County ag center plans in process

CELINA - Mercer County commissioners are proceeding with plans to turn the former Cheryl Ann building into an agriculture services center to house offices for the county's soil and water conservation district, Ohio State University Extension and Farm Service Agency.

The renovation could start as soon as this spring and cost between $2.5 million to $3 million, depending on which, if any, alternate additions commissioners choose once they receive bids.

Commissioners want to convert the bulk of the county-owned, 20,000-square-foot building at 4980 Mud Pike, Celina, into an agriculture services center. Moving the agencies would free space in the Mercer County Central Services Building for other county agencies, commissioners have said.

"After relocating the agricultural offices to the new facility, other relocations of existing offices can happen," commissioner Greg Homan wrote in a county proposal.

Also, the Mud Pike location would be better for farmers, commissioners said.

"This service center will allow three offices to be located together and serve residents," Homan wrote. "The ag center will not only have office and storage space, but also has the potential for a community meeting room for farmers, 4-H youth and other community members."

An initial feasibility study estimated the cost at $2 million. However, the final cost will more likely be in the $2.5 million to $3 million range after Garmann/Miller Architects-Engineers conferred with department heads and came up with a preliminary design.

Garman/Miller officials continue to modify their design based on recent conversations with commissioners and maintenance supervisor David Dorsten.

In the meantime, Dorsten has been completing prep work, such as tearing down walls and completing other demolition, commissioner Jerry Laffin said.

Chris Monnin of Garmann/Miller recently said the project may hit at a good time.

"We're still shooting to have it ready to go out to bid in March," he told commissioners. "It's a presidential election year. It's always kind of a wild year, you just really never know. Right now we're seeing people that are hungry, especially for this size work."

If all goes as planned, the project would start this spring and take six to eight months, meaning the building could be opened in January or February 2021, Monnin said.

Monnin in late December gave commissioners a preliminary breakdown of anticipated expenses. He pegged the base bid of renovating the larger of the two buildings (15,852 square foot) at $2.25 million plus $215,000 in soft costs of architecture and engineer work, permitting, insurance and legal fees.

Alternative options would cost more - $464,794 for renovations to the smaller, 3,602-square-foot building; $77,909 to replace a corridor connecting the two buildings; and $13,509 for a loading dock.

The smaller building may be used as a large conference room that could be converted into future office space, Laffin said.

"That's the big question mark for us here at this time," commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp said about Building A renovations.

"It needs to be done sometime. What do we do? Do we do it now?" Laffin asked.

Homan said commissioners will consider various factors before acting.

"We've got to crunch numbers and processes and arrange financing, and all those variables we have to talk about," he said.

At a recent session, Garman/Miller officials and commissioners discussed providing enough parking spaces for agency vehicles and security, including door access and cameras.

Among changes to the design is the inclusion of sinks in each department rather than a shared kitchen/meeting area, resulting in a larger estimate of $68,539 for plumbing.

"That's requiring a fair amount of saw-cutting of the floors to get the sanitary lines over to them," Monnin pointed out. "We met with each department, and they kind of hinted they would prefer to have their own kitchenette so that they can make their own coffee and have their own areas to go to versus having to go to a community room."

The firm also interviewed county department heads to gauge their needs, examine space in the central services building and complete potential layouts of offices in the Cheryl Ann and central services buildings.
Commissioners own the two Cheryl Ann buildings connected by a walkway, even though the Mercer County Board of Developmental Disabilities has funded its construction and maintenance, according to a memorandum of understanding between the boards.
Mercer County DD had used the facility for workshop facilities for daily habilitation and employment of adults with disabilities, according to the memorandum.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities in 2016 ruled that county DD agencies could no longer provide residential services beyond normal day programs. The federal government's long-range plan mandates that county boards cannot - without creating a conflict of interest - recommend a set of services and then provide them using Medicaid dollars.
In response, CA Group agreed to become a private entity and take over the adult habilitation, vocational and transportation services. The nonprofit CA Group was founded more than 40 years ago as an arm of the agency to employ individuals with disabilities in a manner the board could not due to state restrictions.
CA Group on Jan. 1, 2017, began providing the services.

Mercer County DD Superintendent Shawn Thieman had told his board members that workshop facilities once housed in the building had been relocated to facilities in Celina and Coldwater, freeing up about 15,000 square feet.

The workshop programs were moved to sites that are more accessible to participants and reduce the need for transportation, officials have said.