ASHLAND – City Council approved the purchase of another piece of land on U.S. 250 to add to the Industrial Park during Tuesday’s council meeting.
The property at 1176 U.S. 250 is owned by Kenneth and Judy Acker and is being purchased for $57,000. Council approved temporarily transferring $19,000 from the general fund to the industrial park funds for the purchase of the property.
The rest of the funds come from sale of lands which formerly were part of the industrial park. The transferred money will be repaid to the general fund through rental money from farm land owned by the city.
“I just wanted to convey the importance of this for economic development purposes,” City Engineer Shane Kremser said. “Not having available frontage hurts us. You look at frontage on U.S. 250, Faultless and Ford, there isn’t a whole lot left.
“Getting additional frontage so that we can actually utilize the rest of the business park land is very insightful and I appreciate the opportunity of you guys considering this because it will make it easier for us to submit competitive applications for prospective employers.”
In other business, Director of City Services Jerry Mack told council about several vandalism issues that have taken place this year in city parks. Benches and trail signs being damaged at Sandusky Hollow and a restroom at a city park that has been seriously damaged twice.
“When you talk about seeing something suspicious, even if it’s nothing, call somebody. We really need to stop this,” Mack said. “I’m real proud of the city of Ashland and the parks, and this is ridiculous.”
Council authorized advertising for bids for a project to resurface West Walnut Street between Claremont Avenue and Center Street.
Kremser said the project, which will be completed later this summer, will use $77,000 in 2016 Community Development Block Grant funds and is not part of the street resurfacing project being done this summer using funds from the levy voters approved in November.
Kremser reported that Sarver Paving had won the contract for the street resurfacing project.
“It’s good to see an Ashland company get the bid and we’re eager to get them started,” Mayor Duane Fishpaw said. “They gave us impression they could get started within two weeks so we should see some progress coming quickly.”
Council also approved an ordinance to authorize a settlement between former city employee Dennis Kitchen and the city. In the settlement, the city agrees to pay Kitchen $40,000 within 40 days and any and all claims against the city are settled. Acceptance of the settlement constitutes Kitchen’s voluntary resignation on May 8.
Kitchen, who started with the city in 1997, was demoted from utility maintenance supervisor and transferred to waste water treatment with a pay cut.
Council also voted to:
- Authorize the disposal of two transit vehicles valued at more than $5,000 each that are owned by the city.
- Authorize the purchase of a 2017 single-axle snow and ice truck package for the street department at a cost of $54,374.21.
- Approve the purchase of 2015 Ford Expedition for the Engineering Department for $26,995 using funds budgeted for the Engineering Department in 2016 and 2017.
