WAYNE ALLEN

PDT Staff Writer

The Scioto County Commissioners signed a four-year lease agreement on Tuesday for property located at 622 Sixth St., in Portsmouth. The county’s adult probation department will move into the expanded space. According to Chief Probation Officer Nick Ferrara, the department will begin the move on Aug. 6.

Ferrara said the move could not come soon enough.

“Our department is falling down around us. The ceilings are caving in, the roof on this building is nearly non-existent. We’ve got mold, black mold in the back of the building,” Ferrara said. “We’ve grown out of this building. Since we’ve created our own counseling program all of us can’t fit in this building. With this new space we can bring the department together.”

Skip Riffe, Chairman of the Scioto County Commissioners, said under the terms of the lease the adult probation department will pay $2,083.33 per month through the four-years of the lease, and the department will use existing funds to pay the lease each month.

“This will be a definitely be a good move for the department,” Ferrara said.

Once the move is complete, Ferrara said, the counseling department will be located on the second floor of the building and the probation department will be located on the first floor of the building. Riffe said the department’s current location at 618 Sixth St., in Portsmouth, will likely be leveled and turned into a parking lot.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 208, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.