YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Mahoning County purchased Oak Hill Renaissance Center in 2006, and it is home to several agencies.
But some say the building is in bad shape, and county commissioners need to act now and move people to other buildings.
“I am hoping and praying that all of you do something about this. Now, we need a new building,” said Mahoning County Board of Elections Chair Dave Betras.
He said the Board needs to move out of Oak Hill and into a new home.
“We need a new facility, and we needed it as of yesterday,” Betras said.
That new home is the Patriot building in Austintown. The county has already purchased the old Infocision call center, but commissioners say they need more time to make a final decision about how to move forward.
“We do realize it is not a good environment for the Board of Elections. It’s not anything that we don’t know,” said Commissioner Carol Righetti.
In January, election workers showed WKBN where equipment was stored. Many items are kept on pallets or have tarps to protect them from possible water line breaks.
Thursday, Betras said the board needs safe and secure facilities.
“This is fraud, waste and abuse. This is our records room. These are important things that we must keep for the Secretary of State,” Betras said.
County commissioners say they’re working on a solution, and they held another meeting Thursday to go over all of the county’s buildings alongside members of the Port Authority.
“We didn’t want to do something haphazardly so we’ve been taking the time to do a thorough review of the buildings,” said County Administrator Audrey Tillis.
Tillis said Patriot is part of the plan, and they are looking at what departments can go there, and what might be left over. That includes one of the biggest agencies at Oak Hill: Job and Family Services.
“Oakhill is not the future for our community. We know that. We know that we have to look at how to invest in the future and for our kids and what building and government center they will have,” Tillis said.
There is no timeline as to when commissioners might make a decision.
Johnny Skoloda and Shianna Gibbons contributed to this report.
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