LIMA — Debate on hiring a full-time manager for the city of Lima Land Bank continued Wednesday during a meeting of Lima City Council’s Economic Development Committee. In the end, however, that debate did not result in any action with a split vote in the committee.
Until recently, a part-time employee with other duties had handled the city’s land bank. However, Mayor David Berger and Community Development Director Amy Sackman Odum emphasized that with more properties in need of managing, along with the potential of a large grant from the state to tear down derelict houses, the need for a full-time manager was obvious.
“I had the opportunity to meet with [County Treasurer] Rachael Gilroy, and the scale of what is now being discussed [with the grant] has changed dramatically,” Berger said. “Rather than a program that would probably involve a couple million dollars in resources coming from the state, it now has the potential to be $7 million. There is a great need for the city and county to demonstrate that we have the capacity to take on that scale of a project, and the deadline is immediate.”
The increase in funds is due to the number of dilapidated properties in the city and county. Along with a $500,000 base reward, each property can net an additional $25,000 in grant funds.
“This really is an opportunity to bring these grant funds back to Lima,” Sackman Odum said.
For 4th Ward Councilwoman Rebecca Kreher, however, there were concerns as to if this would be the correct course of action.
“I had spoken to over 20 different cities with sizes comparable to ours, and I couldn’t find any land bank manager in any of these cities except for one,” she said. “I think it can be done here differently, partnering with the county differently or using our employees in a different situation to be more effective, rather than bringing in an entirely new position.”
While no action came from the committee, the entire council membership will have the opportunity to consider the merits of creating this new position.
“The mayor can put this issue directly in front of council at the next meeting,” Kreher said. “Council will then have the opportunity to vote on this without the recommendation of the committee.”
