Mayor Don Mason and U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan Meet to Discuss Cleanup Plans for Former Lear Property
ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The former Lear Property on Linden Avenue was visited Friday by Mayor Don Mason and democratic U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio’s 13th District. The two discussed the history of the property, the state of the property now, and the eye-sore and problems it’s caused and could cause if left in its current state.
Cleaning up the former Lear property is no easy task as there is a vast amount of construction debris including bricks, steel beams, and cinder blocks which is logistically simple to remove; however, the hazardous debris including asbestos laden ceiling tiles and wood planks pose a challenge to clean up efforts. This is because the city of Zanesville has to pay for the costly cleanup and there’s a battle as to where the funds will come from whether they be from: the U.S. federal government, the state of Ohio, or the either the U.S. or state of Ohio Environmental Protection Agencies. That’s why the passage of the infrastructure bill which passed the senate -and soon to be voted on in the house- is so important as it would allot funds for projects just like this.
“That’s why the infrastructure bill is so important. That’s why reinvesting back in these communities is so important. Cleaning up sites like this, or superfund sites like this, because you can’t develop them unless it’s cleaned up. So you got to get this initial money out. We want to work with the mayor to make sure that we can remove any roadblocks through the different agencies, cut through the bureaucracy to make this happen,” Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio’s 13th District stated.
If and when the former Lear property is cleaned-up and primed for redevelopment the Mayor and Congressman Tim Ryan threw out many ideas for the property. Some ideas included: adding residential properties to aid in the area’s housing shortage, building new factories to industries relevant to our modern economy, and mixed use developments. Congressman Tim Ryan has a vision to reinvest in Appalachia and return cities in the rust belt back into the industry and manufacturing powerhouses they used to be. Which would in return bring back good paying stable jobs to the community. Some of his ideas for not just the former Lear Property, but other abandoned industrial sites across Ohio include booming industries that are successful in other parts of the world.
“Sites like this, we should be building auto factories, we should be building battery plants, and manufacturing all those wind and solar, all of those are great opportunities for us,” Congressman Ryan said.
Securing funding for the cleanup would be easier if the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passes the U.S. House of Representative this September. Given funding is secured by this winter, the city of Zanesville has hopes to begin the clean-up process by late Winter or Spring of next year.
