Oakhill building deemed safe after quake

Staff Report

Youngstown

The Mahoning County official responsible for facility management said Oakhill Renaissance Place is structurally safe after Wednesday’s earthquake.

“We actually went over all the foundations in the [Oakhill] first floor,” Pete Triveri, county facilities director, said Friday. “Everything’s fine. I’m confident there’s nothing to worry about.”

Triveri went with Kurt Seidler from Seidler Engineering to inspect the county’s administrative building on Boardman Street and courthouse of Market Street, as well.

But at least one labor leader at Oakhill said the earthquake pointed to a problem larger than the building’s structure.

“We did not know what was going on, and there was no leadership in this building, so we left the building because we thought it was falling down,” said Helen Youngblood, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2001.

At the time of the earthquake, acting director of Mahoning County Job and Family Services, Judee Genetin, was out of town at a meeting.

“We don’t know from day to day who’s in charge of this building,” Youngblood said.

After hearing reports there was an earthquake, Youngblood called another labor representative.

“And then we ended up calling [county Administrator] George Tablack to find out what was going on here. He was the one who told everyone to go ahead and leave,” she said.

Tablack was in Akron during the earthquake.