Pictured is the current Ohio Department of Transportation garage on Chestnut Street in Marysville, which the state is slated to vacate later this year to move to a new facility being built on Collins Avenue. The City of Marysville is preparing to set aside funds to buy the building when it becomes available.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Will Channell)
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Tonight, Marysville City Council will hold its first reading of an ordinance to put aside money for the purchase of the soon-to-be vacant Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) garage on Chestnut Street.
Officials said the city reached out to ODOT a few years ago about purchasing the building. At the time, ODOT already knew it would soon start work on a new facility, currently being built on Collins Avenue.
The legislation on tonight’s city council agenda would earmark $300,000 from the city’s capital improvement fund. The city will use that money later this year to purchase the building when ODOT is ready to move out.
City Finance Director Justin Nahvi said the legislation is just changing where the money will come from, shifting it from the capital improvement fund to the capital reserve fund. The city already had funds in mind for the purchase.
Marysville Public Service Director Mike Andrako said that $300,000 likely won’t be the final amount, but was the figure given by ODOT for budgeting purposes. He said the state hasn’t yet finished the process of auditing the building.
“We don’t know exactly how much that number is,” Andrako said.
ODOT is moving its garage to Collins Avenue and Route 4, in front of the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The $8 million facility will be 35,000 square feet, up from the 11,000 square feet of the Chestnut Street facility.
Officials said the facility on Chestnut has existed since 1968.
Last year, Marysville officials said the new building would help the city house its streets department.
“My biggest thing is currently, we don’t have room for more (than) one mechanic,” Andrako said. “Right now we have two mechanics (at the Maple Street garage), and the second mechanic has set up sort of a makeshift bay.”
The overall problem, according to officials, is there’s simply not enough room for streets staff to work effectively.
The city’s building on Maple Street, the Maintenance and Operations Center (MOC), was built in 1999. It has the city’s streets, parks and water departments. As of last year, there were 33 full-time staff and 15 part-time staff.
Housing those three departments results in a crowded building, officials said. Some vehicles are left outside, shortening the lifespan of that equipment.
“I think moving out there will provide the expansion abilities that we need,” Andrako said.