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Youngstown board finalizes agreement to relocate muni court to annex
YOUNGSTOWN
The last step to finalize an agreement to relocate the municipal court to the city hall annex came with the approval of a court settlement by the board of control.
The board voted 3-0 Thursday to enter into an agreement with the court to spend up to $7,750,000, including $7.1 million to improve the city hall annex at 9 W. Front St. and make it the city courthouse by late 2017.
“All the agreements are done, and now, we have to build it,” said Law Director Martin Hume, a board of control member.
The dispute over the court facilities goes back about 15 years. This agreement comes six years after the judges filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court over the court’s conditions on the second floor of city hall, 26 S. Phelps St., and demanded an improved facility. With this deal, the legal matter is resolved.
Finance Director David Bozanich, also a board of control member, said the hardest part of a new courthouse is done with the agreement.
Also, the board approved hiring Olsavsky Jaminet Architects of Youngstown for $595,000 to design the court facility. That work will be done by November.
The board also hired Paul J. Ricciutti, a Youngstown architect, for $49,500 to serve as project manager.
City council authorized the board to take these actions June 3.
The annex is in immediate need of a new roof, with that work expected to be done before fall, according to the agreement.
Proposals for the construction phase will be opened Jan. 31, 2016, with construction starting in March.
The deal calls for the court to provide 90 percent of the $3 million it collected in special-assessment fees for construction costs.
In addition to that percentage – $2.7 million – the court also would give 90 percent of what it receives from those fees annually on Jan. 31 from 2017 to 2036 to offset the costs.
Those payments in total will be about $2 million. The city would borrow the money for the new court over a 20-year period.
When the court leaves the second floor of city hall, various city agencies, including the community planning and economic development departments, would move there. Also, the police department would use portions of that floor.