MOUNT VERNON — The city plans to apply for a brownfield grant to help remove contaminated soil and demolish asbestos-contaminated buildings.
City Engineer Brian Ball said it’s more of a demolition grant rather than a brownfield grant.
As part of the State Route 13 south realignment project, the city has acquired several buildings along South Sandusky Street and Phillips Drive. Previous councils authorized the demolition of the buildings.
“We’re allowed to do demolition because several of these structures we’re looking at have asbestos in them,” Ball told the city council on Monday.
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Ball estimates demolition will cost $550,000. Through the efforts of U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, the city received $425,953 specifically for the State Route 13 realignment.
“By applying for this grant, we help do the demo work,” he said.
The project area includes the former Quick Lube parcel, the site of a former railroad and a coal, oil, and gas works. Those industries left coal waste and other contaminants in the soil.
Ball said removing the contaminated soil will cost about $400,000.
The city has completed drilling and environmental studies and has a reasonable idea of what to expect. However, they will not know for certain until the contractor excavates it.
Justice center
In addition to those two costs, the city plans to apply the grant toward demolishing buildings north of 40 Public Square to make way for the new Justice Center.
“As we work through finalizing the public comments and the historic coordination, the idea of this grant would be bundling those sort of three separate bids into one grant application,” he explained.
“We can get up to a million dollars, but I believe the land bank has a couple of small things they want to do, so we would target our grant application to mesh up with Sam Filkins’ asks so that the combined ask would be a million dollars.”
Ball said the 2026 budget includes money for the projects if the city does not receive the grant.
“This would just help us reduce our capital outlay,” he said.
Council members gave a second reading to legislation authorizing the administration to apply for the grant. The Ohio Department of Development administers the grant.
Hazard mitigation plan
Council members suspended the third reading and adopted the Knox County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Councilman Dale Miller, chair of the Police, Fire, and Civil Defense Committee, said the plan does several things:
•Protects residents and community assets.
•Supports smarter land use and infrastructure decisions.
•Is required to remain eligible for certain federal disaster mitigation grants.
“If we would have a disaster, and we don’t adopt this plan, it’s not going to do us any good to apply for any relief from FEMA because they’re just going to flatly refuse it,” he told the council.
“The plan is a strategic document developed by local government and approved by the FEMA.”
Miller said the plan is a comprehensive document that incorporates input from officials across the county.
“Basically its purpose is to identify hazards that could affect the community, understand how vulnerable people, buildings, and infrastructure are to those hazards, and establish long-term actions to reduce or eliminate risk,” he said.
“What it isn’t: It’s not an emergency response plan. It’s not a short-term or one-time document, and it’s not limited to natural disasters only.”
It also does not require any immediate spending, remove local authority, or mandate that all actions be implemented.
Miller said the plan matters to the city council because the council plays a key role in shaping how communities grow, invest, and protect residents.
The plan supports those responsibilities by protecting lives and property, identifying risk in advance, and reducing injuries, fatalities, and property damage.
According to Miller, the plan identifies the primary local risk factors as storms, utility failures, and flooding.
Miller said he strongly favors moving legislation to three readings but was inclined to suspend the third reading because he does not see any drawbacks to adopting the plan.
Other legislative action
Council members again discussed expanding the council clerk position into a city clerk position. The new position includes records retention, facilitation, and management.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said the new position is approximately 25 percent clerk of council and 75 percent related to the city’s boards, commissions, and records.
He said employee evaluations, hiring, and disciplinary discussions will be in tandem with the council and administration.
The council gave a second reading to an ordinance establishing the compensation for the position.
Council members took the following additional actions:
•Authorized on the third reading to bid and contract for the city’s chip seal program.
•Approved on third reading to bid and contract for renovations at the municipal center, 236 S. Main St.
•Waived the three readings and reappointed Kathryn Brechlar to the Knox County Health District Board, and Lorraine Boss, Jordan Shremshock, and Aaron Moreland to the library board of trustees.
•Waived the three readings and authorized the police department to dispose of six vehicles from the impound lot.
•Introduced legislation to create an executive administrator position, apply for a Safe Routes to School grant, and advertise for bids and award a contract for design services for a 586 safety improvement project.
•Heard the second reading of an ordinance amending the city’s Fats, Oils and Grease control devices regulations. Changes include permits, compliance (Below is a PDF denoting changes).
