MANSFIELD — A connector between the Richland B&O Bike Trail and Trimble Road is apparently back on track, a project first considered in 2018 that is now being propelled forward with more information.
Less than 48 hours after Mansfield City Council unanimously voted against committing $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project, council President David Falquette said Friday morning he is bringing the proposal back.
Falquette said he asked for the legislation to be resurrected at council’s next meeting on Aug. 16, a request he made after multiple council members said they now supported the plan.
The rapid changes of heart began Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
That’s when council members learned Richland County was willing to commit $500,000 toward the project and were reminded the state’s capital budget approved earlier this year included $150,000 earmarked for the connector.
At-large Councilman Phil Scott, who raised the initial objection to the proposal, said Friday morning he was not aware of the county’s commitment.
“Given that information, this is something I could consider,” he said. “This definitely puts a different light on it.”
At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Zader, who also spoke against the project, said Thursday she changed her mind upon learning of the county’s participation.
She expressed frustration with the city administration, including Mayor Tim Theaker.
“You know what would have been fantastic? If the administration had shared this information with us, so we could make a proper decision. As discussed in council, it’s hard to make proper decisions without the facts,” Zader said in an email Friday morning.
In an email, 5th Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz said he now supports the project.
“This walkable Mansfield project is a lot more intricate and greater than I even understood, now that I know more about it,” Diaz said. “I regret voting the way I did (Wednesday) because I didn’t realize how this could impact something that’s been in the planning process for so long.”
“It’s extremely complicated.”
Theaker said he didn’t bring up the county’s proposal Wednesday evening because it was not finalized.
“I cannot and will not speak for the county in terms of giving us that money,” he said Friday morning. “What (the city) is proposing is ARPA revenue replacement money, not regular ARPA. The county is not going to use ARPA.
“It’s extremely complicated,” Theaker said.
Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero said commissioners and county administrator Andrew Keller met with county Auditor Pat Dropsey last week and developed a plan that would allow the county to assist in the project.
He said the county would waive $500,000 the city pays to the county in jail fees. The county would then use its own ARPA revenue replacement dollars to cover that waiver cost.
The city could then use the $500,000 from its general fund budget that would not be spent on jail fees.
The problem, according to Vero, is the mayor never asked commissioners about their plan before City Council met this week.
“At no point in time did Mayor Theaker ever contact us to ascertain how the county could contribute to the bike trail connection,” Vero said. “But we couldn’t move forward with our plan until we knew whether or not the city would approve spending its own money.”
Theaker and Vero agreed on one thing — they were surprised at council’s rejection of the idea, which city engineer Bob Bianchi first proposed to council four years ago.
“Council discussed rejecting $600,000 in (ARPA-funded employee) bonuses and then all of a sudden, that’s when (nixing) the bike trail came up. I was caught completely off guard,” Theaker said.
Vero said, “We had no reason to believe through discussions we had that this would not get approved. We knew how our contribution would work. We viewed the process incrementally with the first step being city approval.”
In his remarks to council Wednesday regarding ARPA requests, Theaker brought up the bike trail connector last on his list and didn’t discuss it in detail.
“The very last thing is the bike path … Trimble Road bike path from Trimble Road back to the bike path. This is a project we have been working on … that Bob Bianchi has been working on and looking at and so we have put some money towards it,” the mayor told council.
When asked if should have provided council more information to ensure support, Theaker said, “Hindsight is 20/20.”
Falquette said more information would have been helpful to council members.
“You shouldn’t rely on past practices that everything has just been flying through council,” he said. “They don’t ask a lot of questions. I hope we don’t get back to the practice of 20 minutes of discussion for every issue, but more discussion would have been helpful.”
There is still time
State Rep. Marilyn John (R-Shelby) helped land the state capital funds for the project, work she undertook after the city requested the money.
She said Friday she was surprised to hear City Council voted against providing local funding needed to secure the state funds.
“If council passes the legislation in August, they have plenty of time to work through the state to still get the capital funds,” said John, a former county commissioner and also a former mayor in Shelby. “I am just grateful they are reconsidering the project.
“I think its important for local governments to participate in projects like this. As someone who has experience at the local level, when it comes to awarding grant dollars, entities expect local governments to have ‘skin in the game’ when comes to projects like this,” John said.
“I hope they now have all the information they need to move forward. I think it will be a great addition to the bike trail.”
Richland County Commissioner Cliff Mears, a former Mansfield City Council president and At-large member, said he was shocked Wednesday evening when he heard of council’s decision.
“I don’t usually throw things. But when the news (of a unanimous rejection hit) while I was at home … I threw things,” Mears said. “This kind of project is generational and transformative in nature.
“One of the goals when I was still on City Council was to make the city more walkable. It makes for a healthier lifestyle. The more points of connection we can make between the city and the bike trail enhances the benefit of living in Mansfield,” Mears said.
“It’s in a perfect location and now is the perfect time to spend ARPA funds. This could be an outstanding partnership (between the city and county),” Mears said.
“It’s consistent with the vision City Council had when I left. I was really disappointed it went down unanimously.”
An engineer’s view
The connector has been the brainchild of Bianchi, who was ill and could not attend Wednesday’s meeting in person.
When he proposed the idea to council in 2018, he offered a vision that could lead to a bigger, connective project. His idea was to connect the bike trail, though a land conservancy area, to Trimble Road, near what is now Akron Children’s Hospital.
The eventual plan, he said, was a larger project that could eventually end up in downtown Mansfield.
“A project starts with a vision,” Bianchi told council in 2018. “It may take 20 years (to get the trail connected to the downtown.) We gotta start. We could potentially be at the (Mansfield Art Center) in six (years),” Bianchi said.
The plan is in keeping with goals found in the 2019 Mansfield Rising downtown reinvestment plan, aimed at improving walkability and reducing reliance on vehicles.
The ARPA funds made the effort more possible, Bianchi said Friday morning.
“The (connector) is the most difficult part of the (overall) plan due to funding,” he said. “It’s easier and less costly when we are installing bike lanes on existing roads.”
He said the total cost of the connector project will be between $1.6 and $1.7 million. City, county and state capital funds would cover $1,125,000 of that cost.
Bianchi said the remainder could be achieved through Ohio Department of Transportation metropolitan planning organization funding and Ohio Department of Natural Resources grants.
“I have already spoken with Todd Blankenship at Richland County Regional Planning and it looks favorable that funds from the MPO can be used,” Bianchi said.
Theaker said he still supports the idea for the connector.
“I wanted it to begin with. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have presented it,” he said.
