Richland County Land Bank celebrates decade of cleaning up neighborhoods
The Richland County Land Bank celebrated its 10th anniversary Thursday night at the soon-to-be open, newly expanded Buckeye Imagination Museum.
The land bank's mission?
"To make a positive, sustainable impact on the community by strategically acquiring vacant and abandoned properties, reducing blight and returning them to productive use improving the quality of life for county residents."
Since the Richland County Land Bank began, it has taken in parcels with structures or empty lots and has transferred hundreds of properties back to private usage with more coming online this year throughout Mansfield and the county.
More: Mansfield boy, 3, in custody dispute located in North Dakota
More: Man who just renewed license drives vehicle through Mansfield BMV window
Richland County treasurer Bart Hamilton, as chairman of the Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation — formed in 2013 and better known as the Richland County Land Bank — said things were made in Mansfield since the 1800s through today and now there is a lot to cleanup as people in the old days didn't do things the right way.
"We've partnered with the Ohio EPA, they're our friend," he said of one of the land bank's efforts.
Hamilton worked with Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker, elected in 2011 with a campaign pledge to clean up dilapidated housing, and Donnie Mitchell, the city's community development leader. During the process, Amy Hamrick was hired by Mitchell to help administer the grant. She is now the manager of the local land bank.
Among the speakers, Jeff Parton, business development officer at Park National Bank, told the crowd more than 100 blighted, vacant and abandoned properties within one and a half a miles of the downtown Buckeye Imagination Museum near the 5-way light at Park Avenue West and Marion Avenue have been land bank properties put back into proper use.
Parton said Richland County used to have $15 million in delinquent property taxes. That number is now $5 million.
"The land bank is the mechanism, the end all, the cleanup," he said.
Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero said the Richland County Land Bank is the only organization is the county equipped with the knowledge, the wherewithal, the makeup.... It is the only organization equipped to handle the project of the Westinghouse scope.
Most recently, the land bank became the owner of the former Westinghouse building on 200 W. Fifth St. and its adjacent 14 acres. The dilapidated building is earmarked for demolition. The site will be cleaned up too.
Demolition could begin on the old Westinghouse building at 200 E. Fifth St. as early as this year. Abatement is expected to begin in August.
During the program, land bank members lauded Amy Hamrick, land bank manager, for her work and presented her a bouquet of flowers for her day-to-day efforts to make the the program a success, working with contractors, community partners, the state and the Ohio EPA.
There are currently 64 land banks in Ohio. The land bank vision was founded by Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, who attended the celebration.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Land bank members lauded Amy Hamrick, land bank manager, for her work.
