State grant to aid parkway extension

The village's grant was more funding than expected, one official said.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- A grant from the state will not only extend a village road, but also attract a new business.
Village council unanimously agreed Monday to enter into an agreement with the state and Henn Holdings LLC to extend Henn Parkway 1,000 feet. The Ohio Department of Development awarded the village a $243,000 grant for the work, which can begin immediately, said Planning and Zoning Administrator Ron Barnhart.
The new road will allow for the expansion of Henn Industrial Park, located off state Route 45, and a Pennsylvania company has already agreed to move in, he said.
Henn Industrial Park is also home to Henn Workshops and Intier Automotive Systems, which will supply parts to General Motors' Lordstown complex for the new Cobalt vehicle.
Tanner Industries of Philadelphia will locate in the park once the work is completed, which must be by Dec. 31, 2005. Barnhart said the company takes anhydrous ammonia and adds water to it before it's shipped out to other companies for use in making farm fertilizers, household cleaning products and other items.
Parkway funding
As for the Henn Parkway, funding for fiscal year 2004 will be $170,300, and the remaining $72,700 will be received in fiscal year 2005. Barnhart said the village will make the initial payout for the surveying, engineering and construction and will then be reimbursed by the state.
Henn Holdings has agreed to cover any costs exceeding the grant amount, he added. Initial estimates, however, are that the grant will cover the entire project.
The village was awarded a similar grant two years ago for the initial 1,000 feet of Henn Parkway, but that funding covered only 50 percent of the project, Barnhart said.
Barnhart said that when developers and village officials began talking about extending the roadway, he checked into the possibility of the village's getting more funding, but doubted more would be allotted so soon.
"We took a shot in the dark and it really paid off," he said. "We actually got more than we expected."
slshaulis@vindy.com