Heartland Home Used For County Offices

[estherlike]

>:(According to the breaking news on the Times-Gazette, Heartland Home is going to be used for various county offices, just like Barb Queer said at the meeting in February. Remember folks, this has been brought up at several other Commissioners meetings and we were told that was not true, that they had not decided what it was going to be used for. Now the truth is out and it is just as we have been stating since February, so who was lying?

In so far as the Health Department, how do they expect people to get all the way out to the building on 60 when it was being questioned how they would get to the building on 250 when they were talking about moving the Health Department there? They (the Commissioners) are stating that this is a more centrally located facility in the county. This maybe, but centrally located does not always mean most accessible!!! Remember, public transportation does not service this area on Rt 60 so what now? And if the Commissioners propose to extend public transportation to service this area, what will that cost the county?

Speaking of cost to the county, we have already moved OSU Extension once this year, so now we will have moved them twice in one year and at what cost to the county? Additionally, the Commissioners say we are out of money and thus they need to cut budgets. How interesting!!! Out of money and yet they are going to be able to fund the renovations of Heartland Home and move county offices out there!!!

EVERYBODY needs to make an attempt to attend the Commissioners meeting on Thursday and let your voices be heard. We need to take a stand on this people, this is OUR county and we should have a voice in what happens.

[trAshlandResident]

Oh come on, Esther!

Had the Commissioners told us the truth about the plans for the Heartland Home building, then they wouldn't have been able to go on about imaginary conversations they supposedly had about turning it into a parking lot or shopping center.

Obviously, they think trAshland residents are distracted by the same shiny things they are.

[polygons]

trAshland Funny funny shiny shiny mine mine Anybody every drive down 60 when ACWHJVS is in session & the forunate folks, who have a job, are on their way to work? Stir in the rest & a new accident alley is created... These people are more shady than a cloudy day

[polygons]

Estherlike what was the time frame between the 250E decision and the 60S decision? Must have been REAL short cause I didn't catch up in time.

[estherlike]

I believe the 250E building was being discussed around April or May. That discussion didn't last long though. I have a feeling the biggest draw back was the problems with the building. Not to mention the lack of a true elevator. The move to 60 was NEVER discussed except by the Commissioners and whoever they selected to be in on the discussion. It was never discussed in a public meeting, just the "press release" that occured on the 29th.

[gunny]

There is an old Marine term called a "Bliffit." It originated during WWII as I understand it. To be politically correct I will clean it up, it is: 10 pounds of bologna in a 5 pound bag packed down and overflowing. This describes the actions of the Ashland County Commissioners! Is this website the third poison, Mr. Welch - Right behind Heroin and the TG blog?

If I had known then what I know now, I would not have voted for them but also campaigned hard against them!

[polygons]

[estherlike]

:-XPolygons, I agree. We are going to keep fighting hoping that maybe, just maybe, if enough of us raise our voices we will be heard. At the same time, ALL of us here on the forum understand that some are not able to speak for fear of retribution. That is why we are taking on the task of researching what we are informed of or suggestions that something is not right. All we are doing is getting what is public information out to the public and hoping that we can make a stand together.

[estherlike]

>:(It is appears Heartland Home is not yet ready for offices. At Thursday's Commissioners meeting they approved to put up for auction from Heartland Home quilts, crocheted blankets and a pool table among other things. I wonder why the residents weren't contacted to see if THEY might want some of the quilts and crocheted blankets. After all, these were made with love by someone and maybe they would be of more importance to one of the old residents than to anyone that might bid on them on line.

[polygons]

I do not understand who these people think they are...auction or sell my belongings and I'd be seeing you in court! Wonder what would happen if a member of a displaced heartland home resident could prove the ownership of one these quilts or blankets...? They are so above the rest of us and I wonder if they have anything beating in their chests.

[estherlike]

Polygons, I don't think they care. There are right now two huge dumpsters out at Heartland Home. Can you imagine what it costing us taxpayers for this remodeling in a time when we are as a county are facing fiscal watch? The problem is that with Home Rule these three think they are untouchable, but they aren't.

[estherlike]

>:(For anyone interested, Heartland Home now has a new name. Apparently it is now being called "The County Service Center". I bet this is EXACTLY what the taxpayers had in mind for this building when they paid to build it with a levy passed back in 1974!!! This should teach Ashland County to NEVER vote for and pass ANY levy that is for a service you think will stay that way. The Commissioners will find a way to use it for what they want to use for no matter how the citizens feel about it. In fact, most of the time they don't even bother to ask us how we feel about it.

