Republican mayoral candidate Matt Kelty on Thursday asked the city to release details of its option agreement with OmniSource for 29 acres of the company's land north of the St. Marys River. He also wants the city to provide an update on environmental testing of the land.

“There are 10 weeks to go before the option expires,” Kelty said. “It's important this information is released. It's important to verify (the land) is indeed clean.”

Earlier this year, the city optioned the land, formerly a junkyard, from OmniSource, the scrap metal company, for $25,000. The option expires at the end of the year; the full purchase price would be $4.3 million.

Kelty said the city gave him a copy of the option after he requested it; he said he has not asked for a copy of the environmental testing report.

Gary Lyman, the city's brownfield manager, said the city has conducted a variety of testing and is in the process of receiving the results, which should be released next week.

“I don't think anybody has an idea about anything,” he said. “There's a lot of variables right now.”

Lyman said any environmental problems could be fixed — depending on how much the city is willing to spend.

In April, Mayor Graham Richard and Allen County Commissioner Bill Brown commissioned a 34-member task force to study the best possible uses of the land and recommend whether to exercise an option to buy it. At the group's final meeting in August, it recommended the city purchase the land and consider using it for a densely developed mixture of single-family houses, townhouses and apartments; small shops and restaurants; a boulevard inviting pedestrians to stroll; and a waterfront plaza descending to a river landing for small boats.

Kelty said it's important to get more information about the project before the option runs out and council has to make a decision on how to proceed.

If the city decides to buy the land, Kelty said his administration would rezone it as either light commercial or mixed-use and resell it to private individuals and companies to develop.

“I'm not going to sell it just the way the North River Task Force suggested,” he said.

Democratic mayoral candidate Tom Henry called Kelty's requests for additional information about the project a “no-brainer.”

“Certainly what he's requesting is standard operating procedure,” Henry said, agreeing it would be foolish to commit to buying the land without making sure it was environmentally safe.

Henry said he has reviewed the North River plans and thinks they have a lot of promise, agreeing with the statement released Thursday by Richard. He also said he's trying to schedule a meeting with Richard to discuss whether the city should exercise the option this year or ask for an extension so the next mayor could decide whether to move forward in developing the land.