LIMA — City Council will hold a public hearing at its meeting Monday to discuss vacating a portion of South Jackson Street and an alley nearby to make room for an $11 million facility Dominion plans to build.
The council will hear from people before making a decision on a portion of Jackson Street between East Elm and East Market streets that Dominion wants to accommodate the larger facility and garage.
Dominion and the city have addressed concerns about the project creating traffic problems with a portion of the street closed. To aid traffic flow, a new road would be built from the intersection at East Market and South Jackson streets curving around to merge with neighboring South Pine Street.
The estimated cost of the road project is $500,000 with Dominion paying about $300,000 of that, leaving taxpayers with a $200,000 bill. Some say that is a small amount considering the property and income tax the city would receive from new location.
Dominion has considered purchasing land outside the city and building there but the decision was made to maintain the company’s 129-year commitment to Lima’s downtown.
Dominion’s project is designed to both consolidate its resources into one location and beautify part of Lima’s downtown. The facility would house both office employees as well as allow for space for equipment and maintenance. The employees serve more than 70,000 customers in 10 northwestern Ohio counties.
Should the measure be approved, the groundbreaking for the new facility would take place in the fall with an estimated completion date of mid-2017.