Another good example is the "Senior Services Levy". Apparently the citizens of Ashland County were expected to look into their crystal balls and realize that the ONLY Senior Service that would receive ANY money from this levy was going to be Council On Aging. Makes you feel good now that services there are being cut by the state budget and we no longer have Heartland Home to help our residents, doesn't it?

[katie272882]

I am sure that it makes "perfect sense" to the commissioners to uproot 48 residents and then
pay for the expenses to redo and refurbish the rooms for county offices that will be a minimum of six miles from the county courthouse, etc, and then to move the Health Dept to
the former Heartland Home, and then to have a "satelite" health dept in Ashland proper, to say nothing of the travel expenses for people needing the services of the Health Dept., extra wear and tear on county vehicles, etc.! Now do you have any idea how much this is costing the taxpayers? Do you have any idea how much less the county would not have to pay if the Heartland Home was still in business and had more residents, and it was run by a professional who has years of health care experience and it would not have cost Ashland County anything and in time could have been some income?? I do not want to discuss Heartland Home, because that is long in the past, however what the commissioners have been doing and are now doing just shows how little they actually know about being fiscally responsible and knowledgable about finances, health care. and knowing how to develop good relations with the public. Being in lockstep with the media, and favorites in the
county, doesn't make for good relations with county residents. Just my thoughts, anyone else
in agreement or am I way off base?

[gunny]

Katie,
I must say there are many unanswered questions in their actions and being "way off base" is simply if you disagree with someone they may play the way off base card. However, you have posed some good questions. As I study the documents that have been posted on this website, My opinions have been changed in some ways and burnished in others. At first, I thought I could be missing something - closing of the Heartland Home - but as I have studied things I have found the Commissioners to be "way off base." They are so far out in left field that they are not even in the stadium!!!

[katie272882]

Gunny, you have hit the nail on the head in more ways than one!! Funny, at times, I don't even think they are even on the planet! I like your analogy "not even in the stadium" and that says a lot that many are beginning to understand as things are posted on this website!
Keep it up Community Activists, I do believe many are beginning to see the light......just hope it isn't too late, but keep trying folks, you are doing a great job! estherlike, you sure do know and understand your stuff to a tee, keep it coming!!!!!

[estherlike]

On August 24, 2009 the Commissioners held a Work Session at the Former Heartland Home, now called "The New Service Center". An audio of this work session is posted on the website. It is interesting that the maintenance department is being moved out to this location when a large portion of what this department does involves the County Building and the County Courthouse. It would appear this move is going to increase not decrease expenses for the maintenance department as the mileage to get back and forth is going to increase causing an increase in fuel consumption and wear and tear on the vehicles, not to mention the increase in hours for the workers. The Prosecuting Attorney moving to the County Building seems out of place. Wouldn't it seem more logical to place this office in the County Courthouse since that is where most of the time is spent? It would seem it would be more cost effective to have the departments that work side by side more in line with each other IE: Prosecuting Attorney in the same building as the courts she/he tries cases in.

[estherlike]

Looks like it isn't as cheap as the Commissioners told us. I wouldn't call almost $50,000 "next to nothing" and that figure is only good if you believe that the maintenance department has only spent around 15 total billable hours out there and that the 3 dumpsters are only costing around $38/mo each. I am going to check with the company that has the dumpsters out there and see what their charges are, but I know of others who have the dumpsters smaller than the 3 at Heartland Home and they pay almost $90/month each. The amounts they are stating are not believable when you consider the amount of time spent out there. And we aren't even starting to add in the cost of the Sheriff's Deputies that had to be out there to supervise the inmates that worked out there. But we aren't suppose to be smart enough to put that together.

[estherlike]

And the cost just rose again. Now we are going to pay almost $40,000/year for cleaning 3 days a week at the new service center. Not as cheap as they said.

The dumpsters that are currently located in the front of the building have apparently become community dumpsters as one of the Commissioners was seen at the dumpster unloading their trash into what is apparently the "community" dumpster and it is being paid for by your tax dollars.

And for another point, these dumpsters are NOT from Brown's Trash Removal and are not reflected in the cost of preparing this building for the move of offices. We are checking now to see who these dumpsters belong to and how much they are costing the county.

[guest]

Gee, can we dump our trash out there too?

