MANSFIELD — Actual work on the $14 million Main Street Corridor Improvement project in Mansfield isn’t scheduled to begin until 2025.
But even as engineers and landscape architects continue the design phase, city efforts behind the scenes continue to prepare for the work that will improve the main thoroughfare from First Street to Sixth Street.
The latest step came Thursday when the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board approved spending up to $41,000 to aid in the purchase of temporary or permanent easement sections along the route.
The Main Street Corridor Improvement plan will include updated LED street lighting, new curbs and ADA-compliant curb ramps, concrete sidewalks, brick pavers, delineated crosswalks and lighted plazas with seating.
Aging water and sewer infrastructure along Main Street would be also be replaced, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi, who has said Main Street will be converted to two-way traffic during the process.
The city has already sought and obtained more than $10 million for the project, including a $7.38 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) competitive grant; $1.3 million procured through Richland County Regional Planning; and $1.7 million from the Ohio Dept. of Transportation in the form of a safety grant.
“There are 23 different property owners where we need (easements). Some of that’s temporary to allow use of the property during construction and others is to obtain a permanent right-of-way,” Bianchi said.
He said there were 23 property owners over 60-plus parcels on which easements were required, totaling 0.54 acres, about 23,400 square feet.
“It’s very small strips of frontage of sidewalk area that we need. Square feet, not acres,” he said. “Most of them are strip takes where we need like a foot to 15 inches along the frontage.
“Others are just triangles on the corners for like a signal pole.”
Bianchi said 14 of the 23 property owners said they would donate the easement rights.
“The others have said they’d like to be paid for the property at a fair market value. We hired appraisers and the work was completed. They were given a fair market value analysis. All the steps have been followed and they are in receipt of what their offer is,” he said.
“Most of them have accepted the offer and a couple of them have not,” he said. “We have settled with one property owner where the appraisal came in at $2,197 and we ultimately settled for $4,500.
“A lot of the property owners are excited about this project and can’t wait for it to begin,” Bianchi said.
The engineer said there are three property owners who have balked to the point that the administration will ask City Council on Tuesday to approve the beginning of the eminent domain process as outlined in Ohio Revised Code 719.04.
In Ohio, eminent domain gives the government the power to acquire private property, even if the owners don’t want to sell. But under the Fifth Amendment, eminent domain must be for a “public use,” which traditionally means projects like roads or bridges.
“We’re going to start the process, but I hope that the process doesn’t pan out and that we can come to an agreement,” Bianchi said.
According to the legislation scheduled for council, the process will begin for easement rights on parcels owned by James and Elizabeth Oberlin, Diana Tridico and CII Technologies.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is expected to accept a $750,000 grant from the Richland County Foundation to help fund the Main Street project and improvements to the Vasbinder Fountain in Central Park