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Council approves purchase agreements for Harvard & Brainerd fire station site and 35-acre passive park
Summary
At its Aug. 6 special meeting, the Orange Village Council approved two third-reading ordinances authorizing agreements to acquire a parcel at Harvard and Brainerd for potential fire-station use and to preserve 35 acres as a passive park via purchase from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
Orange Village Council on Aug. 6 approved two ordinances authorizing the mayor to enter agreements with CVG LLC and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to acquire property in the village, including a parcel at the southwest corner of Harvard and Brainerd intended for possible future fire-station use and a separate 35-acre tract to be preserved as a passive park. Mayor Brent Klein said Western Reserve Land Conservancy will purchase the 35-acre tract and the village will purchase it from the conservancy using funds from other sources, and that the project is supported by the Natural Resource Assistance Council (NRAC) funding process. "It will become the village property," Klein said of the land that the conservancy is acquiring on the village's behalf. The council approved both ordinances on third reading by roll-call vote; members recorded affirmative votes on each measure. Klein and other speakers emphasized the purchases do not by themselves guarantee construction. Chief Larry Genova reiterated that building a new fire station would require later planning and approvals; Klein told the council the ordinances authorize acquisition and preserve options. Council members and staff discussed the rationale for siting a station at Harvard and Brainerd, citing call-volume data and anticipated development (including Walnut Hills and the Omni project) that Klein and Chief Genova said shift demand northward and toward the highway. Klein and others said if a fire station is not ultimately placed on the acquired acreage the village would designate another use, most likely additional parkland. The mayor described a recent NRAC presentation and said the village competed with other communities for funding; he said one community was disqualified and two remaining competitors were Bay Village and Solon. The ordinances were presented as part of the council's third-reading agenda and passed after motions and roll-call votes. No formal amendments were recorded at the meeting. Council members and the mayor said further steps — including design, budgeting, and any decision to locate facilities — will come later and will require separate approvals and, if needed, voter support for bonds or levies.
