Bond monies give boost to North, West communities

Photos by Terry Gilliam

On Friday, Coleman and OSU President E. Gordon Gee headlined the scissors wielders at the opening of the Moody Hall Neighborhood Policing Center on 11^th Avenue, between Summit and Fourth streets on the North Side. Earlier in the week, Coleman performed similar duties at the new offices of the R.W. Setterlin Building Co. on Harmon Avenue.

The 16,000-square-foot policing center is named for former Mayor Tom Moody, who died Thursday evening, and Bill Hall, former vice president of student affairs at OSU, who died in 2005.

“As we mourn last night’s passing of a great Columbus mayor, we celebrate the opening of this fine policing center,” Coleman said.

He thanked Gee for the partnership between city and university that resulted in the $4.6 million facility --$2.4 million from the city and $2.2 million from OSU – which was constructed with input from residents, neighborhood groups, university businesses and student government organizations.

Representatives from each of the constituent groups took turns at the microphone and had hands in cutting the ribbon.

The policing center is among several building projects throughout the city that have been supported with money from bond issues approved by Columbus voters. Coleman urged passage of Bond Issues 14 through 19 on Nov. 4 to fund additional projects in the coming years.

He and Setterlin officials cut a green ribbon at the construction company’s offices in Franklinton to symbolize the facility’s environmental soundness.

Like the policing center, the Setterlin building is LEED- certified, meeting standards of the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Setterlin’s features include natural lighting, existing exterior walls and a geothermal system for heating and cooling, which uses 30 percent less energy than a conventional system.