MANSFIELD — Attorney Jon Burton won’t have to attend Richland County Land Bank board meetings any more.
His decade of service as legal counsel for the 11-year-old organization came to an end Wednesday when the board met for the last time in 2023.
But his name will live on.
Literally.
Board chair Bart Hamilton, the Richland County treasurer, revealed a sign during the meeting that proclaimed the group’s meeting space going forward will be known as the “Jon K. Burton Boardroom.”
“This place would not be here without you,” Hamilton told Burton, who was joined during his final meeting by his wife. “It really wouldn’t.
“(Land Bank manager) Amy (Hamrick) can attest to how much she works with you and how closely she works with you to get this work done. So I want to thank you,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton also presented an award that had a brick from the former Westinghouse building in Mansfield as its base.
Burton, whose role will be filled by attorney John Studenmund, thanked Hamilton and other board members.
“I really appreciate it. What you’ve done for Mansfield and the community, I think it’s remarkable. Maybe a lot of people may not appreciate it. But what you’ve done, I think, is just truly remarkable and wonderful,” Burton said.
“I appreciate your time that you put into it. Particularly for Bart and Amy, we kind of, we tri-partake in Amy’s elbow grease and knowledge. And you made it all successful. So thank you,” Burton said.
The Land Bank is a 501(C)3 non-profit corporation. Its mission is “to make a positive, sustainable impact on our community by strategically acquiring vacant and abandoned properties, reducing blight, and returning them to productive use, improving the quality of life for county residents.”
The board also thanked outgoing Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker, whose 12 years as the city’s mayor concludes at the end of December. He will be replaced on the board in January by new Mayor Jodie Perry.
Hamilton produced a Richland Source article that “proved” Theaker has been on the board since its inception in 2012.
“Mayor Theaker was here at the very beginning. He has here before the beginning,” Hamilton said, thanking Theaker for his assistance in establishing the Land Bank.
Theaker thanked the board and pointed out the city’s key role in the Land Bank launching, including the efforts of Donnie Mitchell, who retired in 2014 as Mansfield’s community development manager, where he worked with Hamrick.
“(Hamilton) and I went to a meeting in Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County, before we were even a Land Bank,” Theaker said. “We went there to see how their Land Bank worked.”
Also on Wednesday, the board approved bids from R&D Excavating of Crestline to demolish properties at 50-52 E. Main St. in Shelby ($292,000), 55 Second St. in Shelby ($12,900) and 89 Wood St. in Mansfield ($18,800).
The board also approved its 2024 financial budget, leaving open the possibility of hiring a project manager.
“We have all these grants and significant projects and I do think having a project manager should be something we should discuss,” said Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero, a Land Bank board member.
No decision on the position was made Wednesday.