Oakhill taxes prompt officials to ask Strickland for an opinion

By KATIE SEMINARA

The county prosecutor has said the treasurer could foreclose on the property because of the unpaid taxes.

AUSTINTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners will submit a letter to the governor about the taxes owed on Oakhill Renaissance Place.

The county is accountable for some $421,000 in real estate taxes. The Ohio Supreme Court has said the county is unable to appeal the taxes on the Oakhill complex.

Commissioners on Thursday passed a resolution to write Gov. Ted Strickland about the matter.

County Administrator George Tablack presented a September 2004 document to the board from the Department of Taxation that stated the property was nontaxable. This prompted Tablack to request the resolution to seek assistance from the governor concerning the county’s not being able to appeal the taxes.

Commissioners David Ludt and Anthony Traficanti both passed the resolution as the board met at the Austintown Township hall.

Commissioner John McNally IV, however, declined to support the resolution on the grounds that the Department of Taxation filed a subsequent opinion after the September 2004 document.

The Department of Taxation filed a statement that sections of the Oakhill complex were not tax exempt before the county purchased the property, said McNally, who believes the issue should take its course through the legal system before any actions are taken.

“The fact is, when the county decided to purchase the building, we all knew full well what we might be responsible for,” said McNally.

The county bought Oakhill for $75,000 after the building’s former owner, Southside Community Development Corp., filed for bankruptcy.

Forum Health Southside Medical Center used to occupy the Oakhill complex, but it is now home to the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, the coroner’s office and the city health department.

Other county agencies are scheduled to move into the complex at 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains has said that county Treasurer Lisa Antonini could foreclose on the property to force the county to pay the taxes.

“There seems to be a misconception when it comes to Oakhill,” said Traficanti, chairman of the commissioners. “No one talks about what Oakhill has brought to the community.”

Traficanti responded to the concerns of county residents at the meeting and said the Oakhill complex is a project that will take time to come full circle. But the county is saving money since buying the property, he said.

“I did what I thought was right for this community,” he said of supporting the Oakhill purchase.