The iconic Bellefontaine Armory, 1021 S. Main St., which has rested just north of the corner of south Main St. and Lake Ave since 1950, will be sold to Wawa Midwest, LLC as the Bellefontaine City Council Tuesday, May 26, passed an ordinance authorizing the property transfer at its regular meeting.
The sale price for the building and the two parcels of land it straddles, totaling 1.32 acres, will be $550,000.
Wawa is a Delaware-based chain of gas stations/convenience stores which sprouted in the Philadelphia area before burgeoning to over 1,100 locations, mostly in states along the eastern seaboard. Wawa has been rapidly expanding into the Midwest market, and numerous stores have popped up in southwest Ohio as well as in Lima and Springfield, and probably quite soon, Bellefontaine.
The ordnance allowing the sale passed by a 6-1 vote, with Council Member Wes Easton casting the lone “no” vote on the third reading. Easton reiterated after the meeting that he would have preferred to have the Armory professionally appraised prior to the sale, but no discussion of the issue was made at Tuesday’s meeting.
The future disposition of Katterhenry Investment Group, 1041 S. Main, which sits on 0.2 acres on the northeast corner of south Main Street and Lake Avenue is unknown at present.
In other action at Tuesday’s meeting, the council waived the three-reading rule and passed, without a dissenting vote, an ordinance that will allow the city to buy the property located at 112 N. Elm St. at a cost of $70,000. This one parcel was the only section on that block that is not already owned by the city, and the money for the purchase of the land will come out of the 216 Special Projects fund.
The council also passed, again without any “no” votes, three resolutions, the first two which will allow the administration to submit a grant application and then receive funds from the State of Ohio for the rehabilitation of the lighting at Bellefontaine Regional Airport, while the third resolution will allow for the placement of an old-fashioned phone booth at 144 S. Main St.
In his remarks to council, Service/Safety Director Wes Dodds addressed the flooding that occurred throughout Bellefontaine after the city received well over four inches of rain this past weekend.
Most of Dodds’ remarks focused on the the east side of the city along White Pines and Red Pines roads. These two particular areas have been prone to flooding following heavy rains in the past, but Dodds said that on inspection, the water was standing at the highest level he had ever seen.
He acknowledged the many complaints that his office had received about the problem, not only from residents of the White Pine and Red Pines roads, but also the viaducts on west Lake Avenue, Lakewood Avenue and Allen Road, among many others.
He assured council that his office is committed to finding solutions to the problems and is bringing in a third-party engineer to draw up plans to alleviate future flooding problems in those areas.
Law Director Joshua Stolly reported that he has been working on legislation that will address the use of golf carts and motorized scooters/bicycles in the city. He said a draft of the legislation will be forwarded to the appropriate committee.
The Bellefontaine City Council is slated to meet again in regular session at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 9.
