Photo by Joselyn King Ohio County Commissioner Don Nickerson, left, Administrator Randy Russell and Solicitor Don Tennant consider citizen comment during Tuesday’s commission meeting.

Displaced employees in the Ohio County Circuit Clerk’s Office are set to move back into their regular office today, while City of Wheeling employees are expected to return to their spaces Feb. 17.

Melissa Marco, project coordinator for Ohio County, updated county commissioners on the state of construction at the City-County Building during Tuesday’s commission meeting.

She announced Circuit Clerk Brenda Miller and her staff will be moving out of the fourth floor swing space today and back into their regular offices.

“Their office is completely finished,” Marco said. “The third floor (home to City of Wheeling offices) is also completely finished from a construction standpoint. We’ve decided to do a little bit of painting on that floor because we needed to spruce it up some more.”

Tonight and Thursday night, American Electric Power workers are going to shut off power to the City-County Building beginning at 5:30 p.m. until about 4:30 a.m.

“(Tonight) we will move the third floor onto the new power grid, then Thursday night we will move the fourth floor onto the new power grid,” she added. “We will continue to do that as we go through the phases.

“Once we get the third floor on the new power grid, they will be ready to move back as well. But they are willing to stay out a bit longer so we can finish the painting. So we have them scheduled to move back Feb. 17.”

Meanwhile, work on the fifth floor courtrooms is now in full swing and happening in the evenings, Marco explained. All 24 members of the work crew have been moved to afternoon shift so that construction in the courtrooms can be finished in the spaces 30 days early.

Work had been expected to be completed by April 1, and that date is now March 7.

“We do know we will have some issues with some upcoming trials where we will have to find solutions in the next 30 days,” Marco said. “But we’re moving that up substantially to take that off of our plate.”

Because work on the fifth floor courtrooms has been accelerated, work on the second floor where county offices are located is being temporarily halted, she told commissioners.

“It will be delayed about a month, then we will get back into regular swing,” Marco added.

The commissioners will next meet in regular session at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline St., Wheeling.