Millions of dollars are headed to Portage County as part of a huge allocation of COVID-19 funds by the statehouse.
Ohio is sitting on $700 million in cash thanks to a federal funding tsunami during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ohio House and Ohio Senate agreed that each chamber would decide how $350 million would be spent.
The Ohio House Finance Committee on Wednesday gave its approval to House Bill 2. In addition to funding for Portage County, the bill includes $7 million for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, $22 million for the Hamilton County Convention Center District Development, $13.75 million for the Cincinnati Open Tennis Tournament and $12.5 million for upgrades to the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty.
The largest share of Portage County’s funding is headed to Kent State University, which is slated to receive more than $20 million for various projects on the Kent campus and nearly $30 million throughout its eight-campus system. Kent projects include improvements to White Hall, the KSU library and elevators throughout the campus.
Other local projects in line for funding include AxessPointe location in Ravenna, improvements to Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary, and Safety Town programs, parks and historical societies.
Kent State to receive $29 million
Kent State University is slated to receive more than $29 million, the bulk of which is concentrated on the renovation of White Hall, improvements to the KSU library and elevator and accessibility upgrades. Spokeswoman Emily Vincent said trustees recently approved several projects as part of the university’s six year capital plan, which outlined 11 projects to be undertaken throughout the eight-campus system over the next two years.
The state is allocating $10 million toward renovations at White Hall, which houses KSU’s College of Education, Health and Human Services. Although some mechanical systems were renovated in 2021 using capital funding, the rest of the HVAC systems in the building are more than 50 years old.
The renovation would include a quieter HVAC system, which KSU states is more conducive to teaching, work and research. The project also includes classroom improvements, according to the plan.
The budget also calls for $6 million in funding for improvements to the main library on the Kent campus. The library, built in the 1960s, houses the campus system’s collection, offices and archives.
“The vision of the University Libraries has changed with a major paradigm shift modeling the new digital landscape and a new space master plan was undertaken in 2010,” the plan states. The master plan has been updated over the past decade as projects have been undertaken.
An elevator study performed in 2020 details plans for modernization of existing elevators, as well as a study for a new high-speed elevator.
A separate $4 million project would address elevator modernization and accessibility upgrades around campus, such as stairs, ramps, toilet facilities and lecture halls. Many buildings on the campus were built in the 1960s and 1970s, before passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and don’t comply with federal accessibility standards.
Other projects include more than $3 million for information technology network access enhancements in academic buildings on the Kent campus, and various upgrades planned at the Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas campuses.
AxessPointe in Ravenna
A plan for a second AxessPointe health care center in Ravenna is slated to get $1 million in state funding, said Mark Frisone, executive director of AxessPointe.
In 2022, Frisone, outlined the project to Portage County Commissioners. He said the community health care center would move into space inside a building on Oakwood Street in Ravenna that previously housed the Portage County Health District. Frisone also is CEO of Family & Community Services, which owns the Oakwood Street building,
Frisone told commissioners at the time that the move of the health district to East Main Street in Ravenna left 18,000 square feet on the second floor of the Oakwood Street facility vacant, space that already is set up for medical offices. Many people still come to the building looking for vaccines and other services that the health department provides since the move, he added. Meanwhile, he said, many clients of the AxessPointe clinic in Ravenna are from the Ravenna area.
Other Portage projects
The bill outlines a number of other projects planned for various projects in Portage County, including projects for parks, historical societies, mental health, public safety and animal rescue.
The Happy Trails Animal Sanctuary is slated to receive $500,000 for its Welcome Center. Shalersville Park is expected to receive $225,000.
Other projects include
- $500,000 for the Kent Fire Department
- $125,000 for Kent Safety Town
- $105,000 for the Freedom Historical Society
- $51,000 for improvements to Buchert Park in Mantua.
- $40,000 for HVAC improvements at Children’s Advantage.
- $27,000 for improvements at the Windham Historical Society
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or [email protected]. The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau contributed to this report.
