LEETONIA Village will take bids for work

More companies will be interested in the industrial park once infrastructure is available, the village administrator said.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- The village will advertise for bids in April and begin construction in June on two 12-inch water mains on Washington Street.
Providing water to the Columbiana County Port Authority's industrial park, and specifically to General Extrusion Inc.'s expansion plant there, is a priority, village Administrator Gary Phillips said.
The industrial park has been in the planning stages for more than five years, and GEI is its first tenant.
Under construction: GEI has a $15 million 100,000-square-foot plant under construction. GEI officials plan to have the plant operational by fall, creating about 65 jobs within three years.
Phillips believes other companies will be more interested in locating in the park once the infrastructure is available.
"People are careful about their investments," Phillips said. "They want to be certain before they commit their time and money."
The main to the industrial park will cost about $650,000 and the line from the water plant to the storage tank, about $153,000, Phillips said.
Phillips said he hoped to bid the projects sooner, but processing grants for the project took longer than anticipated.
The details: The two waterlines will start at the village's Orchard Hill water storage facility. One will continue west on Main Street to state Route 344 to the industrial park.
The other waterline will supply water to the water tower and storage tank, pumped there from the water plant on St. Peter Street. The supply line will replace a 6-inch main and improve flow for growth, he said.