MANSFIELD — Diana Baker read introductions of seemingly unrelated people to Mansfield City Council Tuesday night.
“There’s Kitty, who walks to the pantry every week with a smile on her face and often donates a book from home to our book cart library,” Baker said.
“Stacy is a mother to a teenage son. Her husband was the breadwinner of the family and he suffered a debilitating stroke.
“Then, we have Olivia — who works as a housekeeper and in return for volunteering, she takes food for her family.”
“Matthew is a homeless man who has no way to cook food, so we try to give him things he can get right out of his backpack.”
All of the people Baker was reading about are clients of the Grace Episcopal Church food pantry.
Baker, her fellow volunteer Sally Santmyer and Rev. Daniel Orr spoke to council members during public comment to request American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support a food bank renovation.
Grace Episcopal Church aims to build outdoor pavilion, upgrades for food pantry
Orr, who has been with the church for 10 years, said church leaders launched the idea for a refurbished pantry and community space last year.
The project would include a loading dock for more efficient food drop off, more storage and shelf space and an outdoor pavilion.
The church basement was last refurbished in the 1960s and “isn’t built for 10,000 pounds of food every week,” Orr said.
“The bigger picture is to fit into the Imagination District with an outdoor pavilion for our volunteers, church services or community events. I feel that the food pantry is a really great anchor of our community and we want it to be an even bigger beacon of hope.”
Partners including the Cleveland Food Bank, Meijer, Kroger and other grocery chains drop off food weekly. Volunteers unload, process and organize approximately 10,000 pounds of food each week before distribution days every Thursday, as well as the second and fourth Wednesday evenings of each month.
Grace Episcopal Church is located at 41 Bowman Street in Mansfield.
Orr said the renovation project has secured a $400,000 grant already.
“I would be grateful for anything the city can provide,” he said. “We’ve gotten a few different quotes, and I’m hoping it will cost around $1 million.
“I’m confident that this will move forward regardless of the city’s support, but ARPA funds would surely help.”
Orr said it was Santmyer’s idea to come to council to request ARPA funding.
“I was told a few weeks ago that there were still some funds available from ARPA earmarked for the disadvantaged,” Santmyer said. “The need in our community is great. I know it is greater than I realized when I started volunteering.”
Santmyer estimated the church serves more than 400 families each week on distribution days and higher numbers during the holidays.
The city faces a deadline of Dec. 31 to have the remaining ARPA funds allocated to specific projects, and a 2026 deadline to spend all of the funds.
There are only four regularly scheduled council meetings remaining for 2024.
Mayor Jodie Perry said the city has approximately $600,000 in unallocated ARPA funds.
“We have some projects that we’re working towards, but until it’s allocated, you never know,” she said. “We have other projects that we want to support as well, but I need some more details from them.
“It’s going to have to happen sooner rather than later. I’m hoping by the November meetings that we have a good chunk of it allocated.”
More info on Grace Episcopal Food Pantry
Anyone who lives in Richland County who makes less than twice the federal poverty standards can register for help from the food pantry.
Orr said recipients make up about a third of the pantry’s volunteers. The other two thirds of pantry volunteers are church members or community members.
The reverend listed Kokosing Construction, Great Lakes Trucking and JPB Professional Marketing as helpers of the renovation project. The Seckel Group architects prepared renderings of pantry renovations.
Interested volunteers can inquire at 419-524-2661 or email gracechurch41@yahoo.com. Grace Episcopal Church also takes donations for the food pantry via PayPal.
Also in Tuesday’s meeting:
- New At-large Councilwoman Shari Robertson was sworn in to complete Stephanie Zader’s term expiring in 2025.
- Perry said Trimble Road is set to reopen Oct. 17 after nearly nine weeks of closure for construction of a tunnel beneath the road to connect the B&O bike trail. Work on the edges of the pavement and a concrete walk will continue, but should not interfere with traffic patterns.
- Perry said the city’s economic development director Tim Bowersock is retiring. His last official day in office will be Oct. 31. She said she will bring a proposal to council members on how to manage the economic development office, which Bowersock has helped advise.
- Mansfield water treatment plant manager Leon Bursley Jr. presented council members with a fact sheet of the plant’s upgrades that he hopes will be completed by summer 2025. He said renovations will make the plant’s processes more efficient. The water treatment plant transfers more than 9 million gallons of water a day.
- Council voted to accept a $33,056 grant for the law director’s office from the Ohio Crime Victims’ Assistance Office. Funds will be used for the local crime victims’ assistance program.
- Accepted a $7,999 grant from the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership to be used in purchasing bulletproof vests for the Mansfield Police Department. There is a $7,999 local match required for the grant. Service safety director Keith Porch said the vests have an estimated arrival time of six to eight weeks after ordering.
- Approved the $295 claim of Destiny Karsmizki of West Second Street for damages caused by her cell phone being placed on a police cruiser and then left there, breaking it in August.
- Approved the $427 claim of Jessica Faulkner of Shaffner Boulevard for damages caused by hitting a water valve lid on West Cook Road in August.
- Accepted the scheduled demolitions of deteriorated structures at 30 Raleigh Ave., 45 Orchard St., 89 Orchard St., 330 Newman St. and 249 Clairmont Ave.
