Groveport Messenger - January 29th, 2023

PAGE 2 - GROVEPORT MESSENGER - January 29, 2023
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Continued from page 1
Stating the community wants to see action, board
member Kathleen Walsh made a motion for the board
to pursue obtaining metal detectors for the schools, but
the motion did not receive a second and failed.
The other board members and administrative officials
felt more information is needed on the metal
detectors’ costs, types, effectiveness, training needs,
and personnel requirements, as well as the impact
metal detectors would have on school culture before a
decision can be made on installing them.
www.columbusmessenger.com
Work goes on to fill new buildings
Plus other Groveport Council news
By Rick Palsgrove
Groveport Editor
With the first floor spaces of the two new Wert’s
Grove and Rarey’s Port buildings on Main Street getting
set to open, city of Groveport officials are now
looking to fill the second floor spots of both buildings.
The two, new city owned buildings are part of the
city of Groveport’s $8.5 million 1847 Main Project,
which includes the 14,145 square foot Rarey’s Port
(674 Main St.) building and the 12,184 square foot
Wert’s Grove building (480 Main St.).
The city’s 2023 budget includes $1.1 million for the
interior construction build out of the second floors of
the Wert’s Grove and Rarey’s Port buildings ($550,000
for each).
Groveport City Council approved legislation to
authorize City Administrator B.J. King to issue
requests for qualifications and contract for the engineering,
design, and estimated construction costs for
the second floor spaces in both buildings.
“Hopefully after this process we can get moving so
we can have something started in those spaces before
the end of the year,” said Groveport Finance Director
Jason Carr.
King said the second floors of these buildings were
funded by tax revenue (i.e. income tax), which means
the spaces cannot be directly leased to for profit companies.
“The uses must be government (which is non-profit)
or other non-profit organizations,” said King. “The
first floors were funded by non-tax revenue, so via the
Community Investment Corporation, the spaces could
be directly leased to for profit companies.”
Regarding the first floor spaces, Delaney’s Diner —
a breakfast, lunch, brunch restaurant — will occupy
space in the Rarey’s Port building. Little Italy Pizza,
which has operated at 619 Main St. for 43 years, will
move into the Wert’s Grove building. Little Italy will
occupy the entire first floor of the Wert’s Grove building.
Delaney’s Diner will occupy 4,958 square feet of
the first floor of the Rarey’s Port building on the west
end of the building, including the patio. City officials
are seeking tenants for the remaining 2,059 square
feet of the Rarey’s Port building’s first floor. Both businesses
are expected to open by late January.
Street maintenance program
Council authorized King to solicit bids for the city’s
2023, $550,000 street paving/pavement maintenance
program and $110,000 for stormwater improvements
associated with the street program. A list of the streets
that will receive work in 2023 is pending. Also as part
of this bid, the Groveport Municipal Golf Course driveway
will be repaved in 2023.
“We are not quite ready to identify the specific
streets as our consultant is wrapping up a preliminary
evaluation process.,” said Groveport City Engineer
Steve Farst. “Each year we go through this process,
before we identify the streets, assemble the design
specs, and solicit bids.”
Farst said the evaluation looks at several streets
that are targeted for repair/resurface, based primarily
on their condition.
“The consultant takes pavement cores, examines
the pavement defects, and prepares for us a recommended
approach for repair/resurface and a preliminary
cost. Then, with an awareness of the budget we
have to work with, we build a program for our street
maintenance activities that fit within the allocated
budget. It would be premature to identify streets until
we go through this.”
Other news
•Council approved legislation establishing
Juneteenth (June 19) as a paid holiday for city employees.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the
date when, after the end of the Civil War, enslaved
people in Galveston, Texas, finally received the news
they were free. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in
2021.
•Council approved the purchase of the following
equipment and vehicles: $107,000 for a rough mower
and $84,000 for a greens mower for the Groveport
Municipal Golf Course; $62,000 for a utility truck for
the facilities maintenance department; and $240,000
for three police cruisers.
Regarding the police cruisers, Councilman Shawn
Cleary suggested the city hold on to its old police cruisers
until the three new ones are obtained.
“It’s hard to get specialized vehicles these days,”
said Cleary.
Added Police Chief Casey Adams citing the nation’s
ongoing supply chain issues, “Maintenance is also difficult
because it is hard to find parts.”
•Council authorized city officials to purchase an
estimated $60,000 worth of fitness equipment for the
Groveport Recreation Center.
“Most of the existing equipment is several years old
and beginning to show wear,” said King, who added
the price could be lower as the city will trade in some
of the old equipment.
When asked what type of equipment will be purchased,
Groveport Recreation Director Seth Bower
said, “We need a little bit of everything.”
•Groveport Investments LLC has requested a zoning
variance from the city of Groveport to allow office
use for mental health counseling for the property at
540 Blacklick St., which is zoned residential. The
building is currently being used by an HVAC company
for offices and warehousing. The variance requests
states the building would be used by seven to nine
counselors/administrative staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
for outpatient mental health treatment and group
therapy. There would be no drug administration. The
Groveport Planning and Zoning Commission will
review the request at its Feb. 6 meeting at 6 p.m. in
the municipal building, 655 Blacklick St.
Board member Chris Snyder cautioned that metal
detectors could create trust issues in the schools
among students and staff.
Added Snyder, “Some people in the community
want metal detectors and others don’t.”
District officials will present the board with pricing
and policy information regarding the potential use of
metal detectors/weapon detection systems at a future
board meeting.