Chillicothe — Council started looking more seriously into better office space, in an hour-and-a-half meeting before Monday’s council session. They also approved up to $250,000 to buy and equip four new police cruisers.
Chillicothe Council met on June 24th, 2026. Council president Kevin Shoemaker had said that he wants to move towards a resolution about the two ailing city office buildings on South Paint Street. He called the review meeting for the city facilities committee, which is the entire council.
Councilman Jeff Creed chaired the meeting, and you can hear him in his own words below. He said council started looking into the issue again a year ago.
He said the city had a study eight years ago to to put all city offices into one building, and consider reusing the existing administration building at 35 South Paint Street – but he said that is cost-prohibitive.
Creed said they are looking at all options, including former City Hall at 26 South Paint Street – which he said is too small to house all offices.
The city has considered buying the former Gazette Building at at 50 West Main Street, and he said a preliminary study showed that it has enough room for the city, but would need $2.5M to $3M in renovations.
Creed said that purchase price has not been released yet (which is permitted by the Sunshine Law for real estate negotiations).
The Foulke Block next door to old City Hall was also considered as a lease, and co-owner Joe Gieringer chatted with council about various factors.
Creed said the city will also also consider building new – but that is probably cost-prohibitive. Mayor Luke Feeney said he and his chief of staff will look at the numbers for council.
Creed said he wants council to regroup every two weeks, before each council session, until they come to a conclusion – to keep the issue “on the front burner.”
He encouraged the public to attend, and expects the meetings will be about half an hour long. He welcomed communications from citizens, including an emails address to all council members at [email protected].
And in an action that Safety / Service chair Julie Preston said was an annual event, council passed on first reading an ordinance to issue bonds up to $250,000 to buy and equip four new police cruisers.
Preston said this happens every year, though the number of cruisers varies.
I asked her about police staffing, and she said the city had hired a couple new officers who were in training now. She said the city is probably seven officers short, with a budget for about 39.
