JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Wednesday morning to move Western County Court, presently in Geneva, to the county seat after the present lease expires in September 2026.
The court will move from 117 West Main St. in Geneva to 25 West Jefferson St. in Jefferson, the resolution states.
“This relocation is a preparatory step toward the full consolidation of the Ashtabula County Courts courts by January 2031, as approved by Ohio legislation in 2024,” the resolution states.
The commissioners also said they sent a letter to Geneva leaders regarding the non-renewal of the lease.
The process has been ongoing, and commissioners said they wished to move in this direction following a recent public hearing.
The commissioners authorized the filing of grant application for the Violence Against Women Act program. The proposed grant application is for $49,000 from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, with a local cash match of $16,333.
The commissioners declared the former youth detention center building vacant, and authorized the Ashtabula County Land Reutilization Corporation to provide assistance in the project.
The commissioners have been trying to decide what to do with the building after it flooded and the Ashtabula County Juvenile Court moved to downtown Ashtabula. The commissioners have reached out to potential interested parties to provide proposals on possible use of the building, but came up short, and the commissioners are now seeking to demolish the structure.
A $167,358.66 contract with Northwestern Ohio Security Systems, Inc., to construct a new security camera system for the Ashtabula County Jail was approved, as well as a $6,720.64 contract with Vector Security for increased security at the Ashtabula County Title Department on West Walnut Street.
Commissioner J.P. Ducro said the commissioners received a petition with 1,395 signatures, representing more than 3,800 people seeking some sort of emergency services in the Andover area.
The UH Andover Emergency Room closed in spring 2020, and negotiations for some sort of emergency presence in the area has been discussed at multiple levels of government ever since.
Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said negotiations continue to this day. He said the discussions are not moving at the pace he would like.