YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners took more steps Thursday to get the new Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission offices on Belmont Avenue remodeled and funded.

They established a budget of $3.71 million for the project, which represents about half of the cost of the $7 million undertaking, plus administrative costs, said Hollie Musolino-Gooden, commissioners deputy clerk. They voted for the move at their regular weekly meeting in the basement of the county courthouse.

Jen Pangio, director of the Office of Management and Budget for the county commissioners, said in order to start the project, “We have to have a budget in place.”

She said having that in place allows the commissioners to begin the upcoming phases of the project, such as issuing purchase orders.

The commissioners will add the second half of the funds to the budget later for the second phase of the project, Musolino-Gooden said.

Another item approved by the commissioners Thursday was to allow issuance of notes in anticipation of issuing bonds of $4.14 million for costs associated with the renovation of the building.

General funds the Veterans Service Commission has saved also will be applied to the project. Also to be applied to the funding package is a $650,000 One Time Strategy Community Investments Grant from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, along with donations and other funding coming in for the project, Musolino-Gooden said.

Last week, the commissioners entered a memorandum of understanding with the Western Reserve Port Authority under which the authority will acquire and renovate the former Loblaw’s grocery store to become the Veterans Service Commission offices. It is located at 1915 Belmont Ave., across Francisca Avenue from the Carl Nunziato Veterans Affairs clinic.

The port authority already purchased the former Loblaw’s building for $350,000, Sarah Lown, public finance manager for the port authority, said last week.

Randy Partika, project manager and development engineer for the port authority, evaluated the building before its purchase, and he will work with the architects in consultation with the Veterans Service Commission to design it.

Lown said the MOU results in a purchase order from the county to the port authority, which then authorizes the port authority to sign contracts to start work on the project. The first contract will be with BSHM Architects Inc., which has an office on South Champion Street in Youngstown, to design the renovations.

The port authority reviewed three architectural firms and BSHM came in the highest for qualifications and experience, Lown said.

After the engineering, planning and designs are complete, the port authority can go out to bid for construction, which Lown said earlier they hoped would begin early next year and finish by September of next year.

The commissioners also announced that their meeting next week will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Poland Township Government Center, 3339 Dobbins Road in Poland.

The Mahoning County Engineer’s Office announced that Sharrott Road at Western Reserve Road will be closed for about 30 days starting Aug. 18 to complete installation of a concrete box culvert as part of the Western Reserve Road Widening Project, Phase 1.

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