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LAKE COUNTY – The Board of Commissioners approved plans, specifications and estimates of cost, and advertising for bids for the new Lake County Department Buildings and Grounds Facility Project at its April 6 meeting.

The anticipated cost is $2.45 million. Bid opening will be May 10.
“This is basically commencing a project to replace our Buildings and Grounds facility, which will also house our Telecommunications Department,” Commissioner Dan Troy said. “The existing facility has been there for a while. To be charitable it’s been challenging at best.”
The new facility will be constructed northeast of the Lake County Juvenile Detention Facility, on Jackson Street where four properties purchased by the county were demolished. (Upon purchase they had been transferred to the Lake County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank) which then used its funds to pay for the demolition. The property was deeded back to the county.)
Administrator Jason Boyd noted the departments will still remain separate although housed in the same building.
“Right now, some of our telecom guys are somewhat nomadic; they don’t have a home, they kind of report out of their trucks and various offices throughout the county,” he said.
The construction of the new facility is part of the county’s plan to centralize county offices in Painesville, which includes demolition of the former Painesville Area Senior Citizens Center building on the square, construction of an addition to the County Administration Building and other renovations.
In response to a question from the audience Boyd said the contract for the overall project will be locked in at a maximum price.
RESOLUTIONS
PASSED APRIL 6:
ENGINEER’S
DEPARTMENT
• Awarding a bid contract to Osborne Concrete & Stone Co. for roadway materials – 2017 as required by the Lake County Engineer in the amount of $72,605 (limestone) and $73,800 (plant mix pavements).
UTILITIES
DEPARTMENT
• Approving plans, specifications and estimates of cost in the amount of $35,843.50 for Concord-Hambden Road Sanitary Sewer Extension, Job No. 17-03, in Concord Township.
• Increasing appropriations and transferring cash for Forest Road Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project 375-S.
COMMISSIONERS'
OFFICE
• Appointing Lake County Commissioner Jerry C. Cirino to serve on the Ohio Public Works Commission District 7 Integrating Committee and designating an alternate (Anthony F. Bertone) to serve on his behalf to complete the remainder of a term expiring May 22, 2018.
• Enacting, adopting, and providing for maintaining a 5 percent county-wide excise tax on all transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests for the purposes of contributing 2 percent of that tax to the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic
Development Authority for lakeshore improvement projects.
(See full story “Commissioners approve bed tax increase for lakefront improvements.”)
• Amending the rules and regulations governing the imposition, collection, and distribution of the Lake County excise tax on hotel lodging fees.
• Expanding the Board of Directors of the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority to nine members and welcoming the city of Mentor to the Port Authority.
• Authorizing the Lake County Sheriff to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Watercraft to obtain matching funds in the amount of $29,379.75 for marine patrol for the year 2017.
FINANCE
DEPARTMENT
• Approving payment of bills as listed on the commissioners' approval journal in the amount of $1,848,998.63.
• Approving purchase orders as listed on the commissioners' purchase order approval journal in the amount of $1,100,392.
• Increasing appropriations for various non-general fund accounts.
• Transferring cash and appropriations within various general and non-general fund accounts.
PUBLIC COMMENT
• Joseph Spiccia, superintendent of Wickliffe City School District, along with Julie Ramos, director of strategic innovation, asked the commissioners for support of a new effort.
He said they were there on behalf of the 14 public school districts in Lake and Geauga counties, the Alliance for Working Together (AWT), the Manufacturing Advocacy Growth Network, Auburn Career Center and Lakeland Community College.
“We’re asking the commissioners for support of the Manufacturing / K-12 Partnership,” Spiccia said.
• John Muzic of Painesville Township, noting the average age of the county was increasing and more people were on fixed incomes, said he did not believe governments and agencies were making the best use of the public’s tax monies, and even wasting it.
“I’m asking the three of you to try to do more with less,” he said.
Commissioner John Hamercheck said they did have a meeting scheduled with Lake County Job and Family Services to discuss how to make things more effective and efficient. He added they hope to make improvements which could be copied by other counties.
Troy said the Ohio State Auditor’s Office recently scored Lake County’s fiscal health with 17 of 17 points.
“You don’t get those for (spending) foolishly,” he said.
Troy added that the county is mandated to provide certain services by the state so in many cases they had no way to cut spending, so it was difficult to do more with less.
The state had also seriously decreased the amount of funding to counties and communities such as with the Local Government Funds and indigent defense.
“On many issues we don’t have a choice … and that’s another reason why we want to focus so much on economic development and growing the economy,” Cirino said.
Hamercheck said, in their budget discussions and meeting with department heads, it was clear everyone was committed to making efforts to improve county operations.
MEETINGS
Meetings are held in the Commissioners' Chambers of the Lake County Administration Building, 105 Main St., Painesville. All meetings are open to the public. Requests to address the government board may be made at any board meeting or presented to the Commissioners' Office by calling (440) 350-2753.
There was a meeting April 13. The next regular meeting will be Thursday, April 20 at 10 a.m.