STRUTHERS Mayor cites progress in cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield

Building a road from the Walton Street bridge into the site is a top priority.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- Persistence pays off, and for the communities that surround the Mahoning River Corridor of Opportunity, payday may not be far away.
Progress toward redeveloping the 1,400-acre brownfield along the Mahoning River, the former home of steel mills operated by Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. and Republic Steel, "gained momentum" in 2003, paving the way for even more progress this year, said Struthers Mayor Dan Mamula during an MRCO Planning Committee meeting Wednesday morning.
Mamula spearheaded formation of the MRCO Planning Committee in 1995 and serves as its chairman.
Grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Clean Ohio Assistance Fund were approved to continue cleanup efforts at CASTLO Community Improvement Corp., an industrial park at the eastern edge of the brownfield; Astro Companies, an industrial complex to the immediate west of CASTLO; and the site of a defunct aluminum finishing plant in Campbell, reported Sarah Lown of the Mahoning County Economic Development office.
Almost $1 million invested
With some $300,000 Astro invested, nearly $1 million has been put into environmental assessment and remediation. "This is all clean up the dirt money," Lown said. "I hope that by next year, I'll be talking about [the construction of new] roads and buildings."
Bill DeCicco, chairman of the environmental issues committee and executive director of CASTLO, said that some of the grants will be used to clean up 40 acres at the eastern end of the industrial park by the end of this year, and that additional grants will be sought for assessment and cleanup of land in the park to the west of Yellow Creek.
DeCicco predicts that all environmental issues facing CASTLO could be "out of the way in a couple of years."
Grants also will be sought for assessment and remediation of other portions of the MRCO, including a 30-acre plot recently donated to the city of Campbell.
Easements
In the meantime, easements have been obtained from all property owners who will be affected by construction of the Walton Avenue bridge, reported John Getchey, chairman of the transportation and development committee and executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
Construction of the bridge, which will provide access into the heart of the brownfield, will begin this spring or summer.
The MRCO Planning Committee is a cooperative effort of Struthers, Campbell and Youngstown -- the three communities the brownfield spans -- Mahoning County, CASTLO Community Improvement Corp., Eastgate Council of Governments, Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp., Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, First Energy Corp., East Ohio Gas, Consumers Ohio Water Co., Youngstown State University and the state.
kubik@vindy.com