Columbus council OKs $20 hourly minimum for contract workers, $23.6M for Fran Ryan Center

Janitors, landscapers, security guards and other workers employed by contractors who work for the city of Columbus will soon make at least $20 per hour after the City Council passed a "living wage" ordinance Monday.

The council also approved spending more than $23 million to renovate a former school into a senior community center and park, and agreed to pay more than $200,000 to settle a lawsuit with a Columbus police lieutenant.

New living wage law for city contract employees

Ohio law does not allow cities to change minimum wage for city employees. So the new "living wage" law the council approved Monday affects only competitive sealed bids, requiring contractors to agree to the $20 per hour minimum in order to be considered for city contracts, said council member Rob Dorans, who sponsored the ordinance.

The $20 per hour the council approved is well above the $10.10 minimum hourly wage in Ohio and the $7.25 federal hourly minimum.

Dorans, who is also the chief legal counsel for ACT Ohio, a nonprofit that advocates for workers in the construction industry, said he began comparing wages for city workers and city contractors as long as two years ago.

"Unfortunately, we started finding more and more who were not meeting the living wage standard," he said. "If you're conducting a core function of the city of Columbus, you should be paid a fair wage."

Lifeguards and some other city workers make $20 per hour. Contractors were found to make far less, Dorans said.

"We should not be picking who gets a living wage and who doesn't," he said.

The changes will take effect in 30 days, Dorans said, estimating there are hundreds of contracts comprising hundreds, if not thousands of workers who may benefit.

Dorans said the change will not affect construction contracts. He also contended the new law would not have any direct effect on the city budget.

"We have a large stick when we think about our purchasing power," Council President Shannon Hardin said. "When we do business … this is the new standard."

Funds approved for Fran Ryan Center construction

The City Council on Monday agreed to spend $23.6 million to begin construction of the Fran Ryan Center for seniors and a park on the site of a former Columbus City Schools building in the Olde Towne East neighborhood. The center is being named for former council member Fran Ryan, a champion for the city's seniors and a City of Columbus Hall of Fame member.

The Douglass Alternative Elementary School, 51 S. Douglass St. was built in 1974 and closed in 2013. The city bought the building and nearly 4-acre site in 2020. Demolition of the former school and design work began after council approved a $1.767 million contract with Moody Nolan in October 2021.

The new two-story, 44,000-square-foot center will have a fitness center for wellness activities, a kitchen and space for a variety of activities and classes. It will also house many of the popular programs from the Martin Janis Community Senior Center and the Golden Hobby Gift Shop, according to a city website.

"We expect it to open in the fall of next year or more likely early in 2025," said Steve Reese, director of the city Recreation and Parks Department, which will operate the center.

Taxpayers' funds OK'd for lawsuit settlement, podcast/radio show

In other business, the council agreed to pay nearly $217,000 in legal fees to settle a lawsuit brought by Columbus police Lt. Melissa McFadden, a Black woman who last year received just $2 from a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus, even though jurors agreed the city Division of Police discriminated and retaliated against her.

At the time, McFadden's attorneys said the verdict was a victory in principle, and McFadden, now a police commander, sought a reconsideration of the damage award. The settlement with the city includes attorneys' fees and costs.

The council also voted to spend $25,000 to create a podcast and radio show for teens on WCBE — the Columbus City Schools-operated public radio station — described as the Immigrants, Refugees and Migrant Affairs Youth Council and Public Affairs Show.

Paul Brown, director of multimedia services for Columbus City Schools, said the weekly program would be aimed at the city's growing immigrant community "from the unique lens of not only those new to Columbus, but new to America." It will air at 8:30 a.m. Saturdays and be available anytime on the station's website.

Brown said the city funds will be used for video equipment for the podcast and labor costs to keep the show running.

Noise law changes subject of public hearing

Council member Emmanuel V. Remy will host a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to review proposed amendments to the city's Noise Code.

The proposed amendments would deal with noise involving commercial and mixed-use properties. Among other things, they would set limits on unacceptable noise levels from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. from "the operation of any sound amplification system, auditory device, or stationary sound source" from nonresidential property as to be audible between 50 and 100 feet of the property line from which the sound emanates.

Draft amendments can be found here.

Those interested in public testimony are asked to email Cailyn Pittman at cdpittman@columbus.gov by noon Tuesday. A virtual speaking option is available upon request.

The meeting will broadcast live on CTV, Columbus cable access channel 3; YouTube; and Facebook Live.

dnarciso@gannett.com

@DeanNarciso

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Council OKs $20/hr wage for contract workers, $23.6M for Fran Center