Clermont County coroner seeks leased space for forensic crime lab, citing mold in office and evidence backlogs

Dr. Brian Treon, Clermont County coroner, told commissioners on July 9 that his office needs larger, repaired facilities and a forensics-capable workspace to reduce lengthy evidence backlogs that delay criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Treon proposed moving the coroner's office from its current 1,300-square-foot location at 2277 Bauer Road into a larger leased space at 4357 Ferguson Road in Union Township (a property Union Township owns). He said the space would increase office size by roughly sixfold and allow for a digital forensics and analytical unit. "Our office is currently about 1,300 square foot. It would increase the size by about 6 times," Treon said.

Treon described two immediate drivers of the request: (1) mold and water intrusion at the current coroner office, which he said has led his office to operate outside the building and made the indoor air quality unsafe for public access, and (2) significant delays in forensic analysis in serious investigations because the county must rely on outside laboratories. Treon listed outside providers the county uses — Ohio BCI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Hamilton County, and Cincinnati Police Department — and described turnarounds that can take six months or more for digital or ballistic analyses.

He outlined planned scope and costs: a proposed lease of about $105,000 per year that would include buildout costs, and an estimated increase in annual operating budget of roughly $500,000 (raising the coroner's office budget from about $650,000 to approximately $1,150,000). Treon gave a sample breakdown to commissioners — two criminalists (about $95,000 each including benefits), equipment and supplies near $100,000, and other miscellaneous costs. He said staff are pursuing multiple grants that could cover initial years of operations, naming a violent crime reduction grant (~$239,000 per year, renewable), Project Safe Neighborhood funds (about $213,000), an approved $7,000 grant for assault kit tracking, and a promising federal grant application for roughly $801,000 noted in a letter from U.S. Representative David Taylor.

Treon described the intended functions of the proposed lab: electronic-device forensics, video analytics, timeline construction, and participation in ballistics networks such as NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) and the Gun Intelligence Center. He said local capacity would allow much faster turnaround — "a few hours" in some cases versus months currently — and cited examples where backlogs delayed investigations and, in his account, allowed suspects to commit further crimes.

Multiple prosecutors and law enforcement leaders spoke in support during the public participation period. Laura Barron Allen, chief assistant prosecutor (felony division), said the county currently lacks an agency with equivalent local forensic capacity and that outside assistance can be overwhelmed: "Frankly, commissioners, currently, we do not have an agency in our county who has that same capability to be able to obtain and analyze that amount of forensic evidence in that kind of a timely manner." Christina Dattilo, assistant prosecutor and lead on child abuse cases, said many child sexual-abuse prosecutions depend on timely digital corroboration and that current delays can keep victims in harmful situations: "If it takes us 8 months to get that back, then that child is in that house still... Delays in getting videos and photos back stall investigations and risk continued harm."

Detectives and chiefs also supported the plan. Detective Barkley (Pierce Township Police) described an Internet crimes against children case that took more than eight months for one computer to be analyzed. Bethel Police Chief Chet Esert, president of the Clermont County Chiefs of Police Association, said small agencies face manpower and coverage impacts when officers must travel to distant labs for evidence delivery and collection. Sergeant Chris McMillan (Goshen Township) described homicide investigations in which crucial phone evidence took months to clear or was initially misreported by outside analysts before investigators uncovered material evidence themselves.

Treon said Union Township's building could be made available immediately and Union Township preferred renting to a governmental agency; he said Union Township owns the building and the county could move in quickly. He said building a new facility would cost tens of millions and take years, whereas leasing would allow near-term operations. Treon said he had provided a proposed lease for commissioners' review and expected the board to do due diligence; he asked the commissioners not to consider the proposal as an immediate vote and said he intended for them to review the lease and related materials.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about Servpro's mold assessment of the current office, whether Servpro was under contract, and about projected staffing. Treon said SERVPRO had inspected the office and found mold growing in three exterior walls; he said the coroner's office had contracted SERVPRO for evaluation but that facilities management had attempted mitigation earlier. Commissioners and staff discussed potential temporary relocation options; staff from family and children services offered space and said faster access to forensic results would speed protective decision-making for children.

The coroner asked commissioners to review a motion and lease materials he placed on the meeting packet; the board did not take a final vote on a lease at the July 9 meeting. Commissioners and staff said they would review contracts, grants, and SERVPRO findings and follow up. Statements and questions at the meeting show active bipartisan support from prosecutors and law enforcement for local forensic capacity, and commissioners asked for more information and for facilities and fiscal review before any final decision.