Ironton Mayor Rich Blankenship plans to meet Tuesday with the head of the Ohio Department of Youth Services to discuss his opposition to the closure of the Ohio River Valley Juvenile Facility.

Blankenship said he plans to question Director Harvey Reed about why the agency plans to close the facility even though it is the most recently built facility.

The department announced last month that the facility will close Sept. 10. The decision to close the facility came as Gov. John Kasich announced his budget, which calls for a $41 million reduction in funding for the department.

Eighty employees at the center live in Lawrence County. About half of those 80 live in Ironton, the mayor said.

The mayor has also invited Portsmouth Mayor David Malone and Rep. Terry Johnson to the meeting.

The mayor had requested a meeting with Kasich about the closure.

“I haven’t heard back from the governor so I’m taking that route,” Blankenship said.

On the agenda for tonight’s Ironton City Council meeting is a resolution opposing the center’s closure. The mayor said if it passes, he plans to take it along with a similar resolution passed by the Lawrence County Commission.

“I think it’s very important to keep this facility open,” Blankenship said. “It will be an uphill battle but I have to try.”