Mansfield moves closer to completing Trimble Rd. project

MANSFIELD — The City of Mansfield is one step closer to completing the Trimble Road improvement project.

Mansfield City Council approved legislation Tuesday night that authorizes the safety service director to advertise for bids and enter into a contract regarding improvements to Trimble Road from Cook Road to Marion Avenue.

Trimble Road will be widened between Cook Road and Marion Avenue to four lanes, with a fifth turning lane added at the intersections.

According to City Engineer Bob Bianchi, this project will help facilitate congestion relief, economic development and improved safety at the intersections, namely Cook Road and Marion Avenue.

“Those two intersections are currently on the high crash location list put out by the Regional Planning Commission,” he said.

The city has already purchased the necessary right-way-of-way for the widening and hopes to begin the bidding process in October, Bianchi said. Construction will commence sometime in the winter.

The project will force a closure of Trimble Road for 45 days. During that time, Trimble Road’s hill will be shaved about two-and-a-half feet to improve sight distance, specifically for a new roadway that will be built by a private developer, Bianchi said.

Construction completion is slated for September 2017.

To accommodate pedestrian traffic, a 10-foot-wide multiuse path will be installed along the east side of Trimble Road.

Three grants will help fund the roughly $4.7-$4.8 million project. The local share amounts to about $275,000, which is coming out of the permissive sales tax fund.

Fifth Ward Councilman Jason Lawrence asked why the project couldn’t be extended down to the intersection of Trimble and Millsboro.

“We just don’t have the funds unfortunately,” Bianchi responded.

Economic Development

Economic Development Director Tim Bowersock discussed two pieces of legislation that go hand-in-hand.

Bill 16-171 cancels an enterprise zone agreement with Appleseed Building Company for certain tax incentives under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5709.

“A number of years ago, we entered into an agreement with Appleseed to acquire a piece of property on Sawyer Parkway,” Bowersock said.

But the project never developed.

“Now I do have a project,” he said, “so this (legislation) is basically canceling that agreement with Appleseed.”

Bill 16-172 authorizes the Richland County Growth Corporation, on behalf of the City of Mansfield, to sell seven acres of land on Sawyer Parkway to One Foundation Properties, LTD for $30,400.

“(One Foundation Properties) is a real estate holding company recently formed by the owners of Hess Industries. Hess is currently a tenant of Braintree, the local technology incubator. They’ve outgrown their space and acquired the property next door to this at 108 Sawyer,” Bowersock explained.

Hess, a tool and die shop, has 11 employees.

“They’ll retain their 11 employees and expect to add two within probably the next eight to 10 months,” Bowersock said.

Both pieces of legislation were approved by council.

Mansfield council also approved Bill 16-173, which authorizes the Richland County Growth Corporation, on behalf of the city, to sell seven acres of land located on Ohio Brass Road to MTC Holdings, LLC.

MTC is a real estate holding company formed by the owners of a new precision machining company, which will be housed at the Ohio Brass location, Bowersock said.

“This is going to give them a pretty good opportunity to grow,” Bowersock said. The property was sold to MTC for $1.

“That may seem low, but this property is somewhat challenged,” Bowersock said.

He said the site work will be expensive to complete, so the sale price is meant to help offset that additional expense.

The company plans on hiring four or five full-time employees.

“These are going to be decent-paying, skilled jobs,” Bowersock said.

Sewer use

Council approved legislation that amends certain sections of the city’s sewer use and pretreatment regulations in order to align with Environmental Protection Agency mandates.

According to Bianchi, the city has a permit to discharge treated wastewater to the Rocky Fork River. The city is allowed a certain amount of pollutants that can be discharged to the river–an amount that’s low enough to protect the environment and human health, he said.

“There are industries inside of Mansfield that have the capability of discharging a large amount of metals to our system, whereby our plants cannot possibly treat and remove those metals,” he said.

In adherence to its pretreatment ordinances, the city monitors the discharge of 15 industries in Mansfield.

“The EPA has significant oversight over this program, and has since requested that the City of Mansfield update our ordinances,” he said.

Bianchi doesn’t anticipate any changes to the industries as a result of the updates. Nor does he foresee any financial burden on the city because the program is not going to require additional manpower, he said.

Demolitions

Council approved the following demolitions: