MANSFIELD — Folks planning to watch Mansfield City Council’s live-streamed meetings Tuesday night will want some snacks and a comfortable seat.
It’s going to be a long night.
Local lawmakers have scheduled three committee meetings, a public hearing on the city’s tax budget, and a caucus/council session that has 29 different pieces of legislation, one of them a resolution declaring systemic racism is a public health crisis.
City council legislation 072120
One of the evening’s highlights will be a discussion involving appropriation of $1,690,386 in recently received federal CARES Act funds, dollars aimed at assisting local government with expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CARES Act funds will be discussed during a Mansfield Board of Control meeting Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. and then during a finance committee meeting at 6:15 p.m.
According to the legislation, the funds would be disbursed equally to four “non-department operation classifications,” with $422,596 going to supplies and materials. contractual services, capital outlay and other.
Richland County commissioners have indicated they are willing to spend up to $500,000 from their $2 million in CARES Act funds to assist local school districts with mobile learning as the school year begins.
It’s not known if city officials plan to assist Mansfield City Schools in this effort with municipal CARES funds, though council will consider spending $135,600 in new CDBG coronavirus relief funds to purchase Chromebooks for MCS students.
The session begins Tuesday with a claims committee meeting at 5:50, following by a public affairs committee session at 6:10, a finance committee meeting at 6:15 and a the tax budget hearing at 6:45.
Caucus is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., followed immediately by the council legislative session.
Here is the other legislation council will be considering:
— voting on an amended 2020 CDBG and HOME fund application.
— first reading on entering into a $207,975 commercial loan agreement with Richland Bank for technology improvements.
— second reading on a bill “creating and adjusting positions, pay grades and salaries for certain” city employees.
— voting on the city’s tax budget, which must be submitted to the Richland County Auditor.
— vote on the appointment of Martha Schoonover to the Fair Housing Commission.
— vote to authorize payments from the sewer assistance fund on backup damage claims from Sandra Scott, 214 E. First St. ($780), and Brook Taylor, same address, ($780).
— vote to authorize payment of $6,147.83 to EMH&T as final payment on the Mansfield City Parks master plan.
— vote to authorize payment of $6,680 to Trade Pro Renovations, LLC, for eight new dugouts at Cyclops Field.
— discuss during caucus transferring $7,816,44 within the grant fund for crime lab equipment.
— discuss during caucus transferring $17,492.33 within the grant fund for METRICH equipment needs and personnel adjustments.
— vote on transferring $20,000 within the community development fund for computer equipment and office furniture.
— vote on transferring $26,895 within the safety service fund for in-car/cruiser computers.
— discuss during caucus appropriating $6,000 from the downtown improvement fund for plant watering and litter control by Richland Newhope Industries.
— discuss during caucus appropriating $27,000 from the court costs fund for the replacement of a police cruiser destroyed in an accident. The insurance company of the driver at fault in the wreck will reimburse the city $18,133.
— vote to accept $2,747.45 from the Ohio Division of Emergency Medical Services for the purchase of EMS equipment for the Mansfield Fire Department.
— discuss during caucus the acceptance of a $3,000 grant from the Lions Club International Foundation for personal protective equipment for the Mansfield Fire Department.
— discuss during caucus the acceptance of a $49,061.98 grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for METRICH operations.
— discuss during caucus the acceptance of a $63,199.70 CARES Act grant for health-care related expenses in the Mansfield Fire Department.
— discuss during caucus the acceptance of a $1,083,097 COPS hiring program grant, which will be used to supplement, not supplant, salary costs to hire four police officers for 36 months.
— discuss during caucus the acceptance of a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for METRICH operations.
— discuss during caucus authorizing the finance director to make transfers within the city’s appropriated funds to balance accounts by Dec. 31, 2020.
— discuss during caucus and give a first read to grant a license retroactive to Aug. 1 to the Richland Early American Center for History to construct and install a blacksmith shop in South Park.
— vote to enter into an agreement, without competitive bidding, with B.K. Layer, LLC, not to exceed $89,005 for the replacement of a 16-inch water main in the vicinity of Fifth Street and Ashland Road. The line broke beneath the Rocky Fork.
— discuss during caucus to authorize “use of a portion of the proceeds of obligations to the City of Mansfield in the estimated principal amount not to exceed $35,000,000” for water treatment plant work.
