New health district office: The grand tour

Visitors check out new facility in Cortland

CORTLAND -- Local specialists and residents shared their impressions Wednesday on the Trumbull County Combined Health District's new location in downtown Cortland.

Many in attendance at an open house acknowledged the district's move as a new convenience to Trumbull County residents outside of Warren.

"This area is basically in the center of the county," Frank Migliozzi, health commissioner, said. "And a lot of the people who visit the office, primarily, are those who are looking to get plumbing permits, water well permits or septic permits. That's probably the highest amount of traffic that we have. And that's usually the northern tier."

In the past, Migliozzi said, residents in communities like Bloomfield, Greene and Kinsman had to travel far to get to the office in Warren. Now, they have a much shorter commute to the building at 194. W. Main St., the former headquarters for the former Cortland Bank.

Kinsman Zoning Inspector Mark Posey, who also performs the job for Vienna, praised the improvements to the building and its proximity to residents in his areas.

"Well, residents aren't usually comfortable about coming down to a government office," Posey said.

"But sometimes they have to. Whether they have to apply for their permits, or anything like that, it's been a complaint over the years that they couldn't get access down there in Warren."

Posey added, "I think it's going to benefit the county because it is central, and it's easier to get to. It's a little bit young, but the transition went pretty smoothly."

Laura Carey, administrative director of the Girard Multi-Generational Center, attended the open house.

"This is a beautiful facility and I'm really excited for them," Carey said.

"It's much easier to get in and out of this place than dealing with the other place. I think this is great for northern Trumbull County residents, and it's just easy to get to."

Health Board member Jack Simon described the building as "more user friendly."

"We finally have offices," Simon said. "We worked for years, and years, just out of cubicles. And it's just difficult in places like that. And this is more friendly to the public as well. Whether it's immunizations, baby seats, or anything else. And it's centrally located in the county."

GETTING THERE

"We began this process two years ago," Migliozzi said. "And there were a number of personnel we had that expanded during COVID. We brought in several new individuals, probably close to a third of our existing staff."

In 2016, the district received four grants totaling about $500,000, he said. Last year, the district had 17 grants worth about $2.7 million.

"We just simply outgrew the facility we were in," Magliozzi said.

Many hours, Migliozzi said, were spent by district employees to move pieces of the old building into the new.

"We would not have been successful without their assistance in this," Migliozzi said.

The ground level is approximately 18,000 square feet, and it has a combination of 36 offices and cubicle spaces, Migliozzi said.

Near the front of the building, the former bank offices were turned into clinical examination and vaccine rooms, next to the waiting room.

Four meeting rooms also are on the first floor, and the basement houses an incident command center for emergencies.

One meeting room will be used for meetings, and public service announcements and media inquiries.

LOOKING AHEAD

Migliozzi said the traffic of residents visiting the building so far is about the same as before.

"But you can see a steady flow of individuals coming through," he said. "I haven't received any feedback, positive or negative, honestly. But I'm not always out front either."

As part of adapting to the new building, Migliozzi said plans for the drive-thru in the back of the building are developing. Vaccinations and car seat giveaways are just a couple of the ideas, he said.

"We're eventually going to knock out the ATM machine, and make it a doorway, which goes right under the canopy. And we'll be able to install the car seats in a nice dry environment," he said.

"If we have to do mass vaccinations again, we're going to use this to do them. We're not going back out to the fairgrounds. It's a perfect thing. In my opinion, this building is a perfect fit. I look forward to the future here with the public health district, and I know we made the right move."