MCDONALD Leaders apply for a grant

The money would be used for assessment, not for cleanup, an official said.
THE VINDICATOR
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
McDONALD -- Village leaders are hoping a $200,000 federal grant will get them on the right track to start using some old steel property for new uses.
"It's the first step in a voluntary action program to get that land cleaned up," explained Administrator Robert O'Connell.
Village leaders are applying for the assessment grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study land on Ohio Avenue owned by U.S. Steel to detail, step-by-step, what needs to be done to clean it up.
A public meeting to discuss the grant process, and the plans for the money, is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers at the village Municipal Building, 451 Ohio Ave.
O'Connell said, if approved, the money will be used to detail the cleanup procedure, but not for any actual cleanup work.
"It will gives us very specific notes on how to clean up that land so it can be used again," he said. "Then maybe it can be sold and we can put somebody else in there."
About the land
The land -- two parcels of U.S. Steel property totaling about 68 acres -- is still owned by the steel company, O'Connell said. But company officials are willing to give the village access to study the parcels, which sit along the Mahoning River and formerly served as the site for the company's 18-inch mill. The building was demolished in 2001, O'Connell said, and the property has sat empty since then.
He added that if the land can be cleaned and used by new tenants, it could be the start of other cleanup projects.
"This is opening up pieces of the puzzle," he said. "It's a key section of land."
The land is adjacent to property owned by Standard Slag, O'Connell said, and is also next to the village's industrial park, making it a prime piece of real estate.
The deadline for the grant application is the first week of December, but O'Connell said it will probably be April of next year before the village learns if the money's been approved.
slshaulis@vindy.com