A plan to solve Toledo’s rental dispute with the state by having the city take ownership of One Government Center moved forward Tuesday with the simultaneous introduction of legislation in Toledo City Council and the Ohio House of Representatives.
The late Mayor D. Michael Collins last year proposed taking over the 22-story building after a rent dispute with the state. Toledo has not paid rent since mid-2013 and owes about $3.1 million.
His successor, Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, submitted an ordinance on Tuesday to take over the building from the state at no cost.
“She wants to be able to control our costs and not have someone else take over the building from the state and then oversee us as a landlord,” said Stacy Weber, the mayor’s spokesman. She said the ownership transfer is likely to happen this summer if the legislation is approved.
The state-owned office tower at Huron and Jackson streets downtown, officially known as the Michael V. DiSalle Government Center, houses city, county, and state offices, as well as chambers of city council and the Lucas County board of commissioners. The 22-story building was completed in 1983.
The building needs repairs, including repairs to window sealant and its heating and air conditioning system, and other deferred maintenance that’s estimated to cost at least $5.4 million. After rental income and expenses, the city is projecting a net income averaging about $137,000 a year over 15 years, based on current rents, according to city documents.
State Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Monclova Township) presented the bill Tuesday at a hearing of the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. She said the goal is to get it through both chambers and to Gov. John Kasich before summer recess starts at the end of the month.
When the issue arose last summer, Randall Howard, State Department of Administrative Services chief of performance and results, confirmed the agency is interested in selling the DiSalle Government Center as a possible solution to the rent dispute with Toledo.
Also Tuesday, council discussed a newly amended version of a controversial proposed ordinance to require that city-supported construction projects costing $100,000 or more be negotiated through the Northwest Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, a consortium that represents Toledo-area construction unions.
The ordinance was presented with no notice to council last week and was held up when supporters failed to get seven votes to pass it. Two days later, Mayor Hicks-Hudson apologized for the hurried effort to pass the ordinance.
The amended version, which could come up for a council vote on Tuesday, limits the requirement to projects funded by the city or “other funding sources that do not exclude project labor agreements.” The previous version applied to all construction projects “supported” by the city, whether through directly or indirect support, such as with “conveyances, realty, and tax abatement.”
Matt Sapara, economic development chief, said the amendments mean that the proposed ProMedica headquarters on Summit Street, for example, would not be required under the ordinance to have a project labor agreement because it is not funded by the city, even though the city is providing land for it.
The Ohio House of Representatives earlier this year passed a budget that prohibits project labor deals for construction jobs that use state funds. Generally, such pacts allow unions to negotiate wages and terms for workers before they are hired. It requires contractors to hire workers through union hiring halls and follow union rules.
Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.
First Published June 3, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
