City of Wooster to clean up former auto-repair property turned brownfield

Bryce Buyakie, The Daily Record
·2 min read

WOOSTER − The city aims to clean up a 15-year-old abandoned brownfield property downtown that has contaminated soil and groundwater.

Once an auto-repair facility called Tire Centers Inc., located at 517 E. Liberty St., its empty garages and concrete have created a hazard, Councilman Scott Myers said at Monday's meeting.

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To level the site, clean groundwater, excavate soils and repair the streetscape, the costs could reach $920,000, according to the city, which will apply for an Ohio Department of Development Brownfield Remediation Program Round II grant. The program could see up to $775,000 go toward the clean-up project, according to an ordinance council passed at the meeting.

Wooster Growth, a community improvement corporation, has a lease-purchase agreement for the property, explained city Development Coordinator Jonathan Millea.

This means Wooster Growth would "cover local match and additional costs, in the hopes of recovering most of these expenses with a future sale of the property to a developer committing to an economic development project," the ordinance states.

More action at Monday, Sept. 19, Wooster City Council Meeting

  • Council waived the liquor control petition for Montavino Wine Market on Portage Road.

  • The Ohio Department of Transportation will continue to inspect Wooster's five bridges and will take on all costs for the next year. Three bridges are located at Palmer, North and Larwill streets, plus one culvert along Saybolt Street. Another bridge is in Christmas Run Park.

  • The city will submit an application to the Ohio Public Works Commission for a $500,000 grant to help pay for Water Resource Recovery Facility improvements estimated to cost $5.061 million.

  • The Wooster Fire Division will enter into a contract with Medicount, an ambulance and EMS billing company, at an estimated cost of $55,000. City Councilman Mark Cavin said EMS calls and billings have increased in 2022, leading to a higher contract cost.

  • The city will purchase a new dump truck for $150,000. This will improve overall response time to construction-related duties and enable larger emergency digs, without downtime.

  • City council approved a payment of $25,994 to OpenGov, web-based document workflow software for building permits, licenses and code enforcement.

  • Waterline and sewer repairs have exceeded the expected expenditures for 2022 set at $50,000. Council authorized the city to exceed that figure for the remainder of 2022.

  • Council delayed action on two resolutions until the next meeting. One would create the Tax Increment Financing Incentive District around Oak Hill Road and another would pull $2.5 million from the city's general fund to pay for Fire Station No. 1 renovations.

  • A Public Safety meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, to discuss the Fire Station No. 1 renovation plan.

UP NEXT Meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, in Wooster City Hall.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: City aims to clean brownfield property in downtown Wooster