YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners have approved an agreement with Murphy Contracting of Youngstown to make emergency repairs to the roof of the Mahoning County Courthouse costing $179,800.

Jim Fortunato, county purchasing director, said Thursday the most recent roof restoration was done six years ago as part of the $6 million courthouse restoration project that began around 2013. Since the last roof restoration work, there has been some deterioration of the mortar and terra cotta in the area of the roof from the gutters up, Fortunato said.

The work is going to be done to ensure that no water penetrates into the building to cause internal or structural damage to the historic structure, he said, adding that he does not know yet what caused the damage, but that may become more clear as the repair work progresses.

The $6 million restoration included replacement of the roof, downspouts and pieces of the molded clay brick (known as terra cotta), and restoration of the 16-foot copper statue on the roof, according to Vindicator archives.

Ceremonial activities for the $6 million renovation project were delayed by COVID-19, so some of those took place later, such as the August 2022 placing of a new time capsule in the cornerstone of the building, which was a celebration of the completion of the restoration and a celebration of the courthouse.

Murphy Contracting also was the general contractor for the restoration project. Fortunato was the project manager for the restoration project.

The other significant repair done at the courthouse in recent years was a four-month project ending around Jan. 1, 2020, to replace metal beams and steam pipes and adding stormwater drainage pipes and concrete work to fix a corrosion problem in the alley behind the courthouse.

The problem was observed after water leaked through decorative pavers in the alley and infiltrated a concrete roof over a tunnel that runs between the courthouse and the county administration building next door.

The water caused steel beams where the tunnel meets the courthouse to rust and destabilized the granite walls of the courthouse in that area of the building. The commissioners authorized spending $325,000 for that work in May 2019. Murphy Contracting also handled that project.

$47.6 MILLION COUNTY

BUDGET APPROVED

In other business, the commissioners approved the 2025 county general fund budget of $47,665,000 and the Criminal and Administrative Justice Fund budget of $40,100,000, the same amount the county commissioners and their Office of Management and Budget said during November budget hearings had been certified as being available to spend in 2025.

The General Fund rose by 7.4% over the 2023 figure, and the Criminal and Administrative Justice Fund rose by 2.8 percent over 2023.

The general fund covers most of the major county departments, including the courts, commissioners’, auditor’s, treasurer’s and recorder’s offices, and the board of elections. The criminal justice fund pays for the sheriff’s office and jail, coroner’s and prosecutor’s offices and county 911.

Judge Theresa Dellick attended the commissioners meeting to thank them for the ways the commissioners helped the juvenile court this year with capital improvement funds and money for health care benefits.

She mentioned storage tanks that were brought up to code, juvenile detention gymnasium heating was repaired, the boiler got a “five-year repair,” the radios in detention were upgraded, upgrades to hot water tanks, the kitchen hood, HVAC circulation pump, improvements to hard floors, getting new cameras and locks in the detention facility with the help of the commissioners and Ohio Department of Youth Services.

“As old as it is, it is probably one of the better buildings,” she said of the juvenile court and detention facility.

Dellick’s budget request for 2025 was $7.9 million, an increase of 13.9 percent over her 2024 budget of $6.8 million, but the budget the commissioners approved was $7.1 million, an increase of 10.1 percent.

Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said of the county’s finances and budget: “We’ve watched the bottom line as best we can, even though there has been a lot of upheavals in the economy, some inflationary things. Mahoning County has remained very, very strong budgetary, and we are very proud of that. The numbers don’t lie, and we have a great office of budget and management.”

Also at the meeting, the commissioners reappointed Ed Muransky, chairman of the board of The Muransky Companies and founder and majority owner of the Surgical Hospital at Southwoods in Boardman, to the board of the Western Reserve Port Authority, an economic development organization that runs the Youngstown Warren Regional Airport. The appointment is for four years.

Before the vote, Anthony Trevena, port authority executive director, said Muransky is a “real gem to this community, not just in philanthropy but in his business acumen and his leadership is incredible. I call on him regularly about things with aviation, business.”

The commissioners also appointed Chelsea Hillard to Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities for four years and reappointed Jodi Kale and Anthony Sertick. The commissioners also reappointed Sharon Hackett to the Mahoning County Law Library Resources Board for five years.

Next week’s meeting will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the commissioners hearing room in the basement of the county courthouse.