Article published August 05, 2009
Seneca County diverts $687,000 in courthouse funds
By JENNIFER FEEHAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
TIFFIN - More than $687,000 set aside to tear down and replace Seneca County's 1884 courthouse was diverted to the county's general fund yesterday to cover expenses in the sheriff's office and department of job and family services.
"We can't operate without putting those funds back into the general fund because we need almost $400,000 for job and family services and we need $240,000 for the sheriff's department for additional expenses incurred from housing inmates," Board President Ben Nutter said. "It wasn't as much as a decision based on relevance to the courthouse as it was to relevance to conducting other business in the county."
All three commissioners said closing out the courthouse construction fund was necessitated by the drop in revenue the county is experiencing this year. Overall revenue is down more than 14 percent, and the county's main source of income - sales tax revenue - is down 10 percent.
Although a final decision has not been made about the courthouse, commissioners are moving further from their original decision to demolish and replace the landmark. They are studying a proposal by the Seneca County Courthouse and Downtown Redevelopment Group to renovate the building at a cost of just under $8 million.
Included in the financing plan for the renovation is a $500,000 contribution from the county. Commissioner Dave Sauber said if the county can save money to put toward the courthouse, it will.
"Right now it's just a matter of survival," he said.Mr. Nutter said the board's goal is to end the year with a $500,000 carryover to start 2010, "which would leave the possibility of reappropriating money" to the courthouse fund.
Also yesterday, commissioners met with Jim Harkin of MKC Associates, the Mansfield, Ohio, architectural firm hired by the county to design a new courthouse, to discuss reviewing the development group's proposal.
Mr. Harkin said the firm could review the space and cost proposal for commissioners at a cost of $200 an hour. He said the work could be done in eight hours for a maximum cost of $1,600.
Commissioner Mike Bridinger, who supports preserving and restoring the courthouse, said he did not see the need for the review because he is comfortable with the expertise of the development group.
Mr. Sauber and Mr. Nutter said they would like to get a second opinion, although Mr. Sauber said he did not like the idea of spending $1,600 to do so. He suggested commissioners wait until next week to make a decision.
"Previously we made a commitment that we weren't going to spend another dime out of the county's revenue to do anything else [on the courthouse] and to this point we've honored that," Mr. Sauber said.
The courthouse development group so far has worked at no cost to the county, although it has asked commissioners to agree to reimburse it up to $250,000 if they decide to go with the renovation plan and it costs less than removing and replacing the building.
Mr. Nutter said he would feel better hearing another professional confirm the group's numbers and make sure nothing was left out.
"When we're talking about an $8 million project I don't think it's ridiculous to consider spending $1,600 maximum to get a professional opinion on the validity of the proposal," Mr. Nutter said.
Jim Seney, a member of the development group, encouraged commissioners to get other opinions.
"There's no question this is a controversial project and a public project and therefore if you can have a second professional opinion you have better information and the public level of confidence also would be increased," Mr. Seney said. "We don't have any question that our program will stand up to whatever scrutiny you want to give it."
Also yesterday, State Rep. Jeff Wagner (R., Sycamore) told commissioners he planned to run for the county commissioner seat currently held by Mr. Bridinger in 2010 when term limits will prevent him from seeking re-election in Columbus.
"I'm not kicking off my campaign here. I just wanted to make sure you heard it from me first," he said.
Mr. Bridinger, also a Republican, would not say whether he intends to run for re-election.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at:
jfeehan@theblade.com
or 419-724-6129.
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