Commissioners approve architect service to look into new administration building

Barry Fortune
·2 min read

Ashland County Commissioners James Justice and Mike Welch accepted a proposal from VSWC Architects for $35,000 for architectural services for a new administration building to be erected on Church Street.

“We have an issue with the court building itself being able to accommodate the court and auditor, treasurer, recorder and all that,” Justice said at Thursday's meeting. “We were going to move all our administrative offices and keep it a courthouse, but it is hard to make a single entrance into that building and make it secure like I’d like to.”

He said whether the building is a courthouse or administrative building he does not know yet.

“Either way, I think we can make some accommodations,” he added. “There will be more room.”

He went on to say the board purchased a property on Church Street, and it already owns much of the parking lot with Job and Family Services next door.

The size of the building has not been determined, nor has a timeline. Those numbers will be impacted by the architectural report.

“It is still up in the air,” Welch said. “At one time it was 15,000 square feet, but we are looking at all options. It is just exploratory right now. We are one of the only courtrooms in the state of Ohio that has ancillary offices in the courthouse.”

“We have an issue with the court building itself being able to accommodate the court and auditor, treasurer, recorder and all that,” Commissioner Jim Justice said. The county is looking into building a new administration building.
“We have an issue with the court building itself being able to accommodate the court and auditor, treasurer, recorder and all that,” Commissioner Jim Justice said. The county is looking into building a new administration building.

Commissioner Denny Bittle was absent from the meeting.

Other action the commissioners:

  • Andrew Bush, assistant law director, briefed commissioners on the annexation of Montgomery Township to the City of Ashland.

  • Four bids for the 2024 pavement marking program were opened with a $335,000 estimate for the project.

  • One bid for the bridge replacement project was opened with a $980,000 estimated cost.

  • Five bids for the 2024 asphalt concrete paving program were opened with a $1.92 million estimate.

  • Accepted a proposal from VSWC Architects for $27,000 for services for the fairgrounds grandstand repair project.

  • Authorized an advertisement for the first meeting of the Dog Shelter Advisory Committee to be held April 1.

Commissioners will meet 9 a.m. Thursday in the Commissioner’s Conference Room on the second floor of the County Office Building. The meetings are open to the public and livestreamed on the Ashland County Government Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland commissioners begin planning for new administration building