Meacham: Oakhill tenants cover most of the operating costs

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County still owes $11,425,000 of the $15,295,000 it borrowed to renovate Oakhill Renaissance Place, plus $3,062,760 in interest on the remaining debt, but that is not an insurmountable burden for the county, said Ralph T. Meacham, county auditor.

“I don’t think it’s a burden that the county cannot maintain, and, if it was, the (bond) rating agencies certainly would let us know,” he said in a news conference this morning in which he released Oakhill financial information.

“We have debt capacity of $70 million. We could borrow another $70 million, if we wanted to,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t encourage the county to borrow that much.

“The county is fiscally solid right now,” Meacham said.

From an operating standpoint, rents paid by Oakhill tenants cover most of the operating costs of the former hospital turned into a government office complex.

The county collected $1,405,891 in rents last year from Oakhill tenants, and spent $1,591,031 to operate the complex, including utilities, and security and maintenance costs, for an operating shortfall of only $185,140.

The county acquired Oakhill in 2006 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.