Proposed levy would fund new senior center

• A proposed 0.5-mill levy would fund the construction of a senior center near Ohio 146.
• Officials want to move out of the Sunrise Center location after dealing with landlord woes.
• That building reopened last week after it was condemned in March for code violations.
• If the levy passes, officials would break ground in fall, and move to the site at the end of 2016.

ZANESVILLE – After years of enduring landlord woes, a damaged building and now a rent increase, county officials are looking for a new location to house The Muskingum County Center for Seniors.

The first solution is to build a new center funded by a levy. Voters can cast their ballots for or against the 0.5-mill levy during the May 5 primary.

The 20-year levy would go toward building a $10.5 million facility, possibly near or on the Zane State College and Ohio University-Zanesville campuses. It would cost those with a home valued at $100,000 about $18 a year, center director Ann Combs said.

"This levy has the potential to affect everyone in Muskingum County because all of us age," Combs said. "To make a small investment of $18 a year into a property makes Muskingum County a better place."

The site's location and design has not been finalized, though officials have a concept. The area along Ohio 146, Combs said, has the minimum five acres they would need.

If the levy passes, Combs said they hope to break ground in the fall and be in the building by the end of 2016, near the time their current Sunrise Center lease with Virginia-based Wahoo Land Holdings LLC expires.

County commissioners have paid $1.5 million in rent since leasing a building in the Sunrise Center for the senior center in 1998.

"During that time, we've had a building fall into tremendous disrepair in the last seven years," she said. "That should never be accepted for our seniors."

A host of problems had plagued the building, including a leaky roof, falling ceiling tiles, a corroded electric panel and damaged exit doors.

Code enforcement and the fire chief condemned the building in March, shutting its doors. The building reopened last week after workers with Wahoo made the repairs.

The center has put rent in escrow since September, as Wahoo was reluctant to make the repairs, Commissioner Todd Sands said.

"They've been aware of that roof for quite some time," Sands said. "It's been a long time to get that roof fixed."

Now that the repairs are completed, rent will increase from $9,300 a month to more than $12,000, Combs said.

It's part of a stipulation in the lease the Muskingum County Commissioners renewed with Wahoo last year. Called a "common area maintenance agreement," it allows the landlord to raise rent following improvements to the building, said Commissioner Jim Porter.

"There was no other place to go," Combs said of the decision to renew the lease. "We have to provide our services."

That lease ends Aug. 31, 2016. After that, county officials say they hope to have a new location secured for the senior center, though they can extend the lease further.

But even with the rent increase, Walt Patrick, a managing member of Wahoo, said it'd still be cheaper in the long run to stay at the current location.

"The county's getting a real bargain," Patrick said. "We hope they stay, but if they choose to build a new one, that's what they choose."

Not least of Combs' concerns is whether the 36,000-square-foot building is designed well enough to provide the many services seniors depend on, such as dining services, food pantry, dances and other activities. She said it would be better for taxpayers to build than to stay at the current location.

"I believe we've limited some of our activities just because of the state of building," she said.

The proposed location would offer partnership opportunities with nearby college facilities, like the recreation center, she said.

Not everyone is happy with the prospect of a tax increase.

A significant grassroots group has developed, mainly on Facebook, voicing opposition to what they see as an excessive use of tax dollars to build an extravagant building.

"We think there should be a senior center, and maybe even a different one, but we would like to see one more centrally located or a rehab building," said Doug Kreis, a Zanesville local who identified himself as a senior. "We don't believe there should be an $11 million Taj Mahal."

Aside from the costs, some citizens are concerned about the traffic issues seniors will face on Ohio 146, Connie Ford of Zanesville said.

"This is not in the best interest of the seniors," she said. "They really need to think this through."

A better option, Kreis and Ford say, may be to move the center to an existing building that may be more cost-effective.

And that may be what administrators need to consider if the levy doesn't pass in May. But right now, the focus is on the upcoming election, Combs said.

"If the levy doesn't pass, the commissioners have been bringing this up for several years, we need a plan B, and we don't have one," Commissioner Porter said.