Commissioners review renovation plans for county buildings

Highland County commissioners Brad Roades, Terry Britton and David Daniels discussed planned renovations to a number of county buildings during most of their Wednesday, Sept. 17 meeting.

Cierra Moore of the county’s maintenance department, along with Highland County Sheriff Randy Sanders and 911 Coordinator Scott Miller, discussed upcoming work at the jail and some logistical issues.

As previously announced by the Ohio Governor’s Office, Highland County will receive $379,504 through the Ohio Jail Safety and Security Grant Program “to renovate restrooms and make security enhancements at the Highland County Justice Center. The award represents approximately 80 percent of the total project cost.”

Sanders said that the project will also include “taking the tile up” and converting the floors to concrete, as well as replacing locks and the screens in “the upper platforms to keep anybody from going over.”

Quotes for work at the jail at the Highland County Justice Center using grant funding, including from Washington Lock Service ($9,450 & $36,421.65), Craftmaster Hardware ($46,950) and Spectra Contract Flooring ($94,900) were approved Aug. 27.

Moore explained Wednesday that the flooring project will be more involved than previously anticipated, as items “bolted to the floor” — including the “racks that the inmates sleep on, tables and chairs” — will have to be removed for the contractors and reinstalled after the flooring is complete. Moore said that the removal/reinstallation of the items is not covered by the flooring company, and during the meeting, commission clerk Mary Remsing contacted the company and verified that it could not be added to the quote.

“I have a rough number of how many items we have,” Moore said. “It's almost 60 between the racks, tables and seats, but the picture that I've shown, those will have to be grinded down or cut in some manner, and then, once the flooring is complete and we're passed that, all that'll have to be reinstalled, so it'll have to be redrilled.”

Daniels said it sounds as though “we’ve got no choice” but to do the work, while Britton said several times that ensuring “we install them correctly” when putting items back is of extreme importance. Moore also pointed out that if the county maintenance department has to do the work, they will have to purchase a different drill.    

In the event the county has to perform all the work, Moore said she would check with the state to make sure they meet “the specifications for the bolts and fasteners” as requested by Britton. However, Daniels also suggested that they look into whether any local companies can assist.

Along with adding more work to the project, Sanders said it will likely mean that all inmates will have to be transported out of the building for a longer period of time, instead of moving a certain percentage of them in and out as the work progresses.

Additional quotes for the jail upgrades were also approved Wednesday, including one from Cornele Plumbing “for removal and installation of the plumbing” in the amount of $74,500, and one from Hedges Supply in the amount of $42,541.40 “for the plumbing equipment.”

“I’m always glad to see stuff staying at home,” Roades said, as both companies are local. 

In an unrelated motion, commissioners authorized the commission president to execute a requested managed services proposal with Airespring for the Sheriff’s Office, which was explained by Miller as it deals with the county’s 911 upgrade. The cost is $121 per month, according to Miller. 

“They discovered that we only had one phone line that's ingoing/outgoing to our 911 system, which is text messages coming in, and then us transferring calls out, us calling back 911 hangup, us sending a text message query location, which is going to busy things out,” Miller said. “It’s also the same phone line that the CAD system uses to send the fire departments their text messages, their CAD sheets for their times.

“They requested a SIP [Session Initiation Protocol] trunk line, which is going to eliminate that, and nothing will be busy.”

For a second building’s renovation, Ashleigh Willey discussed options for repairing or replacing the mini split air conditioning unit in the IT room of the administration building. Willey said the unit “has been down for about three weeks now,” and their options include paying Weller’s approximately $950 to repair or $3,300 to replace the unit. 

According to Willey, Weller’s recommended that “it may be time to actually upgrade” but also said that commissioners had been considering “moving that IT room over to the next room” as part of their ongoing administration building renovation project.

“You guys just need to decide if you want to fix it right now to get it up and running, or if you want to wait,” Willey said. “We are able to keep it regulated enough with the doors open. With the renovations coming, it is working fine to keep it regulated enough without it at the moment.”

Daniels said he was in favor of upgrading the system but is “OK with waiting” and doing it as part of the construction to that floor of the building. Commissioners voted 3-0 to make an approval to that effect.

Also discussed, but not approved, was a change order for the administration building’s first-floor renovations. Willey told commissioners that at the officeholders’ request, they obtained quotes for the casework on the front counters. 

“The first option is for them to do a laminate face on the front of those cabinets with a full solid surface top,” Willey said. “They have to extend the countertop a little bit, so that would be bringing the casework up, and then the new countertop going all the way across. That total is $114,506.

