Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the Department of Finance and Management Director to enter onto a contract with the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools City to execute an exchange of ownership of real estate and to acquire all easements necessary for the construction of a neighborhood education facility to provide pre-Kindergarten classrooms and other related services to serve the needs of low-income residents in the Hilltop area.
This ordinance also appropriates and encumbers $250,000.00 from the Community Development Block Grant. As part of the Mayor’s initiative to ensure that every Columbus 4-year-old has access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten education, the Hilltop Early Childhood Partnership was formed. The Partnership identified that of the approximately 2,000 4-year-old children residing in the Greater Hilltop Area, only 152 children are enrolled in high-quality, community-based early learning programs. The Partnership recommended that the City build a new pre-K education facility in the Hilltop to increase classroom capacity to allow for additional enrollment in pre-K and related programs. The location identified to best suit these goals is the 0.706 acres +/- portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 owned by Columbus City Schools.
This ordinance provides for the exchange of ownership of that city-owned parcel identified as Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-055302, for a 0.706 acres +/- portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 owned by the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools. In addition, this ordinance provides for acquisition of both temporary and permanent easements over, under, across and through a .344 acre portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 as necessary for the construction of the education facility.
Fiscal Impact: The funding for this project ($250,000.00) has been budgeted by the Department of Finance and Management and is available within the Community Development Block Grant, Fund 2248.
Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested to allow the exchange of real estate and the acquisition of easements to occur as soon as possible, thereby allowing the City to immediately proceed with the design plans for the construction of the neighborhood education facility.
Title
To authorize the Director of Finance and Management to execute a contract for the exchange of ownership of a city-owned parcel, for a parcel owned by the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools and for acquisition of temporary and permanent easements over, under, across and through a .344 acre portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 as necessary for the construction of a neighborhood education facility; to authorize an appropriation within the Community Development Block Grant; to authorize the expenditure of $250,000.00 from Community Development Block Grant funds; and to declare an emergency ($250,000.00).
Body
WHEREAS, to serve the educational needs of low-income 4-year-old children residing in the Greater Hilltop Area it is necessary to expand access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten education and related services by constructing additional classrooms and related space to allow for increased enrollment in programs, and
WHEREAS, a location best suited for the construction of additional classrooms and related space has been identified in the Hilltop Area to build a neighborhood educational facility, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Finance and Management desires to enter into a contract for the exchange of ownership of that city-owned parcel identified as Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-055302 for ownership of a 0.0706 portion of a parcel owned by the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools identified as Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711and for the acquisition of temporary and permanent easements over, under, across and through a .344 acre portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 as necessary for the construction of the education facility, and
WHEREAS, the exchange of these parcels and acquisition of easements will allow the City of Columbus to build a neighborhood educational facility to serve unmet needs of low-income residents of the Greater Hilltop Area, and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City of Columbus, in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Director of Finance and Management to execute a contract with the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools and those documents necessary to exchange ownership of the parcels identified as Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-055302 and Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 and the acquisition of temporary and permanent easements over, under, across and through the remainder of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 as necessary for the construction of a neighborhood education facility and to expend up to $250,000.00 for costs associated with said acquisition of easements to allow this transaction to proceed in agreement with the closing transaction deadlines and other terms of the contract, to allow for the professional design of the education building and site improvements to proceed without delay to allow for timely construction and occupancy at the earliest feasible date for the immediate preservation of the public health, peace, property, welfare and safety; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of Finance and Management be, and hereby is authorized to execute those documents, as approved by the Department of Law, Real Estate Division, necessary for the for the exchange of ownership of that city-owned parcel identified as Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-055302, for ownership of a 0.706 acres +/- portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 owned by the Board of Education of the Columbus City Schools and for the acquisition of temporary and permanent easements over, under, across and through a .344 acre portion of Franklin County Tax Parcel 010-066711 necessary for the construction of the education facility.
SECTION 2. That the appropriation and expenditure of $250,000.00, or so much thereof as may be necessary from Fund 2248, Community Development Block Grant, in Object Class 06 be and is hereby authorized and approved per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance. See attachment “Ordinance 0646-2019 Funding”.
SECTION 3. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 5. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.