February 26, 1999
Commissioners hire help in making plans for using county buildings
By David Crawford
Staff Writer
Long-range plans for county-owned buildings became clearer at the Seneca County Commissioners board session Thursday.
Commissioners approved a proposal from Poggemeyer Design Group of Bowling Green that would examine possibilities for renovating the County Home building on SR 100 and the Hansen-Brailey building on Market Street downtown.
Whether the Hansen-Brailey building -- which houses the Teen Center, Seneca County Public Defenders Office and the Seneca County Victim Assistance Program -- needs to be included in the review sparked a vigorous debate between commissioners Janet Dell and Jeff Wagner.
As for the other buildings, van Dijk Pace Westlake of Cleveland already has begun the planning process for the former AEP building at Market and South Washington streets.
In discussing the Poggemeyer proposal, Dell and Wagner disagreed on whether the Brailey building should be a part of the review.
After speaking with state historical building preservation officials in Columbus, Dell said the Brailey building must be a part of the review.
She said that since the building is in a historic district, there must be a review to provide the qualifiers that the building is not worth preserving, not structurally sound and has been modified enough that it will not qualify as a historical building.
If the county would use federal funds to demolish the building without the reviews, it would jeopardize the entire federal funding for the county, Dell said.
Wagner continued his unwillingness to spend money to review the building, because if the county is going to demolish it, then it is wasting its money.
He proposed the firm just write a letter to state that the building is not worth saving.
Dell reminded him that the $1,800 appropriated for the Brailey building is a spending maximum and that a letter would not be enough.
Also she suggested that Wagner speak with state and federal preservation officials directly to learn why a review is necessary.
Wagner said he did not need to speak with those officials.
Dell and Commissioner Ken Estep voted to approve the Poggemeyer contract, with Wagner opposing.
In developing a plan, the firms will assess the space, office and storage needs of the county agencies and determine how the existing buildings can accommodate those needs. They also will provide a timetable for completing renovations necessary for the new offices.
County Administrator Robert Anderson has asked each firm to complete the plans as soon as possible. Anderson said he told each firm that he would like the new offices to be open by the end of the year.
The commissioners have tentatively decided to place the health department, prosecutor, victim's assistance, indigent guardians and board of elections offices within the former Fifth Third Bank building.
On Feb. 18, officials from these departments toured the building with representatives from van Dijk Pace Westlake and Anderson to begin their planning process. They are scheduled to meet in two weeks to submit their ideas for using their allotted space to the design firm.
The commissioners might relocate the extension office, soil and water conservation, farm services bureau, dog warden and perhaps county recycling and litter prevention to the County Home building.