The Stark County Sheriff’s Office could be increasing renovations to part of its future home after numerous issues were discovered in the Dickinson Law Enforcement Center.
Stark County Sheriff Terry Oestreich appeared before the Stark County Commission at its Tuesday meeting to present information on a set of preliminary building improvements that would update the ceilings, floors and walls of a 6,200-square-foot interior section of the Law Enforcement Center formerly occupied by the Dickinson Police Department now intended to be used by the sheriff’s office.
Renovations began last fall and originally included some restructuring of the available space.
During that process, black mold was discovered during a wall demolition.
When coupled with complaints from employees within the department of “burning and itching eyes, respiratory problems … and coughing all the time with a dry throat,” that finding led to concerns about air quality within the office.
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Oestreich said he was included among the number experiencing respiratory issues.
The sheriff’s office has since conducted two air quality studies, Oestreich said, which have resulted in a set of nine facility recommendations. The two biggest recommendations are aimed at dust in the ceilings and low humidity throughout the space, he said.
A preliminary budget compiled by JLG Architects estimated the total cost of renovations would include all nine recommendations at more than $1.1 million.
That sum is broken into a little more than $840,000 for actual construction, $126,000 in soft costs and $168,000 in contingency funds.
Following the sheriff’s presentation on the facility’s set of issues, commissioner Duane Wolf said there was a need to “fix it properly.”
“We’ve got these recommendations, and I don’t think we can do it halfway,” Wolf said. “Otherwise we’d get the same problems down the road.”
The commission authorized Ostreich to move ahead to produce a more detailed plan.
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Wolf to leave commission, others seek extensions
After more than 15 years on the commission, Wolf announced Tuesday he has decided not to run for re-election.
He suggested his departure from the position presented a good opportunity for someone else to step forward to represent the county’s third district on the south side of Dickinson.
“I would just want to see that I step back and let someone else,” he said. “ … I’m sure I’ll miss it, but there comes a time.”
Two other commissioners, Jay Elkin and Pete Kuntz, said they both intend to run for re-election.
