Lorain mayoral forum sees two candidates answer community questions

LORAIN — The Oakwood Park pool is moving forward, Mayor Jack Bradley announced during a debate Wednesday evening. Incumbent Bradley and challenger Council-at-Large Mary Springowski, both Democrats, answered questions during a forum hosted by the Lorain County Racial Equity Center and the League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area. Mitchell Fallis, D-at Large, did not attend. When asked about a community center in Lorain, Bradley gave a "spoiler alert" that the Oakwood Pool project would be moving forward — despite having held a news conference to the contrary earlier this month. On April 6 Bradley, alongside Public Properties Manager Lori Garcia and Councilman Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, said the initial subcontractor, Designor Pools, had gone out of business in the midst of the rehabilitation project and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development timelines on Community Development Block Grant funds forced the city to pivot to an expansive splash pad instead. But on Wednesday, Bradley said the city found out that not all of the bids for the project had been turned over, and Brothers Grimm Landscape and Design Co. had submitted a bid for lower than the set-aside $500,000 to rehab the existing pool and get it working by October. After the debate, Bradley said a smaller splash pad will also be included at Oakwood Park. In answering the question about community centers, he suggested the city partner with Lorain Schools to use its buildings during the summer, and listed current community centers in Lorain, including Harrison Cultural, the Senior Center, Church of the Open Door (in the former YMCA building) and the Boys and Girls Club. Springowski said residents are "crying out" for a community center, and wanted to see one funded through a public-private partnership, with the possibility of an indoor pool available to residents year-round. Economic development The use of grants for city projects was a point of contention between the two politicians Wednesday evening. Springowski compared grant funds to lottery numbers — noting they're not a reliable funding source. She pointed to unfinished cleanups at the former Hills department store on Grove Avenue, the lack of a promised grocery store in the former Ice Cream Heaven, and an undelivered housing development on the old Whittier School site as part of the current administration's failings. If elected, she pledged to move City Hall off the lakefront and work with an economic development team — including the Lorain Port Authority — to establish a comprehensive plan and bring jobs to the city. She said she's already talked to the Cuyahoga County Administrator to establish a joint industrial landbank between the neighboring counties. She said when she reached out to Intel and got the company to visit Lorain — before it ultimately chose a location outside Columbus — she brought in Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown. Manufacturing has changed from Lorain's heyday of steel mills and shipbuilding; it's now clean manufacturing, she said. When asked about visions for the city's police department, Springowski applauded Chief Jim McCann's work at community outreach and said the city needs an adequate police force for residents to feel safe. She said perception is greater than reality, and residents don't feel safe right now. Bradley said when he took office there were 90 officers on the force. It is now up to 110. Statistics from the department's 2022 report show the city's homicide rate was cut in half, and violent crime dropped by about 15 percent. When asked about plans to stabilize neighborhoods and hold out-of-state landlords to the city's building codes, Springowski said the city already has a rental registry and needs to strengthen its code enforcement. She said the city needs to strengthen its penalties against landlords, rather than penalize owner-occupied homes. Bradley said the city's Building, Housing and Planning department will be implementing a down-payment assistance program with federal funding to combat the longstanding impact of redlining in the city — which led to a lot of the rental properties. Utilities Always a hot-button issue, the city's water and sewer rates were brought up as successes by both candidates. Council and the former administration increased the water and sewer readiness-to-serve charges in 2017, under the direction of a consulting firm to pay for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-imposed repairs. In 2019 the rates took a sharp rise, becoming a key issue at public meetings, when residents filled Council Chambers decrying their bills. Bradley said when he took office he reviewed the rates and had the Safety/Service Director lower the water flat fee back to 2017 levels. He called what had been created after the 2017 increase a "slush fund." He said Springowski voted for the rate increase while on Council in 2017, and said it took months for City Council to lower the sewer rate again after his administration lowered the water flat fee. Springowski said she, with help from fellow City Council members, got the sewer rate lowered in 2020, saving residents millions. The full forum will be available on Lorain Schools TV20 Youtube channel. Questions were proposed by forum sponsors, Lorain High students and attendees. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.