen Tim and David Dickey.

The county will pay “a couple of thousand dollars” for the option for six months, according to Commissioner Jim Hoppel.

Buying the property would cost about $290,000.

The project would cost about $8 million. The county has about $1.2 million in grants and other funds and would pay for part of the work with rent paid by DJ&FS.

Commissioner Jim Hoppel said that the county hoped to get grants to pay for the rest.

“We need $2 million to $3 million in grants to make it work,” Hoppel said.

But the move will mean 160 of the department’s workers will be out of the village’s shopping and eating area.

Commissioner Dan Bing said the construction was in keeping with government’s best practices.

Architect Robert A. Mastriana of The 4M Company of Boardman earlier had said renovating the two buildings instead of building a new one could be done for $3 million to $3.5 million.

He’s been working with Architect Norma J. Stefanik of Youngstown State University’s Center for Urban and Regional Studies.

Mastriana’s firm designed the courthouse renovations that are almost completed. The county is paying for that work with court fees and low-cost loans.

Hoppel said that keeping the DJ&FS building in the downtown area would require demolition of some properties near the courthouse. It would also require moving DJ&FS workers in and out of parts of the building during the renovation, he added.

The news came as a surprise to Billie Kren, the head of the Lisbon Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I don’t understand it,” she said.

The chamber has been promoting a number of programs and events but recently eliminated its executive director’s position because of tight finances.

Strickland’s office did not return a call for information.

Stevie Halverstadt of Lisbon is restoring the oldest brick building in Ohio in Lisbon, with her sister, Renee Lewis of New York City, with no public expense. Halverstadt said a bill to focus on downtown projects is awaiting Strickland’s signature.

“Everyone is experiencing an economic crunch,” she said. “All they [the commissioners] are going to do is make it crunchier.”

wilkinson@vindy.com