County considers Cortland property

Health department seeks larger space for programs, staff

WARREN -- Commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Denny Malloy discussed the possibility of the county purchasing the Cortland Bank building at their weekly workshop meeting Tuesday.

Malloy brought up the idea a few weeks ago after he visited the county's health department and said the conditions of the building are poor. He said Tuesday that the owners of the property may be willing to sell at a lower price than they were previously.

"I was pretty disgusted that we have our health department -- the people who deal with cockroaches, rats, disease, infestations for the people of this county -- working at a place almost as bad as the dog pound," Malloy said at a previous commissioners meeting.

He said the health commissioner liked the idea of having drive-thru lanes where it could host drive-thru vaccination events. Malloy also noted that there is plenty of parking.

Currently, the health department is located at 176 Chestnut Ave. in Warren, but the county health department does not serve Warren city residents. Warren has its own health department in the Gibson Building.

Malloy said it makes sense for the health department to be centrally located in the county.

On Tuesday, Cantalamessa and Malloy talked about what it would take for the county to acquire a building. Cantalamessa said the county has not acquired one since he took office.

Cantalamessa said he toured the Cortland Bank Building and thought the first floor of the building would be "adequate" for the health department, but wasn't sure how the second floor would be used. Malloy suggested finding another entity to sublet.

Cantalamessa said he wants all three commissioners to see the building before moving forward.

"I'd also like to have a plan for our building that we're vacating. I don't want to have another Wean Building on our hands," Cantalamessa said.

He said if the county health department moves, commissioners should work to find someone to fill it, like the city, another government, the coroner or another entity. Cantalamessa said there are several things the county still has to consider.

Health Commissioner Frank Migliozzi sent a letter to Malloy as the president of the board requesting new space.

"We are respectfully requesting that an alternative building be sought to house our agency so that we can not only adequately accommodate that staff that we currently have, but also bring additional funding and needed programs into Trumbull County for our residents," the letter dated March 8 states.

Migliozzi wrote that while the current building the health department is in has served its purpose, it is in "dire need of additional space." He said over the last 15 years, the agency has grown, both in terms of its programs and staffing.

In 2008, the agency absorbed the Help Me Grow program for parents and young children, at which time the department added five staff members. In 2015, when the county health department absorbed the Niles and Girard health departments, it added three more positions.

As the department has increased its number of programs, it also has increased its staffing level. Migliozzi said in his letter that the department in its current location has had to convert storage rooms to offices and at this point has run out of space. He said there is a staff member retiring at the end of the month, and he could not hire someone before that to train because there is no room to put another desk.

He also said in the letter that the department cannot apply for any more grants because it does not have space for new staff.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko said during the March 8 regular meeting that she has been advocating for all county buildings to have a preventative maintenance plan since she took office two years ago.

"One of the major problems the county has had for decades is they continue to acquire property and real estate that they can't maintain because they don't plan for maintenance," Frenchko said. "We're now demolishing the Wean Building that cost over $1 million, and we're going to demolish it for over $1 million."

She said if not for American Rescue Plan funds, employees at the board of elections would have been told to leave because of the deteriorating conditions of the building. Frenchko said she doesn't think people realize how important preventative maintenance is.

Frenchko noted that when the commissioners buy property, they take away from the tax base and take away opportunities from those who want to develop in the area. She also said the county owns empty space right now.

"I understand that there are wishlists, then there's what you need to get by. We're spending taxpayer money. We don't just buy property that we can't afford to maintain," Frenchko said.

Cantalamessa said at that meeting that he is open to looking at anything. He said he does not think the commissioners would be doing their due diligence if they refuse to look at any option.

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