The sale of the Uhrichsville service garage is still pending but took a step forward with council’s approval.
Larry Wood, of Wood Electric, was the lone bidder at $284,000 but council held off due to unknowns about where the service department would relocate. The mayor says there are a few property owners willing to lease, but they didn’t want that information made public.
At the latest meeting, before a vote, Steve Patterson, whose been street supervisor since June 2025, said if the sale would not go through then costly maintenance would be needed to bring the building up to state regulations.
“I’ve put together a little PowerPoint. Take a look at those real quick. I’m not going to go into them too much but for instance the above ground tanks do not meet spec. The next set of slides are for the electrical system is outdated. It has a flat roof, and all that roof is drained via old cast iron pipes up on top, and I will tell you when we got multiple inches of snow that it builds up, and guess what, we will leak around all that drainage.”
Another issue, according to Patterson, was a $40,000 gas and electric bill for 2025. Patterson refused to answer any media questions for more details on the reported issues.
He essentially gave council an ultimatum.
“I wanted everybody to be apprised of our condition before you make your final vote due to the fact that if we do not sell it, I’m going to be back in here knocking on your door because I’m going to need some money.”
Meanwhile, Law Director Jeff Merklin said he was recently made aware of an August 2025 complaint filed with the Ohio EPA listing allegations of ground near 126 N. Main Street being contaminated with diesel fuel and activities from a brine tank, and improper disposal from a street sweeper.
“I don’t know if Mr. Wood has been told the Ohio EPA has been looking over our shoulder on this since eight months. If you pass this, the contract that I will write will put all that upfront. He will also be told about this email then it’s going to be up to him. You can’t just say as is on this. You have to identify all these various federal, state, and maybe some local statutes. There has to be as full and thorough disclosure as you can have, and that’s the way it’s going to be written by me.”
The mayor said they went through the proper steps with the EPA, and no contamination issues were found.
With one member absent, council approved the bid, leaving the final decision to Wood.
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