MANSFIELD — The Downtown Improvement Advisory Board made it official on Thursday, voting to allocate $500,000 to the Main Street Corridor Improvement project set to begin in early 2025.
The board had been expected to contribute to the $19.7 million project, utilizing revenue it receives through a $5 annual vehicle license tax increase for all vehicles registered in the city that was approved by City Council in 2018.
The 12-year tax was created to fund downtown improvement projects under a board appointed by the mayor and approved by local lawmakers.
Current board members are Mayor Jodie Perry, Scott Cardwell, Ben Davis, Ellen Heinz, Chris Hiner, Jennifer Kime and Matthew Stanfield.
That revenue, which began to be collected in 2019, amounts to about $250,000 annually and under its organizational by-laws, the board sets aside 40 percent each year for long-term projects.
The fund had $659,061 in it as of Thursday and will have $159,601 remaining after the Main Street project allocation is taken.
The Kokosing Construction Co. received a $17,751,811 contract for the streetscape project, which will be a complete upgrade of Main Street from First to Sixth streets and Park Avenue from Main to Diamond streets.
Structurepoint, an engineering firm with offices in Columbus, will be paid around $1,581,051 million to provide inspection services during the work, a project expected to take around 18 months to complete.
City engineer Bob Bianchi told board members water line work on the project will begin in the middle of February. He said private utility companies are working now to relocate lines to accommodate the construction.
“We’re going to be meeting with the contractor very soon for a pre-construction meeting. They have some ideas on the sequence of construction, but our original plan is to start at the north end and head south,” Bianchi said.
Kime, CEO of Downtown Mansfield Inc., told board members were being conducted for a “communications specialist” to ensure “clear, consistent, and timely communication with local business owners, the public and visitors throughout the project’s duration.”
She said a hiring decision would be made and the person going to work in early February, working 10 to 20 hours a week through July 2026.
“I’m not sure how many candidates we ended up with total, but it was a good pool of candidates. They were all strong. We were happy with them,” Kime said.
The project, expected to be done in stages, involves replacing water mains, storm sewers, streetscape amenities, streetscape furnishings, decorative hardscape, sidewalks, curb ramps, signals, landscaping and lighting.
The north and south plazas will be fully renovated, including fountain reconstruction.
The largest single source of funds for the project comes from a $7.3 million federal grant obtained in 2022 through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity competitive grant program.
Kokosing will be doing the streetscape while also working nearby in 2025 on a $21.2 million Ohio Department of Transportation project on a 3.4-mile, four-lane stretch of Ohio 13 that will be completely resurfaced over the next two years on the city’s south side.
The divided, four-lane highway, a composite surface concrete and asphalt, serves as the southern entrance to the city from I-71.
That major rehabilitation project, expected to begin in the spring, will include the “rubblization” of the surface. The work is expected to be complete some time in 2026, according to ODOT.
