MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council authorized a maximum of $305,000 in funding for the construction of a new training facility for the Mansfield Police Department at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The money will be come from the police department’s budget and be put into a new capital projects fund.

The 1,600 square-foot facility will be located in front of the Miller Parkway shooting range that opened in 2019 as part of the Chief Lawrence E. Harper Training Facility.

COVID 1,2,3 redistribution

Council also voted to reallocate unused CARES Act funding for other expenditures. The funding was left over from other CARES Act-funded projects and must be spent before Dec. 31.

Some of the reallocations include $27,002.99 for door keycard security equipment throughout the city building at $3,000 each; an HVAC system for the Mansfield Police Department training facility for $30,000; three HVAC clean air systems upgrades for a total of $26,245. A full list can be seen below.

The council voted unanimously to accept a $1,000 donation from Jim Prince to the Mansfield Police Department for equipment.

Prince, owner of Prince Pipeline a retired state trooper, said he received the money as a tip while working as a “celebrity bartender” and wanted to show support for the police department.

Council unanimously rejected a rezoning request to allow the construction of a Dollar General along Cline Avenue. The petition was withdrawn after the city’s zoning commission rejected it, but council had an official vote because legally, zoning requests that aren’t voted on are granted automatically, President of Council David Falquette explained.

Council also:

  • Voted to accept a donation of one Bullard LDX Eclipse Thermal Imager Bundle Camera and Truck Charger from Aladdin Shriners Hospital Association for Children, Inc. with a monetary value of $6,995.

  • Authorized the public works director to accept an in-kind donation from DRM Productions Inc. to be used for the Mansfield Lahm Airport website redesign.

  • Authorized the public works director to accept and appropriate a donation from the Gorman Family Foundation in the amount of $10,000 to be used for the Mansfield Lahm Airport website design.

  • Voted to transfer appropriations in the amount of $17,000 within the General Fund for the purchase of newer vehicles for Codes and Permit Department. Councilman Jon Van Harlingen said the department had requested the funds in the 2021 budget, but the item was scrapped due to a concern over the availability of funds.

  • Authorized the acceptance of $37,500 in grant funding from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to be used for support services to clients involved with selected mental health dockets and declared an emergency.

  • Authorized the public works director to purchase one road chipper.