The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

WSU, Fairborn close to Calamityville lease deal

Environmental cleanup will be next for the project.

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 8:43 AM Monday, March 1, 2010

FAIRBORN — The city will be involved in Wright State University’s disaster response training ground for at least the next five years, according to Fairborn city officials and a lease agreement being considered by City Council.

“I’ll probably get hammered for that,” said Mayor Joan Dautel. “I’d rather take it out there and be sure. I think within five years, as they work through phases, the city will have less and less it will be responsible for.”

The city took ownership last summer of the 54-acre former Cemex plant where Wright State wants to build National Center for Medical Readiness – Technical Laboratory, also called Calamityville, after receiving $3 million in grants to clean up environmental contaminants on the property.

But the university has been cautious about the property since contaminants were identified in a 2008 environmental survey and won’t take possession of the land until the state says no further environmental remediation is needed, which could take up to five years, city officials have said.

Glenn Hamilton, the university professor creating Calamityville, said city officials knew from the beginning they would be “long-term partners.”

Dautel believes Fairborn could reduce its involvement more quickly if the city turns over the land to the university in pieces, as parcels are cleaned up. “That’s the way I understand it, it will be done in certain phases as the remediation gets done,” she said.

Dautel said she is not concerned like some on council about the city’s liability or long-term involvement in the project. “We know what the process is going to be, it’s not going to be something infinite,” she said. “They’re not going to intentionally drag it out and drag it out.”

Councilman Frank Cervone said he thought the city’s role would be minimal. “It was supposed to be a pass-through and I’m not comfortable with it right now,” he said. “To me, there is a rat in the woodpile.”

The city also is partnering with the university to develop a 2.8 acre parcel on the eastern edge of the Cemex property that will fund the extension of Cleary Road to Xenia Avenue and serve as another entrance to the training ground, Dautel said. The city and university will have to agree on whatever is built on the site and taxpayer money will not be used to extend the road, Dautel said.

Councilman Jim Hapner said the road extension presents another “wrinkle” for the deal. “I hate when things are thrown on at the last minute. I don’t want any financial liability thrown back on the city.”

Work on the site should begin soon. After the city and university sign lease and development deals this month, Council is expected to hire the Cincinnati-based Payne Firm Inc. to oversee the environmental remediation that should begin this spring.

Hamilton, the professor overseeing the creation of Calamityville, said he hopes to begin work modifying existing buildings on the site this spring. Instruction could begin later this year.

Finding a consistent pool of emergency personnel to train is important to the center’s long-term success, Hamilton said. Ideally, a mix of civilian and military personnel will be the “anchor” customers that attend classes at Calamityville with the goal of transforming first responders into first medical providers. Organizers also hope to test new equipment.

An exhibit to the lease deal expected to be approved by city officials this week gives a glimpse into some of the training that may occur at Calamityville when it is up and running.

Allowed uses include low-level helicopter traffic and landings, use of smoke and fire in simulated situations, use of small watercraft and heavy vehicle traffic, simulated chemicals and small arms fire.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@Dayton DailyNews.com.

Share this article