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South Bloomfield advances joint police–fire station plan, discusses police upgrades and sheltering
Summary
Council approved continuing reworked plans for a joint safety services building with Harrison Township, set a $500,000 local share for the village and authorized seeking a loan if needed; police updates included new key-fob access for the elementary school, hiring plans and equipment standardization.
The Village of South Bloomfield council on April 21 voted to continue developing a reworked plan for a joint police and fire station with Harrison Township and authorized the village to seek a small loan if needed to cover its local share.
Mayor Aaron Thomas said the revised design reduces building costs and sets each partner’s local match at $500,000, a level the village hopes will make state budget funding more likely. Woody Blanton moved to continue with the updated plan for the old municipal building lot; the motion carried unanimously. Tom Ramsay moved and the council also approved an authorization for the village to obtain a loan if its saved funds are insufficient.
The decision follows Mayor Thomas’s meeting with Ray DiRossi, the Ohio Senate budget director, who advised that closer to a 50% local match could increase the project’s chances for inclusion in the Senate’s budget, the mayor reported. Council members asked questions about site size and placement; Joe Allen said the reworked plans were sized to fit the existing municipal lot and noted Harrison Township had expressed concerns about development around their preferred lot.
Council members and several residents discussed operational impacts. Randy Rensko asked whether the village would need to buy trucks or ambulances; Mayor Thomas said Harrison Township plans to relocate some equipment and staff to the new station, so the village would not need to purchase additional apparatus at this time. Joseph Wilson emphasized potential insurance-rate benefits for homeowners from improved emergency response.
Public safety updates presented at the meeting included efforts to create emergency-access key-fob capability at the elementary school, exploration of the school and South Bloomfield United Methodist Church as storm shelters, and plans to standardize new duty firearms and holsters so officers can share ammunition and simplify maintenance. Lt. Wells reported the department completed a LEADS audit and recognized Officer Miller for audit work and Officers Francis and Davis for responses to recent incidents. Chief Michael Maynard announced the department is in the process of hiring Officer Eric Flores.
The council’s votes to continue the safety-services plan and to permit loan financing are the most recent procedural steps; staff said the project will require additional design, financing and intergovernmental agreements before construction can begin.
