New committee to evaluate county facilities
Group aims to develop long-term plan for county buildings
Bill Hutson
MEDINA – A new committee to evaluate the facilities managed by Medina County government was scheduled to convene for the first time June 27.
Organized by County Commissioner Bill Hutson and comprised of key government and civic leaders, the committee is tasked with evaluating all the facilities housing county offices and developing a strategic long-term plan for their future maintenance and use.
“I want to determine what makes the most sense for the facilities we manage,” Hutson said. “Should some of them be renovated, rebuilt or sold?”
Maintaining 14 buildings has posed a serious challenge for county government, which has struggled to come up with the money needed to do the job in recent years.
Last year, county commissioners authorized borrowing $1.8 million to perform some critical and overdue repairs to the deteriorating exteriors on a few county buildings. Significant budget cuts several years ago have prevented county officials from performing only the most critical building repairs each year.
The result has been that some county buildings are showing their age.
“We’ve been doing some repairs, but our buildings are not in good shape,” Hutson said. “Look at the County Administration Building. The exterior stairs on the north and south sides of the building are crumbling and you can pull out the mortar between bricks with your finger.”
County commissioners have also been postponing a major expansion and renovation at the courthouse because of budget concerns. In the meantime, the Adult Probation Department in the old courthouse basement is badly overcrowded in antiquated offices and has been promised better facilities.
Commissioners appear closer to making a decision on new facilities for the Adult Probation Department, but Hutson wants to take a comprehensive look at all the county’s facilities needs instead of addressing them in a piecemeal fashion as they arise.
“We should be asking if a facility meets current and future needs then determine what can be done to make it functional and utilize the available space efficiently,” Hutson said.
The committee members who have volunteered to help Hutson with that task are County Recorder Colleen Swedyk, Juvenile/Probate Judge Kevin Dunn, Treasurer John Burke, Auditor Mike Kovack, Sheriff Tom Miller, Maintenance Supervisor Tom Maupin, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell, Planning Director Rob Henwood, County Administrator Scott Miller and Medina real estate developer Jim Gerspacher.
Determining the scope of the challenge and the means to pay for some big-ticket projects on the horizon probably won’t be done in time for commissioners to decide about raising the county sales tax. That’s something commissioners have been talking about doing this year and a decision on the matter is due within a month if it is to be placed before voters in the November election.
“We probably won’t have time to define our exact funding needs by the time a decision is made about the sales tax but we will be able to demonstrate some of the capital improvement needs we have,” Hutson said.
Organized by County Commissioner Bill Hutson and comprised of key government and civic leaders, the committee is tasked with evaluating all the facilities housing county offices and developing a strategic long-term plan for their future maintenance and use.
“I want to determine what makes the most sense for the facilities we manage,” Hutson said. “Should some of them be renovated, rebuilt or sold?”
Maintaining 14 buildings has posed a serious challenge for county government, which has struggled to come up with the money needed to do the job in recent years.
Last year, county commissioners authorized borrowing $1.8 million to perform some critical and overdue repairs to the deteriorating exteriors on a few county buildings. Significant budget cuts several years ago have prevented county officials from performing only the most critical building repairs each year.
The result has been that some county buildings are showing their age.
“We’ve been doing some repairs, but our buildings are not in good shape,” Hutson said. “Look at the County Administration Building. The exterior stairs on the north and south sides of the building are crumbling and you can pull out the mortar between bricks with your finger.”
County commissioners have also been postponing a major expansion and renovation at the courthouse because of budget concerns. In the meantime, the Adult Probation Department in the old courthouse basement is badly overcrowded in antiquated offices and has been promised better facilities.
Commissioners appear closer to making a decision on new facilities for the Adult Probation Department, but Hutson wants to take a comprehensive look at all the county’s facilities needs instead of addressing them in a piecemeal fashion as they arise.
“We should be asking if a facility meets current and future needs then determine what can be done to make it functional and utilize the available space efficiently,” Hutson said.
The committee members who have volunteered to help Hutson with that task are County Recorder Colleen Swedyk, Juvenile/Probate Judge Kevin Dunn, Treasurer John Burke, Auditor Mike Kovack, Sheriff Tom Miller, Maintenance Supervisor Tom Maupin, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell, Planning Director Rob Henwood, County Administrator Scott Miller and Medina real estate developer Jim Gerspacher.
Determining the scope of the challenge and the means to pay for some big-ticket projects on the horizon probably won’t be done in time for commissioners to decide about raising the county sales tax. That’s something commissioners have been talking about doing this year and a decision on the matter is due within a month if it is to be placed before voters in the November election.
“We probably won’t have time to define our exact funding needs by the time a decision is made about the sales tax but we will be able to demonstrate some of the capital improvement needs we have,” Hutson said.