MANSFIELD — It’s a downtown celebration nearly 18 months in the making.
The $20.3 million Main Street Corridor Improvement Project, which began in March 2025, is on track for completion by the end of October, according to Mayor Jodie Perry.
“We are in the final weeks of the downtown project … at least substantial construction will be done by the end of October,” the mayor told City Council on Tuesday evening.
“Yes, they are still on track, so they will be busy,” she said, adding that the milling of streets for re-pavement begins soon.
“The arches should be coming in next week, so things will start coming together pretty quickly,” Perry said.
(Workers continue the Main Street Corridor Improvement project Wednesday morning in downtown Mansfield. The story continues below the photos.)
“We are planning to do a grand opening or a celebration on Friday, Nov. 6. I will have more information for you by the next council meeting (Oct. 20),” the mayor said.
She said the event would be after the normal work day, “probably 4:30 (p.m.) … something in that nature.”
“Our friends at Downtown Mansfield (Inc.) are planning events that weekend. We really want to get people back downtown into the shops and the restaurants and to see the new facade or the new streetscapes,” the mayor said.
The project is a complete upgrade of Main Street from First to Sixth streets and Park Avenue from Main to Diamond streets, designed by K.E. McCartney & Associates of Mansfield with Kokosing Construction as the primary contractor.
When the work is done, Main Street will be converted to two-way traffic.
The project included replacing century-old water and sewer lines along the entire corridor.
Mansfield City Council on Tuesday also:
— heard Perry explain the city’s Halloween celebration plans, including the city-wide Trick-or-Treat observance.
“That’s always one of the most important questions I get as mayor. We’re going back to Halloween (Oct. 31) this year. It is a Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.,” Perry said.
“It’s going to be a busy day. The downtown Trick or Treat is at 11 a.m. that day and the parade is gonna be at 10 a.m. that day. So once kids get their costume on, they’re going to just have a great day of fun here in the city of Mansfield,” the mayor said.
— approved acceptance of a $156,752 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to fund firefighter overtime, specialized training and new equipment. Chief Dan Crow told lawmakers it’s the third year in a row the department has received a grant through the program.
“It’s kind of the same theme we have been going after, which is training because we rank very high when it comes to the priority of training,” the chief said.
“This grant will allow us to do hazmat operations training for the entire department … plus the overtime that’s required to make sure our firefighters get that training off duty,” Crow said, adding a large amount of the funds would be used to replace outdated fire hose.
The award comes through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Its primary goal is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations.
Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.
Under the terms of the 90-percent federal to 10-percent local funding split, the city will provide $15,675 in matching local funds, bringing the total approved budget for the project to $172,427.
Last year, the city received $218,576 through the grant program to fund the bulk of a new automatic, air-cleansing system for each of the city’s fire stations, removing diesel engine exhaust fumes.
— approved a proposal to participate in an electric and/or natural gas aggregation procurement program for municipal buildings, facilities, street lighting and other utility accounts through the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council. The agreement will help reduce utility costs for the city, officials said.
— approved acceptance of a $9,881 Addiction Treatment Program grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services through the Richland County Mental Health & Recovery Services Board. No matching funds are required for the grant.
— approved acceptance of a $104,438.68 Justice Assistance Grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. Funds are earmarked for conducting drug law enforcement operations within the 10-county METRICH Enforcement Unit area. The city received a similar award in 2025. No matching funds are required.
—approved transfer of $40,000 within the safety services fund to pay for increasing gas and diesel fuel prices for the fire department.
Crow, who said the money would come from personnel costs available due to reduced overtime, said the city was paying $2.95 per gallon for diesel in January and was paying $6.15 per gallon at the end of September.
“It’s really hard to budget for those types of cost increases,” Crow said.
