TIFFIN -- Cuts in state funding proposed by Gov. John Kasich may indirectly quash a $7.99 million plan to renovate Seneca County's 1884 courthouse.
All three county commissioners said Tuesday that they could not support the courthouse project in the face of the significant decreases in funding and increases in expenses outlined in the new governor's two-year budget.
"At this time, there is no way we can move forward with this courthouse project based on the new information we received last week from the governor's budget and the implication that that budget isn't going to change as it goes through the General Assembly in terms of funding to us," Commissioner Ben Nutter said.
With reductions in local government funds and the impending plan to house some convicted felons in county jails rather than state prisons, commissioners said they know cuts in county services and employees could be the result. Seneca County expects to lose $350,000 in local government funds in the first year of the budget and $700,000 the second year.
"Given the choice between bricks and mortar and people, I will choose people every time," Mr. Nutter said.
Commissioner Dave Sauber said the county still needs to rectify the cramped and inaccessible conditions in the probate and juvenile courts, yet he agreed that now is not the time to commit the county to 30 years of loan payments.
"I really see no way of moving ahead on the project right now," Mr. Sauber said.
Both Mr. Sauber and Mr. Nutter had been on board with the project until the state budget came out last week, although Commissioner Jeff Wagner has been skeptical since he took office in January.
"Last week I said because of the lack of capital campaign dollars I could not see moving forward with the courthouse project," Mr. Wagner said. "I think this really cements that in my mind."
The commissioners discussed the state budget's impact on the county with elected officials and department heads and later met with Franklin Conaway, head of the Seneca County Courthouse and Downtown Redevelopment Group.
Mr. Conaway had come to the meeting hoping to have commissioners approve a $400,000 budget that would have enabled architects to get to work on final design plans and paid for selective demolition inside the historic courthouse. He ended up pleading with the board to give his group time to take a look at the county's new financial outlook and come up with "a realistic solution."
"In our opinion this project is so far down the road and has so many benefits to it that to say 'no' at this time without going that extra mile and looking at how we can still skin this cat would probably be a disservice to the county as well as to everybody else that has worked this hard," Mr. Conaway said.
He said public-private partnerships are going to be key to getting projects such as the courthouse renovation done in Ohio's new reality and suggested this project might need even more help from the private sector.
Under the renovation plan, the redevelopment group pledged to raise $1.65 million for the project. Commissioners agreed to put in $350,000 and take out a 30-year, low-interest, $5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The remainder of the funding included $500,000 from the Ohio Department of Development and $500,000 from the Seneca County Common Pleas Court's special projects fund.
"I would not want to say good-bye to the Department of Agriculture at this moment nor to the Department of Development nor to all of the private funds through foundations and donations that are coming in until we go through this assessment process with you," Mr. Conaway said.
Commissioners said they were willing to listen to suggestions.
After the meeting, Mr. Conaway said the commissioners' news was "a big surprise, but we're not giving up."
"The big challenge is to make the county representatives really grasp how difficult their situation is going to be and see what if any solutions we can come up with to still make this project happen," he said.
Jim Seney, a former Sylvania mayor and member of the development group, said he was still optimistic the project could be done.
"From my experience when it seems like the roof is falling in and things are their bleakest is when they start to get better," he said.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-724-6129.
First Published March 23, 2011, 5:27 a.m.