Court plans move from Boardman Plaza

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Mahoning County Area Court No. 2 will be moving from Boardman Plaza to 8110 Market St., effective April 9, court officials announced.

The last court session at Boardman Plaza, where the county is on a month-to-month lease, will be April 5.

Because of the move, there will be no Boardman court session April 10.

The first sessions in the Market Street location will be at 1 and 5:30 p.m. April 12, with Judge Joseph M. Houser presiding.

Beginning the week of April 16, Boardman court sessions will return to their regular 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and 5:30 p.m. Thursday schedule, according to a memorandum from Colleen A. Ingram, court administrator. The court’s phone numbers will remain unchanged.

In October, the Mahoning County commissioners unanimously approved a 10-year lease with Westgate Properties for the new court quarters at a cost of $1.5 million over the life of the lease, with renovation costs included in the lease price.

The court will be moving into a one-story building that formerly housed an eye doctor’s office. The new location is in a commercially zoned district.

Because the court will be the only occupant of the Market Street building, security and parking will be enhanced, said John A. McNally IV, chairman of the commissioners.

The new location also will be closer to Beaver Township, which also is served by the court, McNally added.

The lease will be paid for by the county’s general fund and by fines and costs imposed by the court. The lease includes a no-cost escape clause should the county’s lower courts be consolidated.

The general fund is the county’s main operating fund.