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LISBON -- The Columbiana County Port Authority Board made several moves Monday related to the proposed 85-acre East Palestine industrial park off of state Route 14 and Howell Road in Unity Township, including actions needed to purchase the land.
First, the board approved a resolution accepting the assignment and assumption of the purchase option agreement from the East Palestine Community Improvement Corporation.
CCPA Executive Director Brittany Smith explained the EPCIC had already paid $100,000 to the seller, Mary Carlson Behne, formerly known as Mary L. Carlson, for the exclusive right to purchase the four parcels in Unity Township which make up the 85 acres.
As part of the agreement for the option to purchase to be transferred to the port authority from the EPCIC, the port agreed to pay the $100,000 back to the EPCIC once sufficient proceeds from the lease or sale of some of the tracts in the industrial park allow for the repayment.
Second, the port board gave Smith authority to exercise the purchase option to buy the property, with the price remaining to be paid totaling $1.1 million. Smith said the total deal totals $1.2 million, but $100,000 was already paid to the seller, with $1.1 million remaining to be paid. She said the port authority will use cash funds to pay the $1.1 million to finalize the purchase and become the owner of the land.
The port board also authorized Smith to engage Kutak Rock LLP as special counsel to provide legal services related to the acquisition of the East Palestine industrial park property, for an hourly fee of $495.
Smith also was given authority for two grant applications related to the property. She'll be seeking $1.5 million from the Ohio Division of Natural Resources Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program for work on the land surface and $200,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Ohio Governor's Office of Appalachia for the Area Development grant program toward the cost of bringing a sanitary sewer line to the site.
"There were mines on the site," Smith said, explaining this "will require additional excavation and grading of the property.
As for the sanitary sewer upgrades to extend sewer lines from the village system to the site, the total project cost was estimated at $614,000. The plan is also to extend water lines to the site.
During the July meeting, the announcement was made about the village of East Palestine and the CCPA partnering up to develop the 85 acres of land into an industrial park just north of the village, north of state Route 14 off of Howell Road in Unity Township.
Similar to how the Leetonia World Trade Park is set up, the plan calls for the port authority to own the land and handle all onsite infrastructure development, such as roads, electrical, water lines and sewer lines. The village of East Palestine will handle off-site infrastructure to extend water and sewer to the site from the village.
At that meeting, East Palestine Village Manager Antonio Diaz-Guy explained the village's package of projects to bring water and sewer to the industrial park will include a water tower, extension of a water distribution line, sanitary sewer line extension, upgrade of water distribution facilities or lift stations and pump stations and an upsizing of pipes to allow for better flow.
Smith said previously the idea will be to divide the property into lots, dependent on what a company may need to locate there.
In other business, the CCPA renewed a lease agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. for 11,820 square feet at the Leetonia Industrial Building, Cherry Fork, Leetonia at a cost of $3,337 per month. A lease agreement with Paragon Integrated Services Group, LLC was renewed for 45,000 square feet at the Wellsville Intermodal Facility on Clark Avenue, Wellsville for $1,750 per month. An option agreement and right of first refusal agreement with Pennex Aluminum Company, LLC was renewed for a lot at the Leetonia World Trade Park for $5,000. A CD with Consumers National Bank was renewed for nine months at 3.78%.
The next meeting of the CCPA will be 5 p.m. Nov. 23.