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ASHLAND — Wet weather and construction work don’t often go together.
Heavy rains can create a thick layer of mud around a site, along with safety concerns for workers.
Despite above-average precipitation levels for an average August in Ohio, Ashland County’s second administration building project remains on schedule, Commissioner Denny Bittle said Aug. 20.
The $6.1 million building is slated for a March 1, 2027 completion. Most, if not all, of the exterior work should be finished and weather sealed before colder weather moves in, Bittle said.
County and construction officials meet once a week on Tuesday afternoons to discuss the project, he said.
“We’ve got the underground (work) done,” the commissioner said. “The underground storage for water retention is completed.
“If you look at the building, the walls are all up and the waterproofing on the slab walls is done. Next week, we expect to start putting on the roof and working on the interior.”
Bittle estimates the parking lot will be paved within the next two weeks if everything stays on schedule. Only a base coat will be put down to begin, with a top coat being applied in spring 2027. This will allow time to see how the pavement settles, he said.
A parking lot will also help clean up the site and make things a bit easier for construction workers — who have been navigating equipment in muddy conditions for the better portion of the month.
“It’s been pretty muddy the past couple weeks and that’s slowed them down a little bit,” Bittle said. “But Campbell Construction is doing a very nice job with keeping on schedule.”
The Wooster-based contractor was awarded the project in February — originally a $6,532,000 base bid that included an optional $405,300 cost reduction. Commissioners accepted the reduction in March, dropping the overall cost by about $900,000 less than the originally estimated $7 million project cost.
The six-figure deduction related to optional changes to the scope of the project — specifically related to replacing an existing underground (water) detention system at the site of the new building, 345 Cottage St.
Moving day planning in progress
Bittle said a few tweaks have been made to the original design — the biggest thus far an addition to create three to four more parking spaces — and there’s been a few change orders, the most costly being between $8,000 to $10,000.
The new building will house relocated offices for several county departments, including the auditor’s office, treasurer’s office, recorder’s office and tax map office — which are all currently located inside the Ashland County Courthouse. The board will not be moving its office to the new building and will remain at 110 Cottage St.
In total, the building’s footprint will be around 13,000 square feet. The 1.6-acre lot it will sit on is located near the corner of Cottage and Fourth streets near downtown Ashland — formerly the site of the old Ashland Middle School.
Bittle said the logistics of moving several county departments is already in planning.
The treasurer’s office will be the last to move, he said, due to March being so close to tax season.
“It will be some time in April (treasurer’s office move),” the commissioner said. “The other offices will move over in March.”
He said nearly all of the furniture used in the new building will be new. The board has met with elected county officials, who have funding available to help purchase the furnishing.
