DISCUSSION — Health Commissioner Andrew Henry, left, listened as Jefferson County Board of Health President Anthony Mougianis spoke during the board’s monthly meeting Thursday. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County General Health District’s executive officer reported Thursday that he’s investigated the ongoing Heritage Place apartment heating issue and offered help where applicable.

During its monthly meeting, the Jefferson County Board of Health heard from Health Commissioner Andrew Henry, who said the county health department has “been working through the situation and helping when we can through the last several days.”

“The situation” refers to some residents of Heritage Place apartments on Market Street, whose units have lacked piped-in heat since at least early December due to boiler failure.

Four residents are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court, alleging that complex owners Green National and ABC Management violated statutory requirements aimed at ensuring units are safe and livable.

On Friday, Judge Joseph Bruzzese ordered the owners to rehouse affected tenants — either in fully-furnished apartments in town or hotels in Steubenville or Weirton — and issued a temporary restraining order giving the owners until Thursday to restore heat. A preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday has been continued until Feb. 7 to give the owners time to review the case.

While matters appeared in the courtroom, Henry reported on his own activities regarding the issue.

“This is a landlord-tenant dispute, which is generally outside of our scope, but I felt the need to at least investigate the issue given the extreme cold temperatures,” Henry said. “It’s important that we don’t assume responsibility for the situation, given the legal proceedings, but it’s also our position in the community to help those people.”

Henry said that, on Sunday, he received a call from a “concerned citizen” and was put in contact with a Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio attorney who represents the tenants. She, in turn, got Henry in touch with Heritage Place’s regional manager.

“The regional manager informed me that the residents have access to space heaters but did not go as far (as) to offer them alternate housing, as they were ordered to do,” Henry said.

Following that call, Henry reportedly visited the Heritage Place property and called its maintenance shop. An individual told Henry that space heaters would be provided to any person who needed one.

Henry said he also spoke with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency and inquired about cots, in the event tenants would need to sleep elsewhere. The agency was “response and willing to help,” he said, but suggested individuals be rehoused in hotels, as “that number of cots would be more than they had available.”

Board President Anthony Mougianis asked how long the situation has gone on. Henry said he was told directly that issues began in December, though he’s also heard October.

“They’ve been dealing with it a while,” Henry said. “I wish that information was out before the situation came to a head with legal proceedings because I don’t think it’s helping the residents there, unfortunately. I think they’re feeling now (that), if they’ve started legal proceedings with their landlord, that now they’re going to fear repercussions.”

Separately, the board voted to contract Steubenville, which utilize the health department’s staff for plumbing its inspections.

It’s a reversal of roles for the city, which, until late last year, permitted the health department use of its plumbing inspector for inspections around the county. Following the city inspector’s recent retirement, the health department hired Victor Dominic Cingolani to be an as-needed plumbing inspector.

“Previously, with plumbing, we contracted with the city,” Henry said before the board’s vote. “Now they’re going to contact with us, provided it gets approved, to do plumbing inspections.”

Owner of Mister Plumber in Hopedale, Cingolani supports the idea and “is OK with any business implications it has on his plumbing business, Henry said. Cingolani, as the inspector, may not apply for commercial or residential plumbing permits within the health department’s jurisdiction or provide service calls to buildings he inspected on the department’s behalf, according to a board resolution amended last month.

“The city has several projects in the near future that they need a plumbing inspector to do,” Henry added, “and they would rather contract with us than source that out statewide.”

Later, the board entered an executive session for Henry’s evaluation as health commissioner. Mougianis said afterward that there was nothing to report, other than that Henry is doing “an exceptional job” — something he said is clear by staff members’ demeanor.

Also, Kelly Wilson, director of finance and administration, presented board members with a report breaking down the department’s balance by year and month, which she’ll continue to do quarterly.

The board also approved:

• An amended contract with Health Department Information Software, removing models that the JCGHD’s environmental division did not need — namely for school inspections and solid waste.

• A contract with Primary Solutions for use of its Infall employee time tracking system.

• A contract with the Stark County Health Department for the Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program, allowing the JCGHD to receive repayment for car sear installation and distribution.

• A memorandum of understanding with Trinity Health System for support the event of emergency situations.

• Covering $128.35 in lodging costs for Henry to attend Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s “Public Information in an All-Hazards Incident” training in Columbus Feb. 27.

• Several purchase orders, including about $8,000 for Primary Solutions, annual billing for technical support and Infall software licensing; $57,000 for the Treasurer of State, 2025 Solid Waste Landfill License, and $17,000 for the Treasurer of State, quarterly birth and death certificate fees.

• A revised salary schedule with several changes proposed by the personnel committee in December, among which is the removing the administrative clerk position and raising the environmental health sanitarian position to the same wage scale as the public health nurse position.

• Reverse 2024 year-end advances: Get Vaccinated Ohio, $5,000; public health workforce, $20,000; enhanced operations, $20,000 and WIC, $25,000.