[howard]

at the risk of repercussion I would like to know why the renevations are happening now? the
repairs they say are needed for the offices to move in were not needed when folks LIVED there 24-7? the way I read into it is, county employees need a better environment to work in
than a resident needs to live in

[estherlike]

Another question yet to be answered is why do we need to pay almost $40,000/year for janitorial services at the service center when the maintenance department will be located there? The janitorial staff of the maintenance department clean the courthouse and other buildings, why not this one? The Commissioners stated it would cost far less to contract this service out. That is interesting considering a three day a week cleaning would amount to a part time employee who would most likely make far less than $40,000/year including their benefits, if they received any benefits as a part time employee. Whether or not the building on 250 had cleaning services is not the point considering the building on 250 did not house the maintenance department and this building will.

At the Commissioners meeting yesterday it was questioned whether the estimates provided to the Times-Gazette included the cost of the Sheriff's Deputies to supervise the inmates that were being used to perform work at the service center. The Commissioners stated the inmates did not need supervised by a deputy, they were supervised by a county employee. Correct me if I am wrong but these inmates are considered to be a danger and require incarceration in the county jail for a reason. Why are we allowing work detail without law enforcement supervision? Is this even legal? If these inmates do not pose a threat then why are our tax dollars going to support them in the county jail instead of allowing them to be at home on probation?

That brings me to another issue, why is our county phone system directing callers to "The Adult Parole Authority" when Ashland County does not have a "Parole Authority" but rather a probation department? Never mind that we contract to use parole officers from Mansfield rather than probation officers from another county, if that is what the county wants to do, so be it. It does not make our "Probation Department" an "Adult Parole Authority", it is still a probation department serviced by parole officers. No wonder people get confused with the phone system.

Finally, can someone please answer why the service center requires 60 phones and phone lines? Does that seem excessive to anyone else? The cost just keeps going up and the fact these repairs were left undone while people were residents there and are now being done for the benefit of the county workers is just sick and disgusting.

[gunny]

At the risk of being castigated, Oh wait this is not the Times Gazette, I have a few observations after reading the latest posts.
Number 1: Ashland Cleaning and Janitorial Services was awarded a contract to clean the Service center(former Heartland Home) for just under $40,000 a year, three days a week - making a guess that this would be 24 hours a week. A Commissioner in their weekly meeting, stated this was a cheaper way to go than have County employees clean. If you do the math at 24 hours a week and 52 weeks a year, this comes out to $32.12 a hour! Our County maintenance/ custodians must make a lot more than I thought. Why couldn't they hire a part time employee at $12.00 an hour? They would not have to pay benefits because they would not be working 32 or more hours a week!
2. This appears to not have been through the bid process but yet Richert and Assoc won a bid contract for snow plowing and that may not cost as much as this job.
3. It also appears that neither Ashland Cleaning and Janitorial Services or Richert and Assoc are registered with the Secretary of State as doing business in the State of Ohio. Why is the County doing business with non registered companies?

[howard]

same old same old!

[estherlike]

After some checking, "Ashland Cleaning & Janitorial Service" is apparently owned/operated by Melinda Turk but is not a registered company with the Secretary of State. We have requested a copy of all "quotes" that were received for this service and will provide copies on our website when received. Apparently this was not required to go for bid because the cost was less than $125,000 and it did not provide a product, only a service. Not real sure why the snow removal has to go out for bid and not this, I thought snow removal was a service also.

[estherlike]

And the cost rises again. Today $8898 was approved for replacement of the water softener and $2200 for a fire approved door. When questioned about the water softener, the Commissioners stated they were not ever informed of the repairs that were needed at this building and that this is very disheartening. It seems to me I remember a Commissioners meeting where they stated the Maintenance Supervisor had inspected the building and stated it would cost little to nothing to prepare it for use as office space. Now all the repairs are being made and costing a mint. After speaking to an ex-employee, the maintenance man, Joel, at Heartland Home was placed under the employment of Dennis Harris, Maintenance Supervisor for the County in 2007. This is 2 years before the facility closed, so why is it the Maintenance Supervisor did not bring these issues to the Commissioners? Why is that they are laying the blame at the feet of the administrative staff when their (the Commissioners) own Maintenance Supervisor was in control of maintenance at this facility for over 2 years?

[howard]

I guess that my nose has been totally in the city end of business too long. if a levy was passed for the explicit use of Heartland home I hope they are not still collecting on it, would a new levy for the "service" center be the most appropriate thing to do?

[estherlike]

A levy for Heartland Home was never passed because it was never put on the ballot. It would take a lot of nerve for them to put one on for the service center.