ASHLAND — The Ashland County title office could move from the basement of the courthouse to the dog shelter in the next few months.
Ashland County commissioners hired VSWC Architects on Thursday to design a new office that will occupy the vacant — and unfinished — front space at the dog shelter on Baney Road.
The firm will design the new digs for no more than $48,000, the commissioner’s agenda item reads. The shelter was opened in 2023.
Original plans for the front space of the dog shelter involved finding a veterinary clinic and grooming salon as tenants. Those plans fell through, officials said.
Now, the plan is to build out a new office setup for under $300,000, commissioners said. The move should be able to happen by mid- to late-summer.
“That’s obviously the busiest office in the building, so that’s why the board decided to prioritize getting that out of there first,” commissioner Denny Bittle said.
The ultimate plan is to build a new 13,000 square-foot administrative office building for the auditor, treasurer, recorder and tax map departments — all of which currently occupy space in the courthouse.
When those offices move out of the courthouse, commissioners would renovate the old building to better accommodate court proceedings.
The new building will be constructed nearby, along Cottage Street at the 1.7-acre lot that used to house the former Ashland Middle School. Commissioners bought that property in October for $400,000.
Commissioners said the administration building and courthouse renovation could cost up to $7 million. They hope to issue bid guidelines for the administration building project in a month or so.
‘Different … but it’ll be OK’
Deborah Myers, the county’s clerk of courts, oversees the three staffers working in the title department and the three employees in the legal clerk office at the Ashland County Court of Common Pleas.
She said the move affects the title office — not the legal clerk’s office. Myers plans to split her time between the two offices when the move happens.
“It’s going to be different then what we’re used to, but it’ll be OK,” she said, adding there was some worry about smells and noise, given the space’s attachment to the dog shelter.
“But there’s a barrier there,” she said. “We’re willing and able to do whatever it takes for the good of the community.”
The space, sized between 2,000 square-feet and 3,000 square-feet, does not have finished floors, walls and a ceiling. The shelter is walled off by concrete blocks and there is a separate entrance.
Commissioners said the plan is to divide the unfinished space at the dog shelter into two usable offices. When asked, they declined to provide plans on who might share the space with the title department.