MANSFIELD — The request was a first for Richland County Engineer Adam Gove.
Can a county road be closed for a couple of days to assist in the creation of a new entertainment film by local director/producer/writer Gary Jones?
“We didn’t really have any way to go about authorizing this, so we’ve come up with a road closure permit,” Gove told Richland County commissioners on Tuesday.
“It’s something similar to what a municipality would do for a parade or a movie if they have something coming to town,” the engineer said.
Ultimately, the answer was “yes” as commissioners approved closing a section of Richland Shale Road in Franklin Township during the days on June 10-11 and possibly June 12, if needed.
The section between Conrad and Olivesburg roads near Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport will be closed to through traffic. Local traffic will be maintained, according to Gove.
Jones, based in Crestline, is in the process of producing Season One of Heartland Horror Chronicles, a television project for which he received a $129,444 tax credit through the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program.
The Ohio Department of Development announced in February more than $44 million in tax credits were awarded to companies filming TV shows and movies in the state.
The program provides a refundable tax credit of 30% on production cast and crew wages and other in-state spending.
“Investing in these productions fuels the vibrant creativity that’s alive in Ohio’s communities and serves as a powerful catalyst for economic growth,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development.
Jones is an award-winning director, screenwriter, producer and visual effects supervisor with more than 50 motion pictures and 30 TV episodes to his credit.
Recently, Jones wrote, produced and directed “Escape from Death Block 13,” a retro action adventure filmed in 2021 that was inspired by the 1970s action films from his youth. It was largely filmed at the former Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield.
Gove said Jones paid a $100 fee for the closure.
“We will provide barricades. They will move those off the side at the end of their filming each night. The road will be back open at night,” he said.
The engineer said Jones told him he would be filming a car scene on the road, but there was no danger of damaging the road or other parts of the right-of-way.
“They’re not flipping anything over out there. I wanted to make sure they weren’t going to be tossing cars into a ditch or anything like that,” Gove said.
Contracts awarded for asphalt supplies
Based on Gove’s recommendations, commissioners awarded contracts to Sarver Paving Co. of Ashland and Marzane Materials from Mansfield to supply asphalt material the county department uses to patch and repair roads.
The two companies submitted bids $10 to $11 different in price and surface asphalt and base materials.
Gove said it helps his department’s efforts that the two suppliers are located in different geographic areas. He said Sarver’s materials are used in the northern section of the county while Marzane is used around Mansfield and in the southern part of the county.
“Because by the time you add in the travel time, especially to get from Ashland to anywhere in the south part of the county … the cost of fuel, the cost of vehicles, and then keeping the material hot (enough) to be able to put it down on the road,” Gove said in explaining why he wanted to use both suppliers.