MANSFIELD — Cliff Mears said Richland County “is the place to be.”
Mears, a county commissioner, took time at the end of Tuesday’s meeting — the last of 2025 — to highlight some of the past year’s notable happenings.
At the top of Mears’ list was the $1.7 million in property tax relief commissioners approved near the end of October. The three-member board unanimously approved a motion to double the current state-funded 2.5 percent owner-occupancy credits, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Richland County Auditor Pat Dropsey in October estimated the total property tax relief expected after commissioner’s decision would be around $1.73 million.
“Property tax relief has been quite a discussion this year. The Board of Commissioners I think did a balanced amount of property tax relief,” Mears said.
Next on the commissioner’s list was the addition of a fourth courtroom for the Richland County Common Pleas Court. Unveiled in September, the new courtroom promises faster hearings and improved service for the public.
It is located on the second floor of the Richland County Administration Building and hosts a range of proceedings, including bench trials, jury trials, civil protection order hearings, bond hearings, visiting judges and court of appeals cases.
“I think it’s state-of-the-art and something that Richland County can be very proud of,” Mears said.
Another area of the nearly 50-year-old Richland County Courthouse with renovations near the finish line is new Land Bank offices on the lowest level and new public bathrooms throughout the five-story building.
A public event to unveil the renovations is anticipated for January.
Commissioners also approved a $49.6 million balanced budget for 2026 at the beginning of December.
Connector trail, wind/solar and internet expansion
Mears also said he was proud of the tunnel under Trimble Road and the 1.1 mile connector path linking the B&O Bike Trail to the road’s sidewalk.
Community members celebrated the completion of the $3.3 million project at the beginning of October. The path connects to the bike trail near the intersection of Marion Avenue and Home Road.
“I think it’s going to afford a lot of opportunities for people to get on their bikes or walk and provide a healthier lifestyle,” Mears said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks followed Mears and shared some of the happenings he thought were notable from the past year.
Banks highlighted the Board’s decision to declare portions of Richland County’s unincorporated areas be “restricted areas prohibiting construction of economically significant wind farms, large wind farms and large solar facilities.”
Commissioners’ action on the issue imposed a prohibition on large wind and solar projects in 11 of 18 Richland County townships. Since the Board’s decision, a local coalition of residents and organizations has successfully put the issue on the May 2026 ballot.
“We want to keep farmland (as) farmland as long as we can,” Banks said Tuesday. “I’m not against solar power, but there’s other places to put it.”
Another initiative Banks highlighted was the public-private partnership between Spectrum and state and local government officials to expand high-speed internet in northern Richland County.
More than 200 people in this part of the county could have access to new or improved high-speed internet by the end of 2026.
Banks closed by teasing upcoming economic development projects in 2026.
“It should create some jobs and sales tax and be something that’s nowhere else in the northern part of the state,” he said.