“The second option they gave us was to do the same exact work, but just to do a partial solid surface top. Those offices have those partitions that kind of go up there on the countertops. It would bring the new countertop over to meet where that partition is, so it'd be a partial, not the full countertop. That amount is $100,503.”

Willey added that they also have a $12,599 for additional electric work that was omitted from the original plans.

Daniels said he did not want to take action on the change order until he sees “a further breakdown of those costs.”

For a third building project, commissioners voted 3-0 to execute a notice of award to Stockmeister Enterprises, Inc. for work on the Hi-TEC building’s damaged roof in the amount of $125,750.

Additionally, a bid opening was held at 11:30 a.m. to open bids for the new truck barn for the Engineer’s Office. According to Willey, commissioners intend to award the project at their Sept. 24 meeting.

In other discussion:

• Chris Mastrianni of ABM Industries presented a proposal for possible utility solutions in county buildings in one of two energy-related presentations Wednesday.

According to their website, “ABM provides leading facility, engineering, and infrastructure solutions that drive possibility across a diverse set of industries. Our inclusive workforce works together to help everyone advance in a healthier, more sustainable, ever-changing world. Under our care, systems perform, businesses prosper, and occupants thrive.”

Mastrianni said that their services are “similar” to a building audit performed by Plug Smart nearly a decade ago.

“We utilize performance contracts to ultimately try and upgrade your infrastructure with utilizing energy savings and operations and maintenance savings,” Mastrianni said. “We’re working with Pike County and Lawrence County right now. We've worked with a phase one project with them, and because they saved so much money, we're already working on a phase two project with them as well. 

“What we try and focus on is your actual buildings, the infrastructure, and utilizing that as leverage to create a budget neutral project for the county to help as far as infrastructure goes.”

Mastrianni said that if the county is interested in getting an overview of their buildings, ABM would “come out and do an assessment of all your facilities and put together a PowerPoint where I'd come back in a meeting like this and show you if there's opportunity to have a budget neutral project.” The assessment would involve reviewing bills for all of the county’s utilities and walking through their buildings, he said, and then they would list “a plan to move forward.

“Honestly, half the time it's there's opportunity there [for savings], and half the time there's not,” Mastrianni said. “You have a pretty decent amount of facilities, so I would assume, with how good my development team is, I'm pretty sure we could find stuff to help you with.”  

Daniels said that “there might be some value” in looking into the proposal, especially for the county courthouse before its renovation process begins. He said he would like to “take a look at what” the county did with their previous assessment by Plug Smart before making a decision.

In a later session Wednesday morning, commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an electric service agreement with Dynegy Energy Services East LLC. 

According to Willey, “The Engineer’s Office had two meters that were not a part of the group contract that we will be enrolling. Their contract has ended, so we are doing a short 7 month contract in order to catch them up and get them on our contract when we sign over to Palmer Energy (Dynegy is the supplier) with CCAO in May.” 

• Commissioners reminded the community of the upcoming America-250 tree planting ceremony and encouraged everyone to attend.

According to a press release from Visitors Bureau of Highland County Executive Director Jamie Wheeler, “On Friday, Sept. 26, Highland County will mark the start of its participation in the America 250-Ohio commemoration with a community event at Liberty Park in Hillsboro. The event, beginning at 3 p.m., will feature the planting of 18 white oak trees – one for Highland County and one for each of its 17 townships – as part of the statewide Heritage Tree Program. The event will take place east of the Highland County Family YMCA’s gravel parking lot which is located at 201 Diamond Drive in Hillsboro.

“The tree planting will serve as the official kickoff of Highland County’s America 250 planning, building momentum toward a multi-day celebration in July 2026 honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary.”    

• Commissioners attended an alley viewing in New Market Township at 10 a.m. and received no opposition. Upon their return to Southern State Community College, commissioners voted 3-0 to vacate the alley.

Commissioners also made the following approvals, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A request from the Clerk of Courts for a budget modification within the 1000 County General Fund in the amount of $5,000.

• A request from the Board of Elections for an additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within the 1000 county general fund in the amount of $9,267.92.

• A budget modification within the 1000 county general fund in the amount of $445.84.

• A request from the Board of Elections for an additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within the 1000 County general fund in the amount of $728.50.

• A resolution declaring listed items by the Treasurer’s Office to be no longer needed by the county and obsolete, ORC 307.12 (I). 

• A request from Probation for a budget modification within the 2615 CCA 2.0 FY24-25 fund in the amount of $2,000.

• A request from Victim Witness for an additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within the (2540) Victim Witness Fund in the amount of $12,000.

• A resolution for the Auditor’s Office declaring a coat rack as no longer needed by the County and obsolete, ORC 307.12 (I). 

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