Wednesday, April 07, 1999
Middletown picks mall liaisons
Officials disagree on involvement
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — City commissioners can't seem to agree how much direct involvement they want in the project to demolish City Centre Mall.
Some, such as Commission er Paul Nenni, think a project team made up of City Manager Ron Olson and other city officials, coupled with a project manager that will likely be hired within a few weeks, is adequate to help guide the project and keep commissioners informed.
But Commissioner Gerald Banks, said, “I want to be involved in this as much as I can. I'm willing to spend the time as a liaison.”
Mr. Banks said he often has wanted more information but has been outvoted.
Commissioner Bob “Son ny” Hill argued that the project manager and city officials need the freedom to do their jobs without the city commission bogging down the process.
Commissioners voted unanimously March 2 to raze the roof on the mall and reopen Central Avenue to traffic.
The mall, which was built in 1974 using mostly federal money, needs $2 million to $4 million in repair and improvements.
At Tuesday's meeting, Mr. Olson said a letter soliciting a statement of qualifications was mailed to fewer than 100 businesses. He said the project is expected to cost $14 million-$17 million and take 24 to 36 months to complete. About 10 letters will be sent next week seeking proposals from marketing firms. The goal is to have reponses in hand by early May.
Mr. Nenni said, “I just ask two things, that you keep us informed as much as possible, and don't have major surprises where decisions have been made that we should have known about.”
Mr. Banks said with the city looking to spend $17 million to $20 million in tax dollars on the mall, he wants to make sure he can make informed decisions.
After about an hour debate, commissioners agreed to appoint Messrs. Nenni, Hill and Banks to be liaisons on the project team. If they cannot attend team meetings, other commissioners may substitute.
Mr. Olson gave commissioners a chart showing the proposed roles of commissioners, himself, the project manager, project team and task teams.
A timeline calls for hiring a project manager and design firm by late May, having a market study by the end of June, preliminary design and cost estimates by the end of August, the bonding process by the end of October, and construction drawings and property acquisitions by February.
Bidding would tentatively begin by mid-2000, construction would start in September of that year, and a marketing program for the mall area would begin in October 2000.
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