City-County Building Work To Begin in November
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Work to replace the outdated heating, ventilation and air conditioning at the City-County Building in downtown should start in November, Ohio County Project Manager Mellissa Marco recently told county commissioners.
The $12 million project had been slated to begin this summer, but needed parts could not be readily obtained and the project was delayed.
"That project will be starting with a large crew in November," Marco said. "I know it sounds like it is a long way off, but it's only about three months. In that time we will be working to complete the roofing project, and we're also looking to complete windows. All of that should be on order."
The project initially was expected to take 18 months to complete, but now the work could last up to three years, according to county officials.
Plans call for individual offices in the building to be relocated to the former law library on the fourth floor as work takes place in their section of the building. The relocations now are being delayed until the work starts.
The project involves replacing the existing boiler system and the chiller system on the roof of the City-County Building and replacing them with a water source heat pump system. The heat pumps will be placed in ceilings throughout the building, with each office having its own zoned heating and heat controls.
Cattrell Companies of Toronto is the general contractor for the project.
In other matters before the commission, the commissioners agreed to a contract with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the housing of prisoners at the Northern Regional Jail. Ohio County will pay the state $18 per inmate per day to incarcerate its prisoners under terms of a three-year contract. That represented a $1 per day increase over the past contract, according to Ohio County Administrator Randy Russell.
The new contract extends through July 1, 2026.
Russell also informed commissioners that the county's annual vaccination clinics have finished, with a total of 311 animals being vaccinated. In 2022, there were over 400 shots administered.
"That is down significantly from last year, but the number ebbs and flows between the 400s and 300s," Russell said.
Commissioners also approved replacing the air conditioning in the Federal Aviation Administration's equipment room at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport at a cost of $10,840 from Johnson Boiler Works.
The matter is considered an emergency, as if the FAA equipment gets too hot it can become inoperable, Russell said.