Senior housing being built
WAYNESBURG – A management company is accepting applications from area residents who want to live in the Gateway Senior Housing complex under construction in Waynesburg.
The company, NDC Real Estate, opened a temporary office on the second floor of the county office building, Bob Easley of NDS Real Estate told the county commissioners Thursday.
Construction of the four-story building is going well and is expected to be complete in early June, Easley said.
The apartments will be available for people 62 or older whose income is 60 percent of the county’s medium income, Easley said. The income guideline equates to $24,840 for an individual and $28,380 for a couple, he said.
Income guidelines are very specific, Easley said, and take into account income sources including interest on investments, wages and Social Security.
The NDC office on the second floor of the county office building is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and is staffed by Jason Temple, who can assist people with the application process, he said.
Karen Bennett, administrator of the county Department of Human Services, said her department also will have an office in the new apartment complex and will help coordinate services for residents.
Construction on the $10 million project at High and East streets began in early May. The project is being developed by PIRHL Development of Warrensville Heights, Ohio. The building will include 31 one-bedroom and 21 two-bedroom apartments.
In other business:
•The commissioners approved an agreement with Delta Development, under which the company will conduct a study of the county’s transportation program.
Delta will determine whether the county is making the best use of its buses and look for possible cost savings, county chief clerk Jeff Marshall said. Delta will be paid $4,000 a month. The study is expected to take six months.
•The commissioners approved an oil and gas lease with Rice Drilling B LLC for the mineral rights it owns on 81.44 acres of land near Aleppo. The company will pay a 20 percent royalty on the lease.
•The commissioners approved an agreement with Kimberly Furmanek to work in the public defender’s office. She will be paid $3,750 a month and receive no benefits.
During a retirement board meeting, the commissioners approved a cost-of-living increase to retiree’s monthly pensions to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Asked how an increase could be granted when those on Social Security didn’t receive an increase in benefits last year because of the flat CPI, Controller Dave Balint explained county retirees haven’t received an increase since 2007.
The cost-of-living increase, which was slight, took into account the CPI from 2007 to the present, including the negative CPI last year, he said. The county pension fund also is currently overfunded, Balint said.
During a salary board meeting
•The commissioners hired attorney Gregory Hook as solicitor for the Human Services Department at a salary of $67,000.
•The commissioners promoted John Dulaney to regular part-time tip staff at $10 an hour and hired Mark McCurdy and Dave Gregg as tip staffs at $67.51 a day.
•The commissioners promoted Janice Lahew to first deputy in the clerk of courts and hired Candace Buchanan as a first deputy in the clerk of courts at a salary of $27,705.
•The commissioners also approved the retirement of former county Commissioner Charles Morris and maintenance director George Smith. Each received a $5,000 severance.