MANSFIELD — A Marion masonry company was awarded two contracts Tuesday totaling $106,150 for a pair of improvements at Liberty Park on the city’s east side.
Quality Masonry Co. will handle projects on a sandstone bridge and the bathhouse at the former park pool, working to improve structures constructed nearly a century ago by the Works Progress Administration.
The WPA is an American New Deal agency that employed millions during the Great Depression to carry out public works projects in the 1930s, including the construction of public buildings and roads.
The city Board of Control awarded the contracts — $65,050 to repair and restore the bridge and $38,100 to sandblast and repaint the bathhouse.
The work will be done using a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds that City Council approved Oct. 1.
(Below are photos taken Tuesday morning at Liberty Park, showing a sandstone bridge and the bathhouse at the former pool.)
The city Board of Control is comprised of Mayor Jodie Perry, Finance Director Kelly Blankenship and Safety Service Director Keith Porch.
Public Works Director Louis Andres said the exterior work on the bathhouse is part of an effort to convert the structure to a pavilion for public usage.
The city’s only public pool, which had been at Liberty Park, was closed permanently in August 2021 due to major maintenance issues. It will not be reopened, but Perry said the city has plans to construct a new pool in two or three years with a design and location to be determined.
Also on Tuesday, the board:
— tabled a $142,194 proposal from VASU Communications from Mansfield to place four tornado sirens in the City of Mansfield, which has never had them in the past. Officials questioned if the siren project, the first in the 216-year history of the city, needed to be “bid out” before awarding the contract. City Council last week approved spending up to $160,000 in ARPA for the project.
— approved a $25,000 contract with Command Consulting of Wadsworth, Ohio, for an “electrification” project that will analyze city buildings and vehicle fleets “and developing renewable energy-based microgrids to support electrification.” This was another ARPA project approved by City Council on Oct. 1.
— approved a $34,084 contract with Vance’s Law Enforcement from Columbus to purchased 14 tactical bullet-proof vests for the Mansfield Police Department SWAT team. Chief Jason Bammann said funds would be used from the department’s capital budget.
— aproved a $200,000 purchase from MidStates Recreation from Pataskala, Ohio, for Phase II playground equipment for the Sterkel Community Park for All.
— approved a final change order from a $4.2 million Third Street culvert replacement project. The work was completed earlier this year and contractor Shelly & Sands from North Jackson, Ohio, reduced its bill by $112,296.
