Tuesday evening, Circleville Council heard about street grants and park progress.
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Service Director Terry Frazier explained a grant to completely rebuild Turner Drive...as council authorized seeking a grant for similar work on Cedar Heights Road. But he said both must wait through winter, since there's not enough time to test, plan, and fulfill legal requirements before the asphalt plants go on hiatus in November.
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Frazier also said Ted Lewis Park is gradually following the 2015 master plan. Work will start soon in the southeast quadrant for a splash pad and and more, costing $107,000...or less, with city labor. He said work is progressing as fast as funding will allow to follow the 2015 master plan.
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Council acted to try to protect their historical buildings.
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Tom Spring saw his ordinance pass to create a 90-day waiting period for demolition requests on buildings dating before 1960 outside the downtown district...with a possible additional 90 day extension.
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He said currently, demolition could happen the same day a permit was requested, but the loss of a historical building hurts the community economically and beyond. Part of the inspiration for this was the surprise demolition of the Pennsylvania Railroad station. Todd Brady asked if this would invite lawsuits. Council president David Crawford said he didn't think it was an attack on property rights, but rather a way to alert the public of a potential loss.
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Spring said this is a tool to find alternatives to demolition to help the city as a whole.
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And, auditor Gayle Spangler has received the "Auditor of State Award" for a clean audit...for the third year in a row. Spangler said she could not have done it without her staff.
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Kevin Coleman regularly reports on Chillicothe & Circleville councils and local culture