E. Palestine mayor directed to pursue options for offices

By Virginia Ross

The Taggart building is too big and too costly to heat and cool, city officials said.

EAST PALESTINE — Council has instructed city Manager Gary Clark to pursue options for relocating the administration offices housed in the Captain Taggart building.

At a recent meeting, officials asked Clark to continue looking for a buyer for the building at 82 Garfield Ave., which serves as city hall, but to also seek out sites that could be feasible for the city’s municipal offices.

Clark said one option would be for the city to build two additions at the Clark Street Fire Station. One space would be used to store the city’s firetrucks, bringing them all under one roof, and the other would be structured for city offices.

Officials also discussed looking at other city-owned properties as possible sites, or buying additional land with a building or a plot where a new city hall could be built.

“Our original plan was to sell the Taggart building and then relocate,” Clark said. “I don’t think that will work now. We haven’t been able to sell the building, but it’s costing us more and more money each year. I think we need to look seriously at the land we have now, focus on relocating while keeping the Taggart building on the market.”

Officials have said the Captain Taggart building is too big and that the utility costs are too expensive for the city, which has been trying to sell the structure for several years.

Four full-time employees and three part-time city employees work in the building, which also serves as a meeting place for council.

The building also houses offices for Social Concern and Meals on Wheels agencies.