The city is planning environmental testing on a Jackson Street property that the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is considering purchasing for storage.
A summary of the Phase 1 environmental report on the property, the former site of Machinery Moving Inc. at 1360 Jackson St., showed no evidence of contamination, Parks Board president Mark Levett said.
Records indicate that underground storage tanks were taken out of the 3-acre site 40 years ago, but no documentation exists to confirm the removal of the tanks, parks and recreation director Mark Jones said during a special parks board meeting Wednesday at Columbus City Hall.
“We want to make sure we have due diligence in this area,” Jones said.
A Phase 2 inspection, which is what the city plans to pursue, would determine the status of the storage tanks and any other other type of contamination such as the presence of asbestos in the building, he said.
If the property contains any contamination that is beyond the scope of the city to remediate, “we don’t want the site,” Jones said.
Permission to pay $300,000 for the property won approval from the park board in October and the Columbus City Council on Nov. 6, but with contingencies.
A second offer has been made on the property by another potential buyer higher than the city’s $300,000 bid, city officials said.
The property, owned by Norma Lienhoop, the aunt of Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop, has two structures that combined are about 9,000-square feet:
An office building was constructed around 1971.
A shop facility was built around 1973.
Lienhoop has recused himself from all consideration and deliberation about the purchase, and said he has no financial interest in his aunt’s property.
Meanwhile, the parks board approved a $500,000 claim Wednesday as its contribution toward the city’s purchase of FairOaks Mall.
However, during a public comment portion of the meeting, Columbus resident Ken Fudge asked a few questions about the mall project and then told parks board members that PCB-contaminated oil could be in the building from the repair work Machinery Moving did on presses.
Machinery Moving would pick up big equipment for large manufacturing companies, such as Cummins and Arvin, and move it to different factory sites, according to the mayor.
Jones told Fudge that the Phase 2 examination will determine if the building is a clean site.
Jones said in an earlier interview the parks department was interested in the property as it is more centrally located for storing mowers and other equipment rather than using storage at the Columbus Municipal AirPark on the north side of the city.
Terms of the proposed deal call for the city to pay for the property over six years, making a $50,000 payment from its cash reserve fund the first year and then making $50,000 annual payments for a total of $250,000 from city capital funds. The property owner offered the payment option, which Jones said was better for the city due to cash flow and cash reserves.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”What’s next” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Columbus Parks Board will consider the purchase of the 1360 Jackson St. property at its meeting at 4 p.m. Dec. 13.
The board meets in the Columbus City Hall council chambers, 123 Washington St.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
