Conesville Village Hall completed within budget
Conesville’s former village hall was not handicapped accessible. (Submitted)
Construction has been completed on the new Conesville Village Hall located at 312 State St. in Conesville, within budget. (Submitted)
Construction has been completed on the new Conesville Village Hall located at 312 State St. in Conesville, within budget.
The village purchased the 312 State St. property in November 2020 after the Coshocton County Sheriff offered the property at public sale on two occasions and failed to produce a single bid. According to Solicitor William Todd Drown, “The village exercised its option under Ohio Revised Code Section 5723.01(A)(3) to purchase the property by paying in full all of the court costs, legal fees, and all delinquent taxes and assessments owed on the property. The village did not get the property for free.” The village paid $1,364.29 in court costs and $3,144.69 in delinquent taxes and assessments. As Drown explained, “Bidders who were present at the tax foreclosure sale had the right to pay the same amount as the village, but they choose not to exercise that right.”
The 24’ x 48’ and 1,152 square foot building was designed by Kelly Architectural Services, Inc. of Zanesville, with Hathaway, Inc. of Coshocton as general contractor. The total cost to construct the building without acquisition costs was $179,110. “We came in exactly on budget and in spite of the inflated costs of building materials and the supply chain crisis. We designed a simple building and worked hard to keep costs under control,” said Mayor Marge Donley. Nevertheless, Village Solicitor William Drown indicated that there was an estimated $20,000 of material price increases which could have been passed on contractually to the village, but which were absorbed by the contractor, Hathaway, Inc. “We simply ate the material cost increases so the village would come within its budget. Everyone has to do their part for their local community, and this was our contribution,” said Dustin Klein, vice president of Hathaway, Inc.
The new village hall also contains a meeting room with handicapped accessible restrooms and ramps which is 23’ x 24’ (552 square feet) for village council meetings and which can used by other public, private, and governmental entities. “We have already had requests from several other organizations to use the meeting room. The garage area and other storage areas are separate and secure from the meeting room so the village can store its records, confidential files, and equipment,” said Donley. Heavy duty shelving and desks for the new village hall were donated by the Frontier Group, the entity which owns the former AEP Conesville Power Generation site. “We want to thank the Frontier Group for their continued generosity to the Village of Conesville,” said Donley.
Category: Government
