DEPRECIATION – During the Jefferson County Port Authority board meeting on Wednesday, efforts to resolve title to the former Smith Truck Service Inc. property at 1130 Commercial St., Mingo Junction, were discussed. – Christopher Dacanay
STEUBENVILLE – The Jefferson County Port Authority Board of Directors voted Wednesday to allow the authority to take all necessary legal steps to release the title to the former Smith Truck Service Inc. property for sale and subsequent redevelopment.
According to Robert Naylor, the port authority’s executive director, Smith Truck Service’s contract was terminated in 2006 for nonpayment of franchise taxes. The company’s last shareholder has since died, and the port authority is working with her estate in West Virginia to purchase the property – located at 1130 Commercial St., Mingo Junction – and transfer it to Mingo Junction-based FeX Group as a development opportunity that will create jobs.
Work on the property has been ongoing since 2022, when environmental studies were conducted that identified asbestos in the building that must be disposed of in landfills, Naylor said. The building itself must be demolished, and there is also an underground storage tank on the property.
In Ohio, Naylor said, if a business fails to pay its taxes, tax liens can be filed against the parties deemed responsible to force payment. In this case, the property would sit vacant if not used for other purposes because there are no longer any parties.
To prevent the property from remaining unused, the Port Authority has asked the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to remove the tax liens on the property so that the Port Authority can conduct the necessary environmental remediation or further testing and transfer the property to a third party for redevelopment.
The Attorney General’s Office released those liens, Naylor said, but that did not remove the underlying tax debts that the responsible party would have to bear. The goal was to make the property marketable and insurable before the Port Authority bought it.
Now the Port Authority intends to acquire the property under a law that allows the appointment of a director of a company or a receiver to transfer the remaining assets. With the approval of the panel, the Port Authority will extend the performance period of the contract between the Port Authority and the estate to December 31 and will take legal action to resolve any ownership issues before the purchase.
“We are not saying we will do it, but maybe we have to do it,” Naylor said of the corrective measures: “The possibility exists. And it is very likely.”
Separately, American Cleaners’ property is on schedule in the Ohio Department of Development’s Brownfield Grant Program for fiscal year 2022, so a no-further-action letter could be issued before the end of the grant period, Naylor reported.
However, possible off-property contaminant migration may require soil and groundwater remediation in order for the property to be eligible for a non-suit agreement under the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Voluntary Action Program. A final NFA letter cannot be filed until possible off-property contaminant migration is confirmed and remediation is required.
Naylor noted that the Port Authority and the Jefferson County Land Bank are reviewing an application for a cleanup grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition, Naylor said preliminary results from Geotechnical Consultants Inc.’s drilling at the 13.36-acre Jefferson County Industrial Park site currently being eyed for construction were good.
In total, 19 boreholes were drilled at the former open pit site to test the subsurface conditions of the area, Naylor said. The results are awaiting laboratory analysis, but it is believed that the soil at the site will provide a good foundation and dynamic compaction may not be required. The next step at the site for construction of a building will be to conduct a topographical survey.
Preliminary reports have been sent to the construction project’s engineering firm, Burgess and Niple, Naylor said. The company has also submitted some possible floor plans for the building. The port authority had asked Burgess and Niple in June to carry out any work it could while the geotechnical studies were underway, in order to use time efficiently.
On a related note, Naylor said he met with Fred Vogel of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Division of Employment and Sam Grafton, Island Creek Township trustee, to discuss funding for the repair and maintenance of Technology Way, the industrial park’s only thoroughfare, which is owned by Island Creek Township.
Grafton noted that the road needs to be repaired, to which Vogel added that he may have $40,000 in discretionary funds available for the repair, Naylor said. In addition, Island Creek Township has provided $5,000, and the Port Authority has funds from its industrial park fund that it could use.
“Perhaps we can complete this road, which I think would be a great blessing for our further development,” said Naylor.
Island Creek has submitted a bid from Fort Steuben Maintenance for $53,000, Naylor said, adding that he believes more bids are necessary.
Miscellaneous:
• Naylor reported that the Port Authority has prepared a request to the City of Steubenville to determine the nature and extent of two historic petroleum seeps in the soil occupying the right-of-way adjacent to the 256 S. Third Street property under the Brownfields Grant Program for fiscal year 2022.
• Naylor reported that he attended the August 5 meeting of the Jefferson County Broadband Task Force Committee to discuss the Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Grant for broadband services. He said Jefferson County has been invited to reapply for the program, so the Port Authority will submit a request for proposals. This program would be a “big win” for northern areas of the county without broadband.
• Finance officer Gary Folden said if the two remaining banks do not submit information by the next board meeting, he will proceed with a presentation based on information he has already received from other banks regarding the Port Authority’s options for potentially opening a new investment account.
