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City manager outlines COPS grant, streetscape plans and local project updates
Summary
City Manager Bauer updated council on a COPS grant for two officers, pending FEMA and other grants, OPWC streetscape work, repairs and façade improvements, a $44,500 quote to repair the Antique Mall wall, and a proposed fence for Maple Avenue.
City Manager Mister Bauer gave a multi-part operations update that included public-safety staffing, grant statuses and several public-works projects.
Bauer said the COPS grant will fund two additional police officers and will allow the department to staff three sergeants and 12 patrol officers (roughly three to four officers per shift). The city is awaiting assignment of federal grant administrators before finalizing paperwork on the COPS and FEMA grants, which include funding for a fire engine.
On infrastructure, Bauer said JMA/McMacken will manage a project approved through the Ohio Public Works Commission with bids expected to open in January and work to begin in the spring. The Seward project application was rejected and may be rolled into ongoing streetscape work near the library and the planned BRT station at Hamilton and McMackin.
Bauer reported repair work on Clover/Cloven Hook Avenue and said façade painting and masonry for the downtown façade-improvement project are complete (awnings remain). He reported an initial contractor quote of $44,500 to repair a wall at the Antique Mall and said the city has submitted that quote for possible grant assistance. A longstanding water leak at the Ethos art studio was repaired and the area restored.
Bauer summarized recent grant results: the city was rejected for one $100,000 grant, Angelo's received $50,000 from the same pot, and the city retains a previously awarded $250,000. He also described a county mini-grant opportunity ($20,000–$25,000) for engineering and planning at the Hamilton and Kinney intersection with a partner called The Hive. Bauer noted civic beautification work by a local firm called LandTech, which planted additional flowers at Heritage Park and near the library.
On neighborhood concerns, Bauer presented an option to install locked fencing at the stub end of Maple Avenue for emergency access and estimated the cost at roughly $5,000–$10,000, subject to neighbor approvals and coordination with Lake of the Woods property management.
Council did not take formal action on these items at the meeting; several items will require follow-up and grant-administration steps.
