Already slated to experience change with the renovation of the vestibule, the Richland County courthouse may see another change with the addition of an Advantage Credit Union automated teller machine (ATM) inside the building.
Advantage Credit Union CEO Robert Grove proposed the idea of placing an ATM inside the courthouse to the county commissioners on Tuesday morning.
Grove explained that, originally, Advantage had placed an ATM at the GM plant. When the plant closed, the machine moved to the OSU-Mansfield/North Central State College Campus. Currently, there is a cash handler machine in one of the NCSC buildings, and the ATM machine is now in storage.
“We feel that it would be a real community service to Richland County to put [the ATM] in the Richland County Courthouse,” said Grove.
The machine is a full-service ATM that will allow users to make deposits and withdrawals, get credit card cash advances, receive detailed account information, and transfer money between accounts. Further, the ATM is ADA compliant and would be maintained daily.
Members of Alliance One credit union, including Advantage and Directions, can use the machine free of charge; however, other customers have to pay a fee. COO Camille Grayson noted that the foreign transaction fee is minimal—$2.50.
She added, “[The ATM] is secure. There’s a camera inside the ATM and every transaction is recorded…there is no phone line needed; the only thing we need is the electric.”
The prospective location for the machine is outside of the commissioner’s office on the main floor of the courthouse.
“I’m kind of ambivalent to the idea,” said Commissioner Ed Olson. “But to me it would be whether it’s of value to the public and whether it’s of value to the recorder, the treasurer, the clerk of courts.”
County Recorder Sarah Davis stated, “It would be very beneficial for my office because we have people all the time who, when they find out their fine is going to be $124, they go, ‘I only have $45 in my pocket,’ and the last thing I want them to do is write me a check, which has happened on occasion, and it has bounced.”
The commissioners agreed to have the county prosecutor review the proposal before taking any action.
Advantage will prepare a three-year contract, which would include an up-front fee to cover any expense to the county, such as electricity.
In other news, the commissioners discussed a bid opening for the Richland County park building and courthouse chillers (air conditioning units).
President of MG Energy Group Dave Metzger explained, “Rather than performing economic calculations on the estimates, we decided that we would do the economic calculations on the actual bids, and we’re going to show what the paybacks are if we go with the smart chiller versus the other more conventional chillers.”
Olson added, “We’re hoping that with more modern and higher efficiency units there will be considerable savings in the electricity. This is fourth major conservation project since 1999 and in all cases, the savings from utilities paid off the upfront cost for the first five years.”
Additionally, the commissioners approved the bridge replacements located at Five Points East Road over Brubaker Creek, just east of the intersection of Five Points East Road over Switzer Creek, between Hastings Newville Road and Pulver Road, and on Pleasant Hill Rd over an unnamed ditch in Richland County.
This project is part of the Governor’s Ohio Bridge Partnership Program Initiative. No funds are required from the county except that the county agrees to assume and bear 100 percent of the total cost for added construction items requested by the county and not necessary for the improvement as determined by the State and Federal Highway Administration.
Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2014.
