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Monroe to move senior center

WOODSFIELD — The Monroe County commissioners plan to relocate the senior citizens center to the former Safe Auto Insurance Co. building, which was purchased last month.

Commissioners Mick Schumacher, Diane Burkhart and Bill Bolon signed an agreement with Swiss Valley Associates for $12,510 to perform the design work and estimated cost for the Monroe County Senior Center kitchen renovation.

The project includes design work for a new kitchen and pantry for the new space.

The Commissioners purchased the former Safe Auto building for $300,000.

The building was purchases with plans to transform the nearly 10,000-square-foot facility into a community center that will provide activities for all county residents.

Schumacher said the relocation of the senior center to the much larger space will allow them to expand the program. The center is currently located at 118 Home Ave. in Woodsfield and can only accommodate 15 residents at a time due to its continuation of COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’re trying to grow that program a little bit, and this will give us the chance to expand and provide more services and accessibility,” he said.

There is no definitive timeline for the project yet. Schumacher said there are still some things to do prior to moving forward with the project, such as removing furniture and around 150 call center workstations.

Schumacher said they have other plans for the building as well. Burkhart said she is hoping to install an indoor swimming pool in the building, which could be used for many different purposes including for therapeutic treatment and student swim teams. Schumacher said they also plan to timber the property between the building and the soccer fields for the Knowlton Covered Bridge restoration. Once timbered, the property could be used to form a bike trail, he said.

In other matters, commissioners met with Jason Hamman, economic development consultant with Hamman Consulting and economic development representative for the county, via teleconference. Hamman gave an update on various economic development projects in the county.

Hamman said the power plant at the Long Ridge Energy Terminal site is set to go online in August, three months ahead of schedule.

Hamman also spoke about the Powhatan No. 7 property’s Railroad Design project, which includes the construction of an industrial access road and repair of eight of the 12 existing barge cells located along the Ohio River. He said he expects work to the barge cells to begin in August. An environmental assessment is underway for the access road, which has an impact of less than a half of an acre, he said.

Schumacher brought up the pending fuel station project that is being planned by the county’s Transportation Improvement District. Since the TID is an economic development program, he suggested Hamman possibly join discussions for projects they are planning.

Members of the county TID are hoping to construct a fuel station on Moore Ridge Road that would provide gasoline and diesel fuel to multiple county entities. However, commissioners have concerns about the potential location as well as the cost to run the facility once constructed. Bolon suggested they approach an oil company to build the station so it would be responsible for the upkeep and billing. He added that an alternative location at Industrial Park may provide a more suitable location for the station.

Hamman said he would contact Amy Zwick, county engineer and member of the Monroe County TID, to offer his assistance to help move potential projects forward.

After some further discussion, Hamman then requested an executive session to discuss real estate acquisition. No action was taken on the matter after the closed-door session.

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