Land to be forced for fire station
3/13/2003Rossford will use eminent domain proceedings to acquire land near the site of its ill-fated arena-amphitheater project to build a fire station, the city's administrator said.
City officials have been planning to build an emergency services building near the intersection of the Ohio Turnpike and I-75, near Deimling Road, for several years. Wood County commissioners made a new station a requirement two years ago if Rossford wanted to annex additional property in that area.
Eminent domain, which should take about six months, is the quickest way to secure the 1-acre parcel, which is on the south side of Arena Drive and east of Crossroads Parkway, said Administrator Vince Langevin.
The property is owned by the Rossford Arena Amphitheater Authority and the Rossford Transportation Improvement District. Carpenter's Success, a union that loaned the city money for the arena-amphitheater project, and the Brimacombe family, which owned the land originally, hold mortgages. “The mayor would like to get it up this year because it became an area of contention with the commissioners,” Mr. Langevin said.
The commissioners delayed annexation votes in 2001 because they were concerned about the inaccessibility of emergency services to the Crossroads of America area. Rossford officials planned a lease-purchase pact for a station, but abandoned that idea.
“The council decided they would rather buy [the land] so we will finance it,” Mr. Langevin said. The 4,700-square-foot station will cost the city $500,000, which includes the land purchase price of $55,000. The money will come from the Rossford Fire Department's operating levy and the city's general fund, Mr. Langevin said.
The building will house the city's aerial platform truck and one of its rescue trucks, Mr. Langevin said.