MANSFIELD — It was a significant night Tuesday — both informationally and legislatively — for Mansfield City Council 4th Ward representative Alomar Davenport.
Chair of council’s economic development committee, Davenport sponsored successful tax abatement legislation that will enable a $12.3 million expansion for Edge PlasticsĀ and also welcomed a presentation from Vinson Yates, president of OhioHealth Mansfield and OhioHealth Shelby hospitals.
Yates explained and displayed the growing OhioHealth footprint in north central Ohio — including Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties.
The area’s largest employer, OhioHealth has about 2,500 local associates and contributes about $2.8 million annually in payroll taxes to the City of Mansfield, Yates said.
“OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital is the third largest hospital in the OhioHealth family after OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and Ohio Health Grant Medical Center in Columbus,” Yates said.
He said the Mansfield location serves six counties as a tertiary hub with 326 beds. Yates also pointed out OhioHealth has invested about $220 million in local capital improvements since assuming control of the hospital.
Yates told council OhioHealth has successfully recruited 23 physicians into the area in the last 12 months and 32 in the last 17 months.
He said OhioHealth Mansfield hospital was rated the best regional hospitals in the state by U.S. News & World Report for 2020-2021 in heart bypass surgery, treatment of heart failure and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Yates pointed to more than $17 million in recent OhioHealth investments into the Balgreen Medical Offices Building and expanded inpatient rehabilitation, improved infusion services and infrastructure improvements at the Mansfield hospital.
He also talked about OhioHealth expanded primary care efforts in Shelby, Lexington and Galion, as well as urgent care improvements in Ontario and Bucyrus. Yates also pointed to the recent opening of the new $14 million OhioHealth Ashland Health Center.
Yates also discussed the fact OhioHealth serves more than 1,000 employers in Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties and has established onsite clinics at six area companies.
“We expect to expand that in the coming years,” Yates said.
Yates also pointed out OhioHealth’s partnerships and investments with community partners, including the Renaissance Theatre, Kingwood Center Gardens, Downtown Mansfield Inc., the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development, North Central State College and the Richland Task Force on Racism.
“We are a proud community partner which believes in getting out and getting involved,” Yates said. “We believe in doing the right things that make a difference for these entities as well.”
It’s the second recent visit by Yates during a City Council session. On behalf of OhioHealth Mansfield, he spoke during a December meeting in favor of the West End Neighborhood Improvement Plan.
OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, 335 Glessner Ave., anchors the west end of the neighborhood.
“This has been an important neighborhood in a Mansfield for a long time,” Yates said in December. “We are excited about this plan.”
Edge Plastics plan approved
City Council voted unanimously to approve the tax incentive package for Edge Plastics, 449 Newman St., after a presentation by Tim Bowersock, the city’s economic development director.
The 34,786 square-foot expansion is expected to create an additional 43 new jobs over the next two years with an estimated new annual payroll of $1.6 million, according to paperwork filed with the request seeking a 15-year property tax abatement and a six-year Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit.
The company, founded in Mansfield in 1975 and now owned by Shelley Fisher, uses state-of-the-art injection molding technology to make high-quality industrial polymer storage products.
“This is the largest investment this company has ever made or probably ever will make,” Bowersock said.
The company, which includes EP Transportation, will make a $2.9 million investment in land acquisition and new construction, $9.3 million in new machinery and equipment and $30,000 in new furniture and fixtures.
The production facility is currently about 70,000-square feet, with the expansion making its footprint on the city’s north side almost 50 percent larger.
Edge Plastics will pay the Mansfield City School District $35,170 annually during the 100 percent, 15-year property tax abatement, according to Bowersock, who said the district had agreed to the plan.
“I applaud the creativity of the city administration to get this project started,” Davenport said. “This is the kind of project we need in Mansfield and my hat’s off to (Bowersock) and the city administration.”
In other activity on Tuesday, City Council:
— heard a report from Public Works Director David Remy indicating the citywide water meter replacement program was proceeding. “It does appear we will meet the end of May, beginning of June deadline for having the project completed,” he said.
— also heard from Remy on the city’s efforts to clear streets after last weekend’s heavy snow. Remy said the south end of town received 10 to 12 inches of snow in total, compared to five or six inches in the north end. He said the snow, which began Saturday night and continued into Monday, made progress difficult in neighborhoods as the city was forced to go back and re-clear higher priority roads in the city. “There has been a lag, regrettably, in getting all of the city streets clear,” Remy said, adding city works are working 24/7 and crews continue to work 12-hour shifts.
— unanimously approved a resolution honoring former council President Cliff Mears for his eight years of service to the city. Mears, now a Richland County commissioner, received words of praise from Republicans and Democrats on City Council.
— unanimously approved theĀ acceptance of personal safety systems from theĀ Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial FoundationĀ for each riding position in the Mansfield Fire Department trucks and rescue squads. The equipment has a monetary value of $8,924.79.
— unanimously approved a $250,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice under the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction program. The funds help defray the cost of personnel, travel and equipment for the city’s crime lab.
City Council continues to meet in virtual, online session, which it has done since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Ohio in March 2020. Its next scheduled meeting is Feb. 16.
