AMPHITHEATER UPDATE — Mayor John Parker Monday updated Toronto Council on the planned creation of an amphitheater at the former site of the Cooper Hardware building at North Third and Market streets. -- Warren Scott

TORONTO — Toronto Council Monday received an update on plans to create an amphitheater at the site of the former Cooper Hardware building.

The three-story building was torn down in August by the Jefferson County Land Bank, leaving a 9,600-square-foot lot at the corner of North Third and Market streets.

An agreement with the county agency allows the lot to be transferred to the city.

Mayor John Parker has announced plans to create an amphitheater there, noting its close proximity to the Soldiers and Sailors World War I monument and the Gazebo Commons, where summer concerts have been held.

At Monday’s council meeting, Councilman at large Mike Burkey said he, Parker and others met with an architect from Thrasher Engineering at the site to discuss options for it.

Remaining from the demolition is a fenced area around deep trenches and a portion of the building’s foundation.

City officials had pondered whether to fill in the area entirely or use it to create a seating area that would slope from the surrounding sidewalk.

Burkey said concerns about handicap access and the flow of rainwater into such an amphitheater have led officials to reconsider that.

Following the meeting, Parker confirmed it’s likely that the area will be filled and leveled, though the rear of the amphitheater may be sloped slightly from the southeast corner.

Tentative plans call for the audience to face a raised stage at the lot’s northwest corner, but Parker said more details will be shared as planning progresses.

He noted he’s consulted a local sound man for input.

Parker said he’s purchased bench-style seating with a capacity for a few hundred people using $38,000 awarded for the project by the Charles and Thelma Pugliese Foundation while the Jefferson County commissioners have granted $13,000 to the city from its park and recreation fund for the amphitheater.

In other business, council authorized Parker to apply for a loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission’s water pollution control fund for the replacement of a lift station at the city’s north end for its wastewater treatment system.

The estimated $1 million project involves the separation of a combined sewer and stormwater line as part of ongoing efforts to address such lines and prevent the risk of raw sewage entering the Ohio River.

Toronto is among wastewater treatment providers throughout the U.S. that have been ordered by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to separate combined sewers, which are common in many communities.

In related business, Parker said work on the Walton Acres water project is proceeding, though there have been some delays because crews with Columbia Gas have been replacing a main gas line and other service lines in that area.

Parker said that will prevent the city from having to resurface affected roadways, but it’s likely they will be patched with asphalt until paving can be done in the spring.

The $1.4 million project includes the replacement of about 1,800 linear feet of water line and three fire hydrants in the area of East Fernwood Drive and is being funded with a loan and grant from the Ohio Water Development Authority and $600,000 in federal funds secured by former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

In other business:

• Burkey noted street paving and patching for the current year is done, but residents have asked about future street improvements, particularly other sections of North Third and Fourth streets.

As chairman of council’s finance committee, he said funding for next year’s round of paving will be discussed as a budget is prepared for next year.

• The city’s police and fire departments and staff with the TEMS Joint Ambulance District were thanked for their efforts to monitor and interact with children participating in trick or treating.