Lorain shows off much-needed new Central Service Complex

LORAIN — Almost anything would have been an improvement over the city's former service complex at East 35th Street and Broadway. But Lori Garcia, Lorain's director of public property, said the newly finished $9 million Central Service Complex on West Park Drive is a dream come true. "I never thought in my lifetime I would see it in the city of Lorain," Garcia said Sunday as the public was welcomed to an open house. "Every day that we come to work is like Christmas morning." City Council gave the financial go-ahead for the new complex in 2018 due to compounding problems including out-of-control infestation by rodents, raccoons and termites at the old location. Workers also dealt with black mold growth, and by the time they left permanently, mushrooms were growing out of the carpet. City staff had moved into the former facility in 1977 with the intention of staying just 10 years, Garcia said, adding that it was condemned within the last decade but workers stayed there four more years. Completed recently, the new facility opened to Lorain's Streets, Parks & Recreation, Paint & Signs, Traffic Signals and Vehicle Maintenance Divisions on Aug. 18. Work began in October 2019 on demolishing the Lorain National Bank building that was formerly on the property and construction above ground began this February. Project manager and superintendent Jason Vanwagnen, who oversaw the project for contractor Regency Construction Services, said working through the winter and spring created some difficulties, but good subcontractors helped them finish close to their target date. "It was a challenge working through the wet months," he said. "When you don't get a good deep freeze, and you get that half-freeze and a bunch of rain, it just makes for challenging site conditions." Although the new Central Service Complex doesn't have quite the square footage of its predecessor, it makes the most of the space it does have and adds numerous features that were previously lacking. For example, workers will now have luxuries including proper air conditioning, drinkable water and an indoor wood shop. The reels that hold oils and antifreeze for working on city vehicles are also a new addition. "In the old shop we had barrels in a shopping cart, and they would just wheel them around," Garcia said. The inclusion of a brine maker is expected to make the process much more efficient than the makeshift method involving a plastic tub and swimming pool pump that was used before. And a wash bay could extend the life of city vehicles, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars, Garcia said. For salt trucks specifically, the regular washes will extend the vehicles' lives by an average of five to seven years. Not everything is new. Much of the equipment was brought from the old facility, as was its resident pest control specialist — Sam the cat, who became beloved for catching mice and scrapping with raccoons. "We actually found him in a Slurpee cup at the old place. The lid was crooked and he got in there. He was only about three or four weeks old," Garcia said of Sam. "...We had to feed him with a dropper the first three or four weeks. He was that young." The nearly 14-year-old feline is transitioning into a more comfortable lifestyle at the new Central Service Complex. The old service complex is set for demolition, although there are hopes that a small part of it may be salvageable so city crews can store parts there while working in that area of the city. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.