The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is in the national spotlight with a less-than-brilliant performance, but the Geauga County Veterans’ Service Office is doing well.
So well — and busy, in fact — that the Geauga County Commissioners have approved construction of a new veterans’ service office on Ravenwood Drive in Claridon Township.
A committee of about a dozen met last Thursday to review very preliminary plans for a one-story, 4,800-square-foot building in the same area as the recently completed veterans memorial east of the Geauga County Senior Center.
The exact location and cost of the building are still uncertain, county Administrator Dave Lair said Monday.
The initial location preferred by the veterans’ service commission is probably not an option, he said.
The 13-acre parcel is the site of water wells that serve every building on Ravenwood except the UH Geauga Medical Center, Lair said, adding each well has a 300-foot do-not-disturb zone surrounding it, rendering about one-third of the parcel unusable for construction.
However, the county commissioners also own several 3-acre parcels on the north side of Ravenwood and one of them would be a viable alternate site, he said.
“We want to keep (the building) as close to the monument as possible,” Lair said.
Geauga County Veterans’ Services Director Michele Pemberton presented a preliminary sketch of a possible design of the proposed structure at a meeting last Friday with the Geauga County Veterans’ Services Commission, county Commissioner Blake Rear, Lair, county Maintenance Director Glen Vernick and her two employees.
The pencil-drawn plan includes a 36-by-44-square-foot meeting room, six offices, a reception desk, a kitchenette and a 288-square-foot covered outside space by the garage in the back.
The veterans’ services office is currently located in Building 8 at 470 Center Street in Chardon. Access is through the building department and down a hallway, sometimes making it difficult for disabled vets, Pemberton said.
“We would like to get out of this back corner,” she said after the meeting.
The office has been in its present location for 13 years, Pemberton said, adding she, case workers John Brickman and Randy McVicker and other county officials have been discussing a new, larger, more visible and accessible facility since October.
Geauga County is home to about 6,200 veterans and Pemberton anticipates that number will grow in the future, as many likely will be leaving the armed services in the near future.
In 2013, her office handled more than 800 cases, with the majority being National Guard veterans and reservists, she said.
The Ohio Department of Veterans Services issued an expenditure for veterans this year showing the total federal VA dollars spent within the county was more than $24 million in 2013, with a steady climb of about $3 million per year since 2010.
The county spent $378,631 on veterans in 2013, according to the document, seeing increases of more than $30,000 per year over the last two years.
Lair said Monday he is working with the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office to create a request for qualifications to send to architects.
The firm chosen will work with the county to determine the best design based upon Pemberton’s initial sketch and the location chosen.
The county commissioners’ budget for 2014 doesn’t include funds for complete construction for the proposed facility, Lair said, but money should be available to have an architect draw up plans for it.
No cost for the facility has been estimated, but he said it is likely to cost more than $1 million.
Pemberton made it clear Friday she is willing to wait.
“We want this done by the book,” she said.