The agenda review committee on Oct. 14 considered two ordinances that would let the city provide $5,000,000 from fund balance to support the Lucas County Regional Combined Health District's planned acquisition and renovation of a building on Spielbush Avenue and to amend the 1999 merger agreement governing the regional health district.

The city's economic development director, Brandon Solhorst, told the committee the Erie Street building the health department now uses needs roughly $10.6 million in capital investment over 10 years, including about $4.2 million in immediate repairs. The health department and the city jointly identified a Diocese-owned building on Spielbush Avenue as a lower-cost alternative: acquisition and renovation together were presented as materially cheaper than renovating the existing facility.

The proposed package would have the city contribute $3,140,000 as Toledo's share of the purchase and provide a $1,860,000 loan to the health department at a 4% interest rate over five years. Solhorst said the loan would be secured by a promissory note and a first mortgage on the Spielbush property. The health department plans to borrow a total of $5,000,000 and to repay its obligations through its annual budget contributions from Lucas County jurisdictions; Solhorst said other jurisdictions and the regional board had approved the amended merger agreement that extends the existing agreement through Feb. 19, 2030.

Solhorst and Health Commissioner Kareem Baruti said the health department expects to close on the Spielbush building within weeks, begin renovations immediately, and target relocation in 2026. After relocation, the city intends to demolish the Erie Street building, remediate asbestos as needed, and convert the site into a roughly 220-space surface parking lot at an estimated cost of $2.7 million. Solhorst said the lot would replace leased parking (notably spaces at the nearby Paramount lot), producing an estimated annual savings of $171,600 in parking costs.

Council members pressed for fiscal detail and long-term effects. Councilwoman Williams asked for confirmation that the $171,600 was an annual savings; Solhorst affirmed it was. Councilwoman Martinez asked whether the health department would be able to repay its portion in five years; Solhorst and Baruti said jurisdictions had approved the plan and the department expects to repay the loan from its budget contributions. Questions also addressed appraisal work (a bank appraisal of roughly $3.5 million was cited), available on-site parking at the Spielbush property (45 spaces), and whether operating contributions from jurisdictions might rise; Baruti said the board's intent was to keep operating contributions flat for about five years while the department builds a capital reserve.

Several council members expressed concern about demolishing the Erie Street building and creating surface parking downtown. Councilmembers suggested alternatives such as permeable surfaces, solar canopies, or other design treatments to improve the long-term redevelopment prospects of the site; Solhorst said the surface lot was part of a broader strategy to free leased parking and potentially unlock redevelopment of the Paramount block.

The administration described the package as fiscally prudent: avoiding an estimated $10.6 million in near-term repairs to the existing building, eliminating future city maintenance obligations for that facility, modernizing public-health facilities, and realizing both operating savings and interest-income advantages by offering a below-market loan rate to the health department.

The committee granted the administration's request to move the ordinances forward (consent), with council members asking staff to provide follow-up details on appraisal reports, parking logistics, and the timeline for relocation and demolition.

The record of the discussion shows the administration's proposal as described; no final construction contract for the new site or final disposition ordinance for the Erie Street site was adopted at this hearing.