All county home residents relocated

CELINA - All nine residents of the Mercer County Home have found new living accommodations, clearing the way for county commissioners to take the next steps toward demolishing and clearing the taxpayer-funded custodial-care facility.

County commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp on Thursday confirmed the residents have been relocated, in line with commissioners' move-out date goal of Monday.

Four residents went to assisted living and nursing care facilities, while five secured apartments, Muhlenkamp said. Commissioners, as part of an overall plan to close and raze the county home, agreed to pay one month's rent and deposit on apartments for residents found to be capable of self-sufficient living. The funds came from the county home's budget.

Support to transition and relocate the residents was provided by Mercer County Job and Family Services, Mercer County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Foundations Mental Health Service, according to a report issued by commissioners earlier this year.

The home has three part-time and eight full-time resident care employees and a full-time administrator. The administrator and two of the resident care employees are eligible for retirement, according to the report. Three full-time employees have found employment elsewhere, said Kim Everman, commissioners' office administrator.

"Employees will be provided a temporary extension of health care insurance and assistance from Mercer County Job and Family Services to aid in the transitioning to new employment," the report states.

Everman said unemployed county home employees will be eligible for 100% Cobra health insurance subsidy through Sept. 30 via the American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden on March 11.

Muhlenkamp said commissioners are assessing the county home for valuable equipment, furniture and materials which will be removed before the building is razed. They also are looking into rerouting the on-site electricity that also powers a wastewater treatment plant just east of the county home.

"The power currently for the county home runs through that treatment plant out there, and we need to get that treatment plant to be able to be self-sufficient with its own power source," Muhlenkamp said.

Commissioners plan to clear the property of dead and almost dead trees on the property, work that will be contracted out as a project separate from the overall building demolition, Laffin has said.

Laffin has said commissioners likely will solicit bids in July or August to demolish the property. They said they have no plans for the property at this time.

"Normally after … the building's demolished and leveled, it takes a long time for that building site to get back into a natural state," Muhlenkamp said.

Asbestos abatement, building demolition and site improvements are estimated at $400,000. Other anticipated expenses include employee unemployment, $170,000, and resident transition, $70,000. The expenses will be covered with 2021 county home revenue of $1.4 million made up of $616,800 in 2020 carry-over funds, $775,000 in tax levy collections and $10,000 in board and maintenance funds, per the report.

Commissioners in late January moved to close and eventually raze the building, citing a lack of residents, inadequate facilities and cost-prohibitive renovations.

Most counties had an operational county home in the 1900s but the majority have since closed. The Mercer County Home is one of only eight county homes still in operation in Ohio.

The number of residents has waned over the years, from 34 in 1994 to 22 in 2004 and an average of 12 residents in 2020. It then dropped to nine residents, per the report.

Commissioners said the availability of other federal- and state-funded programs have expanded, and other local agencies such as nursing homes have expanded to serve the same clientele as the county home.

The home had typically served people who could not live on their own without some level of daily or hourly support. However, it also was a non-certified care facility due to its design and lack of licensed medical staff.

Because it was not a licensed care facility, the home was not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare funding, Optional State Supplementation Payments or Supplemental Social Security payments of behalf of the residents.

The facility also wasn't suited for people who need extensive medical care, according to the report. With small individual rooms, group bathrooms and limited handicapped accessibility, the building didn't easily serve the needs of residents today.

A levy is the main source of the home's funding, although residents who are able to pay for a portion of their expenses do so. The levy brought in $775,381 in tax income in 2020, according to the report. County home residents who paid fees for room and board provided $27,811 in 2020.

Voters renewed the levy to operate from Jan. 1, 2020, until Dec. 31, 2024. However, Laffin said the levy will only continue to collect until the end of this year and is expected to bring in roughly $775,000 in 2021.