Ohio University plans to use the revenue from East State Street real estate holdings to finance its $250,000 gift to the City of Athens for a new ladder truck.
President Roderick McDavis sent a letter to Athens City Council earlier this month announcing that OU will give $50,000 a year for the next five years to help offset the cost of a new $1.1 million fire truck for the Athens Fire Department.
While some council members had suggested charging OU students a new fee to offset part of the cost, OU’s contribution will come from revenue and local tax breaks from the university’s real estate holdings, said Becky Watts, chief of staff for President McDavis.
Those properties include the land where Kroger and Walmart currently sit.
The university’s real estate holdings generate income of approximately $1.3 million annually, $730,000 of that comes from the East State Street commercial properties, Watts said in an email.
Income from the real estate investments is used in part to support operating and maintenance needs at OU, she added.
Athens City Council has been deliberating the replacement of the fire truck for well over two years, and finally approved the purchase this past February, according to a previous Post article.
The old truck was deemed outlived for continued usage, Watts said.
Over 80 percent of fire calls made in Athens are to OU and the vast majority of buildings four stories or higher — which would require the ladder truck — are on campus.
In addition to the East State Street properties, OU is endowed with state funds for police and fire expenditures each year. The state funding OU has received for police and fire expenditures has fallen from $50,000 in 2003 to $35,000 in 2009.
By helping pay for the city’s fire truck, OU will receive additional funding for emergency services, Watts said.
“We have a responsibility for the protection and safety of our students,” Watts added.
President McDavis called this agreement one part of a more formalized Memorandum of Understanding between OU and Athens. As part of the arrangement, there will be a combined work group with representatives appointed by both President McDavis and Mayor Paul Wiehl.
This group, which plans to begin meeting before the end of the year, will develop other official collaborations between the university and the city.
bb456310@ohiou.edu
