Officials dispute what Oakhill is costing Mahoning taxpayers

By Peter H. Milliken

The building is a sound investment for the county, a commissioner says.

YOUNGSTOWN — Oakhill Renaissance Place could be a $12.7 million money pit based on the expenditures to date and known future obligations, the Mahoning County auditor said.

“There is no budget for this project. There is no strategic plan. There is no business plan,” Michael V. Sciortino said. “It’s fly by the seat of your pants.”

But Anthony T. Traficanti, chairman of the county commissioners, and George J. Tablack, county administrator, say parts of Sciortino’s presentation are misleading or inaccurate. Tablack said Sciortino’s figures improperly mix construction and operating expenses.

“That schedule that Mr. Sciortino compiled is a disservice to the accounting profession,” said Tablack, a certified public accountant. “He is doing a disservice to the title of county auditor, and I ought to know because I did that job for 181‚Ñ2 years. It is shameful.”

The county has “a plan that already exists and evolves” at public meetings of the county building commission, Tablack said.

“There was a lot of due diligence that was put into acquiring this property,” Traficanti said.

Traficanti and Tablack said Oak- hill allows consolidation of county agencies with other related agencies, such as the city health department, into a convenient, accessible, county-owned, one-stop shop for the public with ample lighting, security and parking.

“We saved the morgue, and we saved the coroner’s office,” which were already at Oakhill when the county bought it, Traficanti said.

Sciortino made note of the $5 million the county borrowed for interior construction and demolition, of which he said $816,066 has already been spent. On top of that loan is $3.4 million in interest over its 20-year life, of which, he said, $363,139 has been paid so far.

Tablack, however, said the combined annual principal and interest payment on that loan is about $400,000. Because far less renovation than expected is being done for the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, that money will be stretched across other needs and renovations for future Oakhill occupants, Tablack said.

Since the county bought the former hospital in July 2006, it has spent $1,379,174 on utilities and $1,336,635 for maintenance and repairs there, Sciortino said.

The annual occupancy costs for JFS are about the same now as in JFS’ former rented quarters at Garland Plaza, Tablack said. The county paid about $1.3 million in combined rent, utility, security and maintenance payments at Garland Plaza.

“Mahoning County was responsible for every financial cost that was incurred on a property we don’t own,” Traficanti said of Garland Plaza, citing roof and mold problems at Garland.

Rounding out the expenses to date are $202,811 in legal fees and $454,530 in lawsuit settlement costs, Sciortino said. The settlement costs represent half of the county’s settlement of the Cafaro Co.’s breach-of-lease lawsuit concerning Garland Plaza. JFS moved from the Cafaro-owned Garland Plaza to Oakhill in July 2007.

Oakhill, 345 Oak Hill Ave., is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center. Sciortino opposed the county commissioners’ purchase of Oakhill for $75,000 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and declined to issue the check for it until a judge ordered him to do so in July 2007.

Sciortino’s figures show about $9.1 million in future obligations, including $4,183,933 remaining in the $5 million borrowed for renovations and $3,062,408 in interest on it, plus the other $454,530 owed to Cafaro.

Sciortino’s figures show $656,413 owed by Mahoning County in real estate taxes for the period before the county bought the building, including interest and penalties. The county awaits an Ohio Supreme Court decision on whether it has the authority to appeal that tax bill.

The county also owes $473,869 on a loan the Ohio Department of Development made to the Southside Community Development Corp., Oakhill’s former owner. SCDC went bankrupt and was liquidated. The ODOD loan is to be paid off in 2016.

Sciortino also listed as additional obligations $240,000 for partial roof replacement to be done this fall and $49,583 for chiller pipe repairs that were done this summer. These two expenditures were approved Monday by the county building commission. He also cited undetermined expenses for penthouse tower roof repairs and restroom reconstruction.

Rather than being listed as add-on items, the roof, chiller pipe and restroom items should be listed as part of the $5 million worth of renovations, Tablack and Traficanti said.

Sciortino said his only proposed solution to the problems he sees at Oakhill is to recruit more tenants there. He lists the county’s rental income to date at $1,836,083.

Tablack and Traficanti said their current task is to accommodate county offices, including the Veterans Service Commission, auto title department and board of elections, which will move from the South Side Annex to Oakhill, and that they are planning ahead for additional occupants.

milliken@vindy.com