County makes plans for building

LISBON - Preparation for eventual construction of a new county office building at the site of the former Columbiana County Job and Family Services building is expected to begin sometime in 2015.

County commissioners took the first step this week by transferring $2 million in unappropriated funding to a newly created construction account, with the money to be used for, among other things, the new office building project.

The former JFS building on Nelson Avenue was demolished in 2013 after the JFS moved to the new county government services facility located north of downtown Lisbon. At the time, commissioners said they were contemplating constructing a new office building on the site that would serve as the new home for the county development department. They would also like to move the county Port Authority into the building to consolidate the county's economic development agencies under one roof.

After the meeting, Commissioner Chairman Jim Hoppel said they are considering using some of the $2 million that had been transferred to hire an architect to begin design work on the new building.

"We're just planning ahead a bit ... We're looking toward seeing what we can do," he said.

Hoppel and commissioners believe the development department needs a new, larger home to meet with business officials interested in expanding or moving to the county. It is currently located in a cramped and dilapidated building at the end of South Beaver Street.

"We need to get (Tad) a better place" to meet with potential business clientele, he said.

Hoppel was referring to Tad Herold, the development department director hired in September 2013. The department had been without a director for the previous 10 years when commissioners decided to revitalize the office by hiring Herold.

Hoppel said commissioners are looking at constructing a one-story building with a basement that would be large enough to house several other county offices. Commissioners pay rent for those county offices located in non-government buildings, and moving some of them to the new facility would save money that could be used to pay for construction.

In other business, commissioners renewed an agreement with Frontier Communications for continued maintenance of the equipment it provides for the county's 911 system. The one-year contract is for $38,812.

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County makes plans for building