MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council passed legislation Tuesday appropriating $282,047 into the city’s PRIDE demolition fund budget.
The request from Mayor Jodie Perry will help the Richland County Land Bank cover costs associated with the former YMCA building demolition, initially completed five years ago, on Park Avenue West.
However, Perry said legislation passed by council Tuesday evening is only the first step.
“What we passed tonight was appropriating more money into the PRIDE demolition fund budget for the year,” she said. “The next step is to bring the contract to council, specifically related to the YMCA.”
Final costs of work being completed at the former YMCA site is yet to be finalized, Perry said.
“We’re (city and Land Bank) having ongoing meetings about ‘How do we finish this correctly?’” the mayor said. “We want to make sure it’s done.”
Perry said legislation will be brought to council March 20 with a specific ask related to the 455 Park Ave. West property.
“The reason that we don’t have it for you (council) tonight is we’re still trying to get our hands around, with the Land Bank, what is the final amount needed,” Perry told councilmembers, adding she expects the ask to total around $500,000.
“We do have it (funds) in the PRIDE fund, we will be making that ask, but it is going to eat into our PRIDE funds pretty significantly.
“We’ll have a much more robust report at the next council meeting, but I’ve been asked about it, there’s been some articles about it, so I just wanted to make sure I was giving council a heads up.”
Work at former YMCA site remains ongoing
Excavators returned to the 455 Park Ave. West site in February, to dig up and remove debris left buried when the city originally used $500,000 in PRIDE funds to demolish the three-story building.
No decisions have been made yet regarding the city’s ability or intent to recoup money spent on the original demolition.
The goal is to make the 3.2-acre site “developable,” Amy Hamrick, manager of the Richland County Land Bank, previously told Richland Source.
The Land Bank owns the property and is using a share of state grant funds for the work.
Once Advanced Demolition Services from McComb, Ohio, began re-excavating the site last month, after it became clear material was not buried deeply enough — and material other than “hard fill” was buried at the site.
The company will be paid $61,099 to explore the entire site to ensure all demolition debris is removed, including the former YMCA swimming pool that may be buried there.
Advanced will be paid by the ton to haul away the debris, including $55.72 per ton of construction and demolition debris; $26.66 per ton of masonry, stove concrete and tile bank-run gravel; $14 per ton for steel; and $34.88 per ton for soil replacement and compaction at 1,500 pounds per square inch.
The Land Bank will then pay the company $44,915 to restore the entire site to straw and grass, per the contract.
In other action Tuesday, City Council:
— passed a resolution honoring former police Chief Keith Porch, who retired Feb. 27 to become the city’s safety service director.
— passed a resolution honoring former MPD Sgt. Jon Ahles, who retired from the department after a 30-year career on March 4.
— approved the appointment of former 6th Ward Councilwoman Kim Moton to the city’s Board of Utility Appeals Commission.
— approved the acceptance of a $117,646 Justice Assistance Grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. Funds will be used to conduct drug enforcement operations within the 10-county METRICH Enforcement Unit area.
— authorized city administrators to seek bids to replace a double-box bridge at North Lake Park.
— authorized city administrators to enter into a contract to update the current geographical information mapping system used by the city to manage and improve water and sewer infrastructure.
— approved a proposal to rezone two parcels at and around 475 S. Diamond St. to B-1 (business) from its current mobile home and multi-family zoning.
— approved spending $397,431 to purchase a new digital radio system for the Mansfield Fire Department using capital funds set aside in the department 2024 budget.
— approved spending $178,000 with Armstrong Construction to replace the apparatus bay floor at Mansfield Fire Department Station 1 with funds coming from the department’s fire department operations and contractual services areas.
— approved the demolition of dilapidated buildings at 193 Park Ave. East, 113 S. Foster St., 532 Van Buren St., 633 Longview Ave., 1094 Caldwell Ave. and 1159 Boyle Road.
— approved the administration’s proposal to amend city ordinances dealing with litter, junk and trash removal.
Residents will now have five days, as opposed to the previous 10 days, to remove junk/litter/trash from a property once the city has sent notification.
If the city has to arrange to have a site cleared, approved changes now allow it to bill the owner $150 per truck load of material hauled away with a $200 administration/supervision fee per incident.
Public Works Director Louis Andres said a second ordinance dealing with unmown yards and weeds, pulled from Tuesday’s agenda, will be reintroduced for vote at council’s next meeting March 20.
