Park PROS Planning Thursday Night - Contempt Charge For Closed Healthcare Center
Westerville residents to weigh in on next parks and open-space plan
Westerville residents can weigh in Thursday on the future of the city’s parks, trails, and open space.
The Parks and Recreation Department will hold a public open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Westerville Community Center, 350 N. Cleveland Ave., as it begins work on its next Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan.
Parks and Recreation Director J.R. Fourqurean mentioned the planning effort Tuesday during a City Council meeting, where the council approved paving work on portions of the Ohio to Erie Trail.
“There are opportunities for public engagement,” Fourqurean told the council. “We will have an open house on Thursday, 6:00 to 8:00, at the rec center. There will also be booths at 4th Friday and the farmers market.”
Residents will be asked to comment on priorities for parks, trails, recreation facilities, programs, and open space. The plan, known as PROS, guides land acquisition, park improvements, trail connections, facility needs, and capital spending.
The Thursday open house follows recent City Council discussions on redevelopment. Although unrelated, it may prompt broad questions about open space and city priorities.
Westerville adopted its first PROS plan in 2000 and has updated it with public engagement, including surveys, community meetings, focus groups, and stakeholder interviews. Previous plans guided projects such as the Community Center expansion, Johnston-McVay Park, improvements to First Responders Park, the Westerville Veterans Memorial, playground replacements, athletic field investments, and trail expansions.
Current projects reflect many of those continuing priorities. At Walnut Ridge, the city is converting a frequently flooded field into a wetlands area. Millstone Creek Park is being rebuilt with a more accessible playground. The city is also reconstructing and paving portions of the Ohio to Erie Trail from Polaris Parkway to the Hoff Woods Connector and from Old County Line Road to Electric Avenue, with five rectangular rapid flashing beacons planned to improve trail crossings.
The new PROS plan will address parks and recreation priorities over the next five years, including preserving parkland, maintaining facilities, improving connections, and developing programs for families, older adults, and residents with disabilities.
Westerville calls contempt ruling at 140 Old County Line Road ‘great news’ for neighbors
Westerville officials say a Delaware County court ruling against the owner of 140 Old County Line Road is welcome news for nearby residents after years of concerns about the former nursing-home property.
“I am thrilled to announce the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas issued a contempt decision finding the owner of 140 Old County Line Road in civil contempt of a Dec. 1, 2023, permanent injunction,” City Manager Monica Dupee told City Council. “This is great news for our community and especially the neighbors.”
Dupee said the city will continue watching the case because the property owner still has time to challenge the decision.
Delaware County Common Pleas Magistrate Cory J. Goe found 140 Old County Line Propco, LLC in civil contempt after concluding the company failed to comply with parts of a court-approved permanent injunction aimed at correcting nuisance and safety issues at the property. The magistrate’s decision, filed May 18, imposes a $50-per-day fine until the company complies.
The case stems from a complaint filed in August 2022 by the Westerville law director against 140 Old County Line Propco and others. The city alleged the property had become a public nuisance and cited violations involving the building’s condition, security and maintenance. The parties later reached an agreed permanent injunction, approved by the court Dec. 1, 2023.
That injunction required the property owner to secure and maintain the building, including its exterior, roof, windows, HVAC openings, doors, drainage systems, basement, stairways and grounds. It also required permits, inspections and access for city enforcement officials.
In the contempt ruling, the magistrate found that the owner failed to meet several requirements, including those related to keeping the roof watertight, preventing water accumulation in the basement and meeting compliance deadlines. The decision says the owner had taken some steps at the site but had not made enough progress to satisfy the court order.
Testimony summarized in the decision described continuing concerns about water in the building, including basement accumulation and possible mold growth tied to water intrusion. The city also pointed to exterior drainage issues and argued that the property remained out of compliance.
The property owner’s representative testified that some security and maintenance steps had been taken, including boarding windows, installing fencing, locking entrances and adding cameras. The defense also said drains had been replaced in November 2025. But the magistrate found the remaining problems were enough to support a civil contempt finding.
The ruling also noted repeated police calls connected to the site, including reports involving suspicious persons or vehicles, criminal damaging and breaking and entering.
The company has 14 days from the filing of the magistrate’s decision to file written objections. If the decision stands, the company can purge the contempt fine by complying within 30 days. The ruling says that would require permanent roof repairs, elimination of basement water accumulation, restored drainage, required permits, completed inspections and continued compliance with the 2023 injunction
The court also ordered the owner to provide status reports every 30 days until full compliance. Westerville code officials may enter the property with 24 hours’ written notice to verify whether the order is being followed.
Further court action remains possible. The magistrate reserved jurisdiction to consider additional remedies if the property remains out of compliance, including expanded inspection authority or appointment of a receiver.
The legal pressure on the owner could increase if the property remains out of compliance. The current sanction is a $50-per-day civil contempt fine, which the company can purge by completing the required work within 30 days. The ruling also requires 30-day status reports and allows Westerville code officials to inspect the property with 24 hours’ written notice.
If violations continue, the court left open the possibility of stronger remedies, including expanded inspection authority or appointment of a receiver, a court-appointed third party who could be given authority over the property or the compliance process.
The current nuisance case follows a troubled recent history for the property.
Before becoming the subject of Westerville’s court action, 140 Old County Line Road operated as a nursing home known as Heartland of Uptown Westerville and later Uptown Westerville Healthcare. Public property records describe the site as a retirement or nursing-home use.
The facility closed in 2019 after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut ties with Uptown Westerville Healthcare. WOSU reported at the time that the facility had been the subject of neglect complaints and that residents who relied on Medicare and Medicaid had to be relocated after federal funding was withdrawn.
According to WOSU, CMS withdrew funding because the nursing home failed to comply with several standards, including nursing services, food and nutrition services, infection control and protections from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Matt Dapore, then identified as the nursing home’s administrator and chief operating officer of Hillstone Healthcare, told The Columbus Dispatch the facility would close after losing federal funding, WOSU reported.
Dapore’s name also appears in the current court ruling as a defense witness who testified about the condition of the property and work performed there.
The property’s decline after the nursing home closure eventually led Westerville to seek court intervention. The contempt decision now puts the owner under daily financial pressure to complete repairs and bring the site into compliance.
For neighbors, city officials framed the ruling as a step toward resolving a long-running problem property.
“We’ll continue to keep our eyes out,” Dupee told council, noting that the owner still had time to challenge the decision.
Because this post is public, you’re encouraged to share it on social media.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
Reader funding, including subscribers, protects editorial independence, so coverage is guided by journalists rather than owners or corporate profit goals. It also reduces pressure to chase clicks, letting the newsroom focus on stories worth readers’ time. And it helps keep the site accessible to everyone, including people who can’t pay or live in places where a free press is under threat.
Explore more hyper-local reporting by subscribing to The Hilliard Beacon, Civic Capacity, Marysville Matters, The Ohio Roundtable, Shelby News Reporter, This Week in Toledo, and Into the Morning by Krista Steele.
