Council aproves $44,100 for Old Town Hall Annex project

by Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct. 4 city council meeting
With the approval of Brecksville City Council, the city will pay Makovich & Putsti Architects $44,100 for architectural and engineering services related to the Old Town Hall Annex.

The project will create accessible public restrooms in the building. Other projects are planned over time. The front of the three-story building was restored a few years ago and the site is ideal, according to Service Director Ron Weidig.

“The though process on this particular project was that the Old Town Hall Annex is just kind of sitting there right now, and what was a valuable use for the city was what we were trying to consider,” Weidig said.

The idea, he said, is to draw people to the downtown square for various activities “and make it a little more lively downtown.” Up until now, the city rents portable restrooms for events like Home Days.

“I think it’s a good use for the space we have,” Councilwoman Ann Koepke said.

City council also approved an economic incentive and job creation agreement with Physicians Ambulance Service. The agreement incentivizes the company to relocate from Cleveland to Noble Parkway in Brecksville.

Monica Bartkiewicz, director of planning and community development, said the company is a third-generation, family-owned business. She said the private ambulance service is relocating to Brecksville for more space to expand. This location is almost double the square footage of their current location, and they will be adding ambulances to their fleet.

Physicians Ambulance Service currently has more than 200 employees, and it will also be adding “a significant amount of employees,” Bartkiewicz said, possibly bringing the number to 320.

In other business, city council:

• Approved a grant application for a planning study for Brecksville Road, south of Valley Parkway, through the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission
• Approved an application for funding assistance for improvements to Kids Quarters through the Land & Water Conservation Fund
• Supported the West Creek Conservancy’s Ohio Greenspace application for the Chippewa Creek Conservation Corridor
• Approved $4,492 for a 200-gallon sprayer for the horticultural department; $23,516  for snow plow blades and snow guards; and $24,182 to purchase 156 trees for the Healthy Urban Tree Canopy grant program. ∞