MANSFIELD — The COVID-19 pandemic created “immeasurable challenges” in 2020 for the City of Mansfield, Mayor Tim Theaker said in his annual State of the City report released Tuesday.
“No amount of planning or preparation could have prepared Mansfield and the rest of the world (for the pandemic),” Theaker wrote in his 10-page report.
“Life in general changed dramatically as we entered uncharted territory of living and working during a worldwide pandemic,” the third-term mayor reported.
You can read the entire State of the City report here:
Theaker said navigating the “oftentimes daily changes” presented a unique and difficult set of challenges to keep the city operating while keeping employees safe and providing service to residents.
According to the Ohio Department of Health website, as of Tuesday afternoon, 10,675 residents in Richland County have tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020, including 582 hospitalizations and 198 deaths.
It’s not known how many of those cases, hospitalizations and deaths have involved City of Mansfield residents.
One financial aid during the pandemic was the 2020 federal CARES Act, which provided $4.5 million to the City of Mansfield, which had to be spent during the year on expenses directly tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While much of the money was spent on equipment, the city participated in a program to administer grants to 72 small businesses through the Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development. The city allocated $450,000 to the effort from its CARES Act funds.
In his report, Theaker said 2020 was a year of “learning and adapting to new norms, while we fought for our lives, for equity and for economic stability.”
The mayor said he was proud of how the city persevered “thanks to the tireless efforts and support of our first responders, frontline workers, Mansfield’s elected officials, business leaders and community organizations.”
“The strength and resiliency and Mansfield, thanks to the people who believe in our city, was clearly evident throughout 2020,” Theaker said.
The mayor said Mansfield saw significant economic growth during the year, despite the obstacles, earning a seventh-place national ranking from Site Selection magazine for new projects per capita.
In the area of economic development, Theaker included:
— a state grant of $1 million announced for The Imagination District, a joint venture between the Renaissance Theatre and the Little Buckeye Museum. The district will serve nearly 220,000 youth and families, provide 15 full-time and 25 part-time jobs and provide a total economic impact of $7.7 million, the mayor said.
— the near completion of K.E. McCartney’s expansion project.
— an announced expansion of Edge Plastics.
— a new Old Dominion 50-dock freight terminal constructed and operating near Mansfield Lahm Air Regional Airport.
— the announcement by Niss Aviation that it purchased Richland Aviation and will build a new FBO hangar at the airport.
— the completion of the Kingwood Center Gardens Storybook Trail and Garden Center.
