MANSFIELD — Lori Bedson said she wants to make Richland County Job & Family Services more inviting.
Bedson, director of RCJFS, said recent walks through the Park Avenue East building have revealed several areas requiring maintenance attention.
“We’ve noticed some walls that are crumbling a little bit around the base of the wall,” she told Richland County commissioners Tuesday morning.
“Our carpeting has been down in the building for about 10 years, 11 years now and there are big spots,” Bedson said.
Additionally, issues with mold and mildew have occurred after carpet cleanings, she said.
Bedson, along with Jason McManes, administrator at RCJFS, joined commissioners Tuesday to present a reconfiguration project proposal, including a request for a 15-percent match of the total cost.
Proposed work
Day-to-day operations at RCJFS have changed, Bedson said.
The total number of employees has decreased from 125 to about 50 over the past 18 years.
“We’re never going to be at 125 again,” Bedson said. “We have a lot of dead space, unused space in our main building.”
Increased use of online systems and telephone contact has created growth in the organization’s intake department. Its also sparked a need for more space for support staff and ancillary services, and limited space for face-to-face interactions with customers.
Below are the changes being proposed to the building’s main level:
- Move the IT area to the area beside the administration kitchen.
- Move Youth and Family Council to the IT area.
- Merge the mailroom and the training lab.
- Cluster the IM units into one quadrant of the main floor.
- Move the social service unit adjacent to the new IT area.
- Add three cubicles to the intake department.
- Reconfigure the current social service unit into a quiet break area.
During the project, general maintenance work will also be completed, including new vinyl plank flooring to minimize allergens, dirt and mold and a deep cleaning and/or repair of upholstered cubicle walls, interior walls and baseboards in the main building and Ohio Means Jobs Center.
Projected cost
The total project cost is $184,868, of which $168,100 comes from the contracted floor install.
Commissioners approved contributing a 15-percent match of the total cost, up to a maximum of $27,730. The remaining 85 percent will be paid for using RCJFS local funds.
A projected timeline has work scheduled in March and done by September.
Commissioner Darrell Banks said he’s been aware of the proposed reconfiguration and has walked through the facility with Bedson.
“I think it will be a more efficient way of handling the space and I’d like to see us do it,” Banks said Tuesday.
(Below is a PDF copy of the proposal presented Tuesday morning to commissioners by Richland County Job & Family Services.)