Columbus officials say they are willing to help the owner of a Jackson Street property look for grants to pay for chemical contamination cleanup, but they will not use tax money to pay for any remediation.
Columbus Parks and Recreation Department has been in negotiations since last year to buy a vacant former machinery moving building at 1360 Jackson St., owned by Norma Lienhoop, aunt of Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop. The parks department hopes to use the property as a storage facility since it is close to downtown Columbus.
Columbus Parks Board members received an update Thursday about the status of the property from Columbus Parks Director Mark Jones, who said tax money will not be used to remove the chemical contamination on the property. That contamination includes benzene and other petroleum-related chemicals that were found in soil and groundwater after testing at the site.
“To speak from a board point of view, there is no intention of purchasing that property unless it is a clean piece of property,” parks board member John McCormick said. “If we can help the owner make that happen, not at our expense but by our connections and by our work with her, we’re happy to do that.”
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop has recused himself from all negotiations or decisions about the building.
Soil borings at the property at the site of the former Machinery Moving Inc., indicate the chemical contamination may have come from underground storage tanks.
For more on this story, see Monday’s Republic.
