Mansfield City Council scheduled to vote on Lahm Regional Airport 5-year development plan

MANSFIELD — A vote on a five-year blueprint for Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport is scheduled Tuesday for city lawmakers.

The 26-page document, introduced by the city administration in July, examines the best ways to continue to develop and leverage Lahm Airport economically in the next five years.

It’s a strategic development plan for the 2,400-acre airport that features long runways, an FAA-controlled tower, a fixed-base operator and immediate access to a number of adjoining industrial parks.

The plan was developed by Barrett Thomas,  senior economic development director for Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development, an organization with which the city contracts.

It was done in conjunction with Mayor Jodie Perry, other city leaders and airport management.

“This is an airport economic development plan. Most airports don’t have this. Most airports do have an airport map. That is an FAA document that they help fund and create,” Thomas told council in July.

“That’s not what this is and that’s not what I’m trying to replace,” he said of the new plan, titled “Cleared for Takeoff: Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport” which covers plans from 2026 to 2031.

Lawmakers didn’t discuss details of the plan when it was introduced July 21. Nor was there much additional discussion when it returned for a first reading on Aug. 4.

Fifth Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz said he was amazed when residents say nothing is happening at the airport on the city’s north side, home to the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Cyberspace Wing.

“There is so much happening,” Diaz said.

Perry said, “I think it’s an important step that we need to take.”

During an Aug. 6 Richland County Board of Commissioners meeting, the president and CEO of the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development said Lahm Airport was at the top of its planning focus.

“I think that’s a focus: how do we best utilize that (airport) asset to attract business or grow business here in Richland County?” Jessica Gribben said.

Clint Knight, the chamber’s director of workforce development, told county commissioners it’s essential that companies considering locating around the airport be able to find workers prepared to do the jobs.

“What do we need to do? The first thing we need to do is figure out, ‘Do we have the talent to attract those businesses that we need?’ So, let’s build an aviation career day partnership with all the schools and vendors from around the region.

“We’re in our third year (of aviation career days). We went from 40 students two years ago. This year we’re expecting over 100 students and that’s the kind of long-term play that we talk about.

“(It’s) not just being able to get those big wins, but how do we put the systems and the things in place that make sure we have the assets to attract those wins,” Knight said.

At the Aug. 4 City Council meeting, a local resident who owns a hangar at the airport provided council with a written document titled “A Fair Market-Based Path for Mansfield Lahm’s T-Hangars.”

Lawmakers didn’t discuss that document. The resident who submitted it didn’t attend the meeting.

(Below is a PDF with the five-year airport development plan Mansfield City Council is scheduled to vote on Tuesday evening.)

In July, Thomas said the plan was developed during many conversations with a lot of people over the years and also from many conferences he’s attended.

“That’s really kind of the bulk of this plan and where this came from, talking with experts that know a whole lot more than me. The airport is like a whole separate language and you gotta learn like what’s an RPZ and why do you have to protect it? Why is this a big deal?” Thomas said.

(For those interested, an airport RPZ is a trapezoidal ground area located directly beyond the end of a runway. Its primary purpose is to safeguard people and property on the ground by restricting incompatible land uses and reducing the risks of aircraft overruns or undershoots.)

“This (plan) is a collection of a whole bunch of conversations and meetings and stuff that I’ve been to, kind of filtered into a way that makes sense. I hope it makes sense,” he said.

“We are not asking for dollars for this at this point. But when we come back later and ask for money, it’ll be for things that are in this plan because we’re moving this along,” he said when the plan was introduced.

City Council on Tuesday is also scheduled to:

— vote on the acceptance of a $10,000 grant from the TransCanada Energy Corporation for the purchase of rescue equipment for the Mansfield Fire Department.

— vote on the acceptance of a $220,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services through the Richland County Board of Mental Health for personnel costs in four speciality courts in the Mansfield Municipal Court (Domestic Violence Court, Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Veterans Court.)

— vote on two damage claims by Mansfield residents totaling $380.47.

Council caucus is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with the legislative session following immediately thereafter.

(Below is a PDF with legislation scheduled to come before Mansfield City Council on Tuesday evening.)