Clarion County commissioners are formulating a 5-to-10-year capital improvement plan to get needed work done in the county.
“There will be a buildings and grounds assessment so we can anticipate what needs to be done,” commissioner Ted Tharan said Tuesday at a commissioners work session. “We need a plan instead of just shooting from the hip.”
The projects include some short-term items, like renovating the restrooms at the courthouse to maintaining the old jail and the county park.
The long-term projects would include a new 911 building and record storage center. Tharan said the county’s maintenance crew would do some of the projects.
Commissioner Wayne Brosius added that a new roof at the county jail is a priority item. The roof work would be bid to a qualified contractor.
Tharan said the county could use money raised by the debt service tax for future projects. The county levies 1.5 mills for debt service, which is more than presently required.
A portion of the $565,000 collected in 2018 is placed in a reserve account and can be used against future debt payments.
“We need to get this done so we know where we are going but we need some help on that,” said Tharan.
That help will come in the form of former county employee Rose Logue, who will work a couple of hours a week to develop the financial part of the plan. Tharan said Logue has an extensive accounting background with Clarion University and the county.
The commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the county’s administrative office on Main Street in Clarion.