MANSFIELD — Answers offered behind closed doors Tuesday night were enough to satisfy Mansfield City Council members.
Local lawmakers approved the city’s participation in a class-action settlement against two of the companies whose products allegedly contaminated the soil near Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.
The class action lawsuit settlement is part of a proposed agreement in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina between active public water systems and the two companies — Tyco Fire Products LP and BASF Corporation.
The unanimous decision came two weeks after council members delayed a vote on the settlement when Law Director Rollie Harper was unable to answer questions posed regarding details of the agreement with the two companies.
Those questions must have been resolved during a 16-minute executive session Tuesday with the outside legal counsel representing the city in the lawsuit. Ohio law allows for closed-door sessions for such litigation discussions.
Those additional details were not discussed during public session, including how much money the city could receive in the settlement and when those funds may be forthcoming.
Published reports indicate the companies have agreed to pay a combined $1 billion to participating public water systems around the country who are participating in the class-action lawsuit.
The litigation is apparently regarding the use of aqueous film-forming foams that led to possible contamination at the airport.
The issue is related primarily to “forever chemicals” in foam used in firefighting operations at the airport when the local Ohio Air National Guard unit had a flying mission.
Council voted in 2023 to have the city represented by outside legal counsel in the lawsuit, including the Louisiana law firm of Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor.
The lawsuit is being handled on a contingency basis, which means the outside law firms don’t get paid unless the city wins its lawsuit or achieves a settlement.
At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Zader, one of the lawmakers with questions during the Sept. 3 meeting, appeared satisfied with what she heard during the executive session.
“As you all saw, we went into executive session. That’s because this is pending litigation and there’s things that the legal counsel needs to share. But that isn’t necessarily beneficial to the case, if it’s out there publicly,” she said before the vote Tuesday.
“We had a lot of questions about this at last meeting. So I just wanted to thank the law director’s office and the administration for getting the outside counsel on the call tonight to clarify things for us,” Zader said.
After the council meeting, Mayor Jodie Perry said she was pleased the city is remaining a part of the ongoing civil suit.
“It’s an important piece of litigation. While the impacts here are relatively minor, it still is an important thing that we’re a part of,” Perry said.
In other action on Tuesday, City Council:
— saw a presentation on a proposed wayfinding signage program proposed by Perry.
— honored Zader during her final council meeting. She is stepping down from office, effective Sept. 30.
— approved an update to the city’s codified ordinances until questions surrounding one section of the bill could be resolved. Those are sections of the city’s general offenses code dealing with adult use cannabis and open container laws that are tied to updated state laws.
— approved demolitions of deteriorating buildings at 380 1/2 Wayne St., 236 Gerke Ave., 205 Atcheson Ave. and 288 Central Ave.
— accepted a $3,137.40 grant from the Ohio Division of Emergency Medical Services to be used for equipment purchases.
— accepted a $10,000 grant from the Ohio Dept. of Mental Health & Addiction Services to be used in supporting services to clients involved with Mansfield Municipal Court mental health dockets.
— accepted a $93,500 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Justice to be used for Mansfield Municipal Court software upgrades.
— accepted a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Justice to be used for the court efficiency project.
— accepted a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Dept. of Mental Health & Addiction Services for personnel costs associated with Mansfield Municipal Court specialty dockets — Domestic Violence Court, Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Veterans’ Court. The grant helps fund salaries and benefits with probation officers assigned to the specialty courts.
— accepted a $1,000 grant from the Healing Hearts Foundation of Ohio to assist in rehabilitating the South Park playground.
— approved acceptance of $33,771 in forfeiture revenue for the Mansfield Police Department.
— accepted the anonymous donation of a new drone for the MPD, valued at $1,190 and also approved trading in antiquated drone equipment to be used in the purchase of another new $1,950 drone by adding in $448 from the department’s operations fund.
