MANSFIELD — The next step in the demolition and remediation of two former Westinghouse properties on the city’s east side may be taken Tuesday night by Mansfield City Council.
Local lawmakers will likely be joined at the meeting by Richland County commissioners Tony Vero and Cliff Mears to help explain the need for the city’s commitment to a Land Bank project that would remove a decaying six-story eyesore and the adjoining 13-acre “concrete jungle.”
Vero, who helped spearhead the reclamation drive that began last summer, and Mears, a former long-time member of City Council, are both Land Bank board members, a group which has applied for $5 million in state funds to help pay for the work.
On Jan. 4, council considered legislation that may require the city to commit as much as $1 million toward the project, which could include dollars from the city’s PRIDE fund designated for building demolitions. American Rescue Plan Act revenue-replacement money could be used, too.
Several council members expressed concerns the legislation on Jan. 4 included no specific dollar amounts. The next day, Vero said that was intentional to give local lawmakers the ability to decide how to pay for the commitment.
“It was left blank to make it clear the money can come from many different sources,” said Vero, who has met with individual council members since the Jan. 4 session.
It now appears the legislation could be amended and voted on Tuesday, rather than wait until the Feb. 1 meeting.
Richland County Treasurer Bart Hamilton, chair of the Land Bank board, said, “(Council members) need to strategize how they would want to fund it.”
Hamilton, who said county commissioners guaranteed the match to allow the Land Bank to apply for the grant last month, said he hoped council would ultimately contribute to an effort to clean up properties in the city.
“You get Westinghouse torn down at a 75-percent discount,” Hamilton told council. “You are never going to get a deal this good again.”
In December the Land Bank acquired the two properties — the six-story “A” building at 200 Fifth St. and a 13-acre concrete slab that adjoins it to the east.
The state’s two-year budget approved in 2021 set aside $500 million for demolition and brownfield remediation.
Each of the state’s 88 counties is guaranteed $1.5 million from that fund ($500,000 in demolition funds and $1 million in brownfield remediation dollars), leaving $368 million “up for grabs” for projects.
The long-anticipated cleanup and potential redevelopment of the former Westinghouse site is part of $7.7 million in projects for which the Land Bank has applied in the first round of funding, efforts that include the planned demolition of the former Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
Hamilton estimated the Westinghouse project will cost $5 million, though he admitted true costs won’t be determined until the work begins and potential contaminants are found.
He said the guaranteed $1 million in brownfield remediation from the Ohio Department of Development will go to the effort and the remaining $4 million being sought in a grant must include a 25-percent local match.
Mansfield Finance Director Linn Steward said the city had $1.2 million in its PRIDE income tax fund demolition account at the end of 2021. The city collects more than $800,000 in demolition-designated money each year.
It’s also possible the city could use some of its remaining ARPA revenue-replacement funds it set aside last year. The city set aside about $5 million and will have about $4.1 million remaining in that revenue replacement allowable under ARPA rules.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is scheduled to:
— honor retiring Mansfield police Sgt. Sara Mosier-Napier, whose 16-year career with the department ended on Jan. 16. She was hired as a patrol officer in 2006, receiving “Top Cop” awards in 2007, 2009 and 2012. She received the “Officer of the Year” award in 2008 and “Medal of Honor” awards in 2010 and 2018.
Mosier-Napier was promoted to sergeant in 2017 and supervises the patrol’s second shift. During her career, she was a field training officer, recruitment officer and a K-9 officer and coordinator. She became a K-9 officer in 2012 and worked with two different partners over the next six years, Tyson and Sam, both now retired.
— vote on two bills related to the construction and inspection of phase one of the West End Neighborhood Plan. The legislation calls for spending up to $1,250,000 for the construction work and $125,000 for the inspection after its complete.
The project would include streetscape improvements and beautification of Glessner Avenue. Sections of Wood Street, Blymyer Avenue and Sturges Avenue will also be improved near their intersections with Glessner.
The project calls for new lighting, signage, crosswalks, trees, retaining walls and a full reconstruction of the road in sections of Glessner Avenue.
It will install about 8,162 square feet of sidewalk, 741 square yards of non-reinforced concrete pavement, 821 square feet of segmental retaining walls, eight signs, six decorative light poles, 106 deciduous shrubs and 36 trees.
Once bids are obtained and contractors are approved, the work is scheduled to begin the spring and be complete by the end of August.
— vote again to establish council standing committees and a president pro-temp. Council approved these issues in December, but apparently violated its own rules, which require it be done by the current council membership. Council welcomed two members in January. No changes in committee assignments are expected since Democrats maintain the same 5-3 voting edge they had in December.
— vote to authorize a $26,566.73 payment to BP for fuel the city purchased in December before submitting a purchase order. Money will come from the repair garage fund.
— vote on a proposal to spend $77,098 for four new Stryker Medical 15 V4 heart monitor/defibrillators for the Mansfield Fire Department. Assistant Chief Mark Stieving told the city’s Board of Control last week the price includes the trade in of four 12-year-old units. The money would come from funds the city set aside last year in American Rescue Plan Act revenue replacement dollars.
— vote on a proposal to enter into a contract with OhioHealth Corp. for EMS medical director services, a position required under state law.
— offer a first read on a proposal to spend $352,318 on new main computer server hardware, replacing obsolete equipment. The city would pay for the new Dell equipment using a portion of the $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act revenue replacement funds that City Council agreed to set aside last fall.
If ultimately approved, the city will have spent about 18 percent of the $5 million set aside, leaving $4,122.741.16 remaining from the initial $10.5 million allocation.
The city will receive another $10.4 million in ARPA funds in 2022.
