Council to consider streetscape legislation

Plan to rejuvenate Broadway downtown

The Broadway streetscape could take a major step forward in Lorain City Council’s deliberations on May 6.

Council will consider four key pieces of legislation that would allow the city to order up and pay for a rejuvenation of downtown Lorain with new sidewalks, lights, traffic islands and signage.

The legislation includes an ordinance determining to proceed. It would be a formal declaration “that it is hereby determined to proceed with the improvement of Broadway in the city of Lorain, Ohio, from West Erie Avenue to 10th Street.”

It was unclear if the most current city ordinances would go to committee for additional discussion. In the past two years, Council and the public have had periodic airings about the necessity of the streetscape and how to pay for it.

The May 6 legislation would be a follow-up to the Feb. 5 resolution of necessity for the project.

On Feb. 5, Mayor Chase Ritenauer praised the work of former Safety-Service Director Robert Fowler, who first unveiled the conceptual drawings of a refreshed Broadway in fall 2015.

The plans generally sparked favorable comments, but the city faced budget constraints and Broadway property owners balked at paying up to 60 percent of the cost, with assessments climbing into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The situation changed largely due to a $1.5 million project grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency planning organization, Ritenauer said at that time.

The city will use that money, some borrowed money assessments from property owners.

Broadway property owners will pay about $568,268, or about 16 percent of the $3.65 million project. That equates to property owners paying about $126.59 per foot of sidewalk in front of their buildings.

By contrast, the earlier estimate had property owners paying about $438 per foot of sidewalk. In the new financing plan, the city will cover the cost of filling in underground vaults that extend under Broadway.

The additional legislation on May 6 comes as a

result of the city planning process.

Council could authorize borrowing more than $2.15 million to be repaid over 22 years. That money would cover the city’s share of costs for the project.

Council also could approve borrowing up to $600,000 to cover the cost of the property owners’ share of the streetscape.

Finally, Council will consider a local project agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to allow the city to administer the project.

Council meets at 6 p.m. May 6 at City Hall, 200 W. Erie Ave., Lorain.