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Work on Ohio 7th District Court of Appeals Begins Soon
"By Dennis LaRue YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Once Mahoning County commissioners certify the funds are available to build the courthouse for the Ohio 7th District Court of Appeals, Welty Building Co. can begin work, Jason Whitehead said Tuesday.Whitehead, executive director of Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., told the CIC property committee that Welty, based in Akron, is eager to begin construction of the two-story structure on West Federal Street that will cost just over $3.4 million.Welty, in conjuction with the Youngstown firm of Ricciuti, Balog & Partners, Architects, was awarded the project last month. The new courthouse is scheduled to open Jan. 1, 2006.Welty officials have met twice, the second time last week, with William Carter about using minority subcontractors in building the courthouse to ensure the CIC's concerns about minority business enterprise issues are resolved early on, Whitehead reported. Carter, a member of the CIC board, oversees the city's affirmative action program, which includes its minority business enterprise initiatives.The property committee will recommend that the CIC board authorize spending no more than $25,000 on three consulting engineering contracts to ensure the structural, machanical and electrical engineering work is done properly. Such consultants were hired for the four-story office building that will house the Mahoning County Children Services Board, "to be completed on time," Whitehead told the property committee.The CIC board is scheduled to meet Jan. 25. Whitehead informed the property committee that the CIC staff will soon move its offices from the Voinovich Center, most likely to the Phar-More Centre, and sought the committee's approval and guidelines on how much rent to pay. Demands from state agencies for more space in Voinovich compel the CIC to seek other offices, he said.While the CIC hopes to rent space for $4 to $5 a square foot on the mezzanine of the Phar-Mor Centre, Whitehead was authorized to spend up to $8 per foot, no more than $1,800 a month for rent.The property committee also approved that Ohio One Corp., which it contracted to manage the Voinovich Center, award a contract to Bochert Brothers, Boardman, to paint the offices there for $31,832. Under its leases with the state of Ohio, the CIC agreed repaint the offices once every three years and replace the carpets once every six.Ohio One solicited bids, getting three, $38,953, $37,870 and Bochert Brothers at $27,680. Ohio One receives the difference for its administrative ovehead. Contact Dennis LaRue at [email protected]"