Day Report to move into new offices
By PAMELA BRUSTPARKERSBURG - Wood County's Community Corrections Day Report Center soon will relocate to larger downtown headquarters.
The alternative sentencing program is housed in part of Towne Square not owned by the county, paying $1,500 a month plus parking space rental. Prosecutor Ginny Conley, DRC board president, Tuesday said a lease for the DRC to take over the front section of the first floor at 916 Market St. takes effect Nov. 1. The facility to be leased is unoccupied and owned by the Wood County Senior Citizens Association. County officials said the new location will provide more space for offices and counseling services.
"We hope renovation work can get under way as soon as possible. The board is excited about the growth we will be seeing in the program as a result of this move, including the ability to provide additional services for more individuals," Conley said, noting the expansion will also provide enough additional space to create an in-house drug testing lab. Conley, along with DRC Director Gary Deem and other officials this week will travelto a drug testing lab in Mercer County, which they plan to use as a model for the local lab.
"We currently have the largest number of participants in a day report center in the state, approximately 120. With the increase we expect to see with the West Central Regional Drug Court, having this additional space will be very helpful," she said.
The $2,400 monthly rental for the Market Street space includes parking and utilities and will be paid out of the DRC's budget, which is made up primarily of grant funds and fees paid by program participants, Conley said.
"We will have space for between 11-12 offices and expanded areas for counseling. There will be a secured entrance," Deem said, noting security issues have been a concern in the past. "We are very excited about this move. It will mean better working conditions, which have been needed," he said.
Officials said the new drug testing lab, which will be modeled after the one in Mercer County, will not only serve the DRC, but home confinement, drug court and possibly other entities as well. Officials hope it could ultimately become a revenue-producer for the program.
Wood County officials said Steve Collins, head of the Mercer County DRC, which covers eight counties, has been consulting with Wood County on recommendations for the DRC program and drug screening facility here. Collins coordinates the Mercer County DRC with the Southern Regional Drug Court. He developed and implemented the first drug screening lab in the state.
Commissioner Blair Couch, who is the county commission's liaison to the DRC board, said $27,000 earlier granted to the DRC for a new pretrial coordinator position has been transferred for use as seed money for renovation work at the new DRC location.
"It is believed through the program's grant, they can still fund that position in-house, so we agreed to transfer the $27,000 into its (DRC) building fund line item. We don't believe it will take the whole amount, but they are going to need a phone system, some furniture and fixtures. Hopefully most of the furniture will be donated, but there will still be painting, and some building materials. Our plan is to use some labor from county maintenance and DRC clients assigned community service for the work," Couch said.
"Several different locations were considered for the DRC. They have very limited parking where they are now, the offices are very cramped, and they don't have adequate counseling areas. This will be a great move for this program to have a better facility to provide better service and space for the drug testing lab. One of the largest success the southern day report center has had is setting up their lab, which gives them the ability to perform all necessary drug testing in-house. That's a cost savings for community corrections and the day report center. Our goal was to give the center a solid home for the next 2 or 2 1/2 years until we have a new justice center," Couch said.
