GIRARD — The former Ohio Leatherworks property could be drawing closer to being cleaned up.

City council on Tuesday unanimously approved resolution that would allow expenditure of up to $50,000 to secure a brownfield cleanup grant for the property off U.S. Route 422, a long-closed and demolished former tannery.

According to Mayor James Melfi, the city needed to contribute that much money in order to stay grant-competitive.

“The more you come in with, the better chance you have of securing the grant,” Melfi said. “Every community in five states in the Midwest seeks these grants and there’s basically two or three granted per state.”

Melfi said the cleanup grant, which would total $500,000, is very competitive. Previously, the city received a $250,000 grant specifically for the assessment of the property and what the cleanup would entail.

“The cleanup is extensive,” Melfi said.

The $50,000 that would be spent is only a sign of good faith. If the city is unsuccessful in securing the grant, that money would not be spent.

Melfi said he would like to see, once the cleanup is completed, the property used in an abundance of ways.

“When it does get cleaned it has access to the river, to our proposed bike trail, it can be light industrial, it can be commercial. It gives the city quite a future,” Melfi said.

Also at the meeting, council voted to authorize the Ohio Department of Transportation to perform necessary repairs to state highways within the city.

nhawthorne@tribtoday.com