GALLIPOLIS — Working together for the common good was the main topic of Thursday’s joint meeting of the Gallia County Board of Commissioners and Gallipolis City Board of Commissioners.

In front of a packed room, both discussed ways the two government bodies could work together to boost economic development in Gallia County.

First up on the agenda was the future of Davis Hall.

City Commission President James Cozza discussed the challenges the city has faced regarding the building.

“When we determined it was not going to be economically feasible for us to rehabilitate that building for our purposes, it was cheaper to build a new building, the thinking was it would be demolished and used for parking and perhaps some of it as a green space,” said Cozza. “When we got the bids submitted to us for demolition we realized it was more, costwise, than what we had anticipated it would be.”

According to Randy Breech of Breech Engineering Company, the estimated cost of renovating all three floors of the building was $5 million.

Gallia County Economic Development Director Melissa Clark discussed brownfield revitalization offered through the State of Ohio Clean Ohio fund.

“There’s some funding out there to help with environmental concerns of structures,” said Clark.

Clark said there is funding for phases of inspection and removal of environmental hazards such as asbestos. She expressed her willingness to work with the city should it consider the brownfield option.

Discussion then turned to the possibility of both the county and city taking on the project as a joint venture.

“We know (the building) has been a struggle for the city commission and the city manager,” said County Commission President Joe Foster. “And when it was brought to us, it’s a struggle with us. Our opinion, after further discussion, was it is too good of a quality building to tear down, but too expensive of a project to refurbish.”

Foster said the county would be willing to explore further possibilities of cooperation between the county and city in regards to the building.

County Commission Vice President Justin Fallon said entering into a joint application for funding may help make the project eligible for state and federal assistance.

Discussion turned to various sewer projects and concerns around the county, including Green Township and Millcreek Road.

Gary D. Silcott, Jr., of Stantec Consulting discussed a study conducted regarding the Green Township sewer project that detailed the cost savings for the county and potential revenue for the city by connecting to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

At the time of the study, the city’s projected revenue was estimated at $161,500 year for Kanauga-Addison; $109,800 per year for phase I of the Green Township sewer project; and $129,200 per year for phase II of the Green Township sewer project. In addition, the county would save approximately $4 million connecting to the city’s system as opposed to building its own treatment plant for Green Township.

Cozza said the hard decision concerns maintenance of the plant and making sure the system can handle the flow of additional customers.

“We won’t know until it actually happens what Kanauga-Addison will add to the system. We don’t know what the Spruce Street sewer, that will be constructed here shortly, will add to the system,” said Cozza. “At some point your system has no more capacity.”

He also expressed concern that running the plant at a high capacity for an extended period of time would cause damage.

Cozza said previous discussions between the county and city indicated the county, at that time, would be willing to aid the city in obtaining funding for improvements and a “continual collaboration between the city and the county to make sure we protect what seems, like everyday, to become a more valuable resource, which is that treatment plant.”

Fallon said, from his standpoint, the offer to aid the city still stands and partnering with the city is the best financial option for the customers as long as it is feasible for both parties.

In addition, the city brought up concerns with run-off on Millcreek Road that is making its way onto the city shoreline.

“It is probably going to end up causing issues in the future,” said City Commissioner Steve Wallis. “It probably needs to be a priority, also.”

City Commissoner Matt Johnson started a discussion regarding joint efforts to attract people to the area and received support from the county commissioners. Both the city and county also entered into a joint resolution to request information from the state regarding the proposed VA clinic in Gallia County.

Overall, the meeting seemed to be the first step in open dialogue between the city and county in regard to economic issues affecting the area.