County seeks independent estimates for mall revamp

The Hancock County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to get additional estimates for the cost to renovate part of Findlay Village Mall if they purchase it. The commissioners in June approved a formal agreement to buy part of the mall, to house county offices, for $3.7 million. The agreement stipulated that the mall space had to pass an evaluation. As part of the evaluation, the commissioners want to ensure renovation costs would be in line with what the county can afford. The commissioners are planning to move the Hancock County Juvenile/Probate Court and possibly other county government offices into the mall space. Among them: the board of elections, veterans service office, and offices for the public defender, auditor, treasurer and recorder. The commissioners already have renovation cost estimates from their architect, Garmann Miller, of Minster. But they would like to compare those estimates with numbers from more independent sources. They voted Tuesday to obtain estimates from BW Construction, of Indianapolis, for $8,200; and Lee & Associates, of Cincinnati, for up to $5,150. "These are contractors outside our immediate area, so they are not really someone that would be bidding on this work," Commissioner Timothy Bechtol said. "This is in comparison to the architect's initial estimates. We want to see how they compare with real-world numbers provided by these companies. "We're just to that point where it would be so beneficial to hear from contractors, what is this, what are we really getting into here, costs to do interior renovations as opposed to a new build outside." A key motivator for the county's interest in the mall property is Juvenile/Probate Court Judge Kristen Johnson's court action against the commissioners. In August 2020, Johnson asked Ohio's 3rd District Court of Appeals, in Lima, to order the commissioners to provide a suitable space for the Juvenile/Probate Court by January 2022. The commissioners approved a resolution in May agreeing with Johnson that the current court space, at 308 Dorney Plaza, is unsuitable and renovation cannot make it so. Johnson has proposed dropping her court action against the commissioners if by Oct. 15: • A seven-member court facilities panel approves construction of a new building or renovation of an existing building for the Juvenile/Probate Court. The court facilities panel includes commissioners Bechtol, William Bateson and Michael Pepple; Judge Johnson; Hancock County Sheriff Michael Heldman; Hancock County Common Pleas Court Judge Reginald Routson; and Hancock County Clerk of Courts Cathy Prosser Wilcox. • The commissioners contract with someone to substantially complete the construction or renovation by year-end 2022. Bechtol plans to have the additional renovation cost estimates in time to share with the seven-member court facilities panel next week. Wilin: 419-427-8413