MOUNT VERNON — The city is buying the old Connell’s furniture building on Sandusky Street and plans to tear it down in order to make future roadway improvements, according to Mayor Richard Mavis.

The mayor said Mount Vernon City Council passed legislation on Tuesday to allow for the purchase of the 15,000-square-foot building. The building and property, which is about half an acre in size, was sold through an online auction and the city had the winning bid of $102,960. The county appraised the building at $188,750.

He added that the property has changed hands a number of times in recent years — it sold in 2002 for about $150,000, and again in 2003 for about $180,000.

Mavis said city officials plan to tear down the building and use the property to better allow for improvements to South Sandusky Street in the future. Improvements would include widening of that section of the street as well as the possible construction of a new bridge over the Kokosing River, between the viaduct and the railroad bridge near AMVETS. The idea behind the bridge is to help get truck traffic in and out of the city in a more efficient manner. The mayor said he thinks it will be about a decade before the project gets under way.

“That property is critical to the project,” he said. “We made the decision to bid and we think we got a reasonable price.”

There were only four registered bidders in the auction, Mavis said, two of whom the real estate agent involved in the auction characterized as land speculators. He added that although the downstairs warehouse section is still in good condition, the apartments upstairs would require major repairs, and the building has often been the target of vandals.

In a related move, City Council passed legislation allowing the administration to negotiate the purchase of 20 foot along the eastern edge of a property at 301 W. Gambier St., from the alley behind the building to the intersection Gambier and Sandusky streets. The entire parcel is about a tenth of an acre in size.

The strip is part of a 0.10-acre property where a vacant building stands. This building was which was once the home of River’s Edge Hunting & Fishing. The property was recently purchased by the owner of Trail City.

Mavis said this strip would also allow for future roadway improvements to Sandusky Street.

In other news, the mayor said:

•The administration recently embarked on a new study to investigate a long-reported “splotching problem” that discolors area residents’ clothing. He said a resident recently complained that the city plans to raise water rates but has failed to correct the problem, which is suspected to be caused by some unknown property of city water.

In early June, a section of water pipe near the center of the city was removed and is being examined to determine whether the pipes are the root of the problem. The study should be completed this year and will involve studying private water lines at residential homes throughout the city, as well as interviews and surveys of residents who are willing to participate in the study. Arcadis, a consulting firm based in Akron, will help city officials complete the study.

Mavis said that after many studies, the cause has never been identified, although he believes some of the reported instances of discoloration are not related to the splotching problem.

•City residents should have received information about an upcoming increase in their water bills. There has been annual increases since the construction of the city’s relatively new $18 million water plant; the mayor said the increases are needed to retire the debt fom the building as well as to cover water operation costs. This year’s increase will be 5 percent, as opposed to the 3 percent increase as has been the case in recent years.

•Bids on the Blackjack Road infrastructure improvement project will be opened the first of August. The project entails widening the portion of Blackjack Road that runs south of Moundbuilders Guidance Center and running city water and wastewater along that same portion. The project also includes aligning this same section of roadway with Industrial Park Drive, which is a small roadway that runs out of the Industrial Park and terminates at Blackjack Road, and creating an entirely new intersection.

Last week, City Council passed legislation allowing the administration to move ahead with negotiations to purchase a two-story farm across the road from Moundbuilders and east of Industrial Park Drive. Mavis said the city needs this piece of property to move ahead with the creation of the new intersection.