We meet Mayor Lienhoop at an installation of Exhibit Columbus to talk about why a city well pump is being shut down, and update on NexusPark, and new rules for the Commons.
On this week’s installment of Ask The Mayor, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop addresses these issues and more. Listen to the full conversation with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren by clicking on the play button above, or read some of the questions and answers below. A portion of this segment airs 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. Wednesday on WFIU.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Hren: How important is Exhibit Columbus to the city, what does the exhibit bring to the city?
Lienhoop: Well Exhibit Columbus does several different things for us. Part of what it does is it helps the residents who live here focus on our architectural legacy. I mean, it is something that really is important. But because we live with it, because we see it every day, it's also something to put in the back of your mind or even just just forget about.
It also allows for others to come to Columbus and see what we have here. You know, buildings don't change too much. I mean, City Hall where I work was built about 40 years ago. And now it looks a lot like it did 40 years ago, but we still invite people to come take a look at it. And part of what you need to be able to do is to keep your community fresh. And so every two years, we've got a little bit of a refresh on downtown design here.
Hren: One of our journalists reported toxic chemical PFAS levels higher than they should be, I saw a number of water suppliers in the state on that list including Columbus. I believe the city shut down a well, so what's being done?
Lienhoop: We've got three initiatives underway. One is short term, one is mid term, one's long term, the short term is to shut down a couple of wells, we have about 30 wells here for the City of Columbus. And I want to say there was one that had a reading that was sort of an outlier, I mean, much higher 45 parts per trillion, let's say instead of non detect or a single digits.
We've had some tests taken, we expect a result within a month. But it might be two, because when you're measuring parts per trillion, there's only two labs in the country. A trillion is one second out of 320 centuries. So think about that. I mean, that's how small we're measuring here for in the public water supply.
The mid term response will be to drill some new wells. The wells are significant in size of diameter. We've drilled some pilot wells to test what's down there in the aquifer, and the results have come back so far no detection, so we think that we can bring some additional wells online, but that's going to take a few months to get all that taken care of.
Long term we will pursue activated charcoal to act as a filter and that will remove the PFAS. The PFAS compounds will adhere to the charcoal and be removed from the drinking water. But that's going to take - I hate to put a number on it, but months or years.
And we will pursue reimbursement for these costs from some of the manufacturers associated with these compounds. 3M and DuPont have already been engaged in litigation. And we intend to join that.
Hren: I read where the city received a certificate from IDEM for a riverfront project, long term project. But you'll take any good news you can get?
Lienhoop: There's several different hurdles that we have to cross in order to get to where we can bid our riverfront project. And the IDEM certification was one of them, we're now waiting for the Army Corps of Engineers to review that permit, make sure that it meets their standards, and then we hope to hear from them within another month or so.
Hren: I saw a report in The Republic, The Commons board has a new set of rules after experiencing some camping, sleeping at The Commons, it caught my eye because Bloomington just passed ordinances to banning tents overnight now daytime and keeping people sleeping off sidewalks. We're talking about those experiencing homelessness, right?
Read more: City board passes resolution against camping on sidewalks, streets
Lienhoop: Well, they're experiencing a lot more than homelessness. I mean, for people who are only homeless, we have some excellent options for those folks. There's a homeless shelter here called Brighter Days that will give them temporary housing. We've got educational programs, and we're happy to do that. And we feel like that's some of the compassion that we're supposed to show as a community.
The issue that we have down at The Commons and most other city parks, is people who are also homeless, but also subject to some mental illness, and some substance abuse disorder. We have the same programs for them, but they are a little less receptive for that kind of assistance, and they want to be able to sleep and lounge where they want to and do whatever else comes to their mind. And it interferes with the quiet enjoyment of those parks by other residents.
And that's the sort of the tension that has come here. And so what we're trying to do is to explain to all folks, the the minimum standards for use of a park, you're welcome here, but you can't live here. And so the first step was to pass a set of rules so that everybody can see what the expectations are. And then based upon how that works, I anticipate that we'll roll this out to other city parks as well.
Hren: Quick update on the Nexus Park?
Lienhoop: It's exciting. I mean, they've pretty much put the exterior skin on there, they're doing the floor. You know, it's hard to imagine a piece of concrete that big that flat. But that's what the challenge has been. But it's on schedule, we're thinking that we'll have what I call a ticketed event, sometime in the second quarter of 2024. For right now, we're kind of focused on the south side of the building, which is where the Parks Department will move where the community spaces will be.
But we anticipate having four grand openings out there, I mean, the place is that big, there's that much going on CRH when it opens its clinic, we will have a grand opening for it. We'll have one for the Fieldhouse, one for the parks and community spaces. And then we'll have a fourth one for the landscape. You know, once all the interior work is done, then we'll finish off the parking lot. There'll be a little park a green space to the south side of the building. So it's going to be fun, and there's plenty to enjoy. So just stay tuned.
