MAHONING COMMISSION New owners of YSD get a 9-year tax abatement

The county needs a consultant to study where to put Job and Family Services.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners approved a nine-year, 60 percent tax abatement for YSD, formerly Youngstown Steel Door, in Austintown, which its new owners believe will help the company quickly become profitable.
YSD, purchased April 6 by Global Railway Industries of Canada, expects to ship its first product under the new ownership the middle of next week, YSD president, Jerome D. Hines, said Thursday at the commissioners' meeting.
The abatement will save YSD an estimated $150,000 in real and personal property taxes over the next nine years. Even with the abatement, YSD will still pay about $95,000 in taxes over the abatement period.
Hines has ambitious plans for YSD, which primarily makes doors for railroad cars. Among them are introducing a new door in about four months made of special materials that will be new to the rail industry. He would not reveal details for competitive reasons.
Hines said the railroad freight industry has seen some slim times, but it has always grown, and he believes there will be more rapid growth in the future.
Global paid $2.5 million for the facility, which is 800,000 square feet with 16 acres under roof, and expects to spend $2 million to upgrade equipment, especially welding equipment, and about $200,000 to renovate the building, including fixing the roof.
Relocating agency
In other action, commissioners agreed that relocating the county Department of Job and Family Services to the downtown would be a key element in revitalizing the inner city.
Commissioner Edward J. Reese Thursday said it could be the biggest catalyst for downtown Youngstown in 25 years.
However, the board has come to no agreement on when or where to place the job and department and its 400 employees. They are now housed in the McGuffey Center, with which the county has had a month-to-month lease for four years.
One potential site is the Phar-Mor Centre building downtown. Another is the Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., which has submitted a proposal. Yet another, Reese said, might be near the new arena to be built along Front Street. There would be adequate parking there, as opposed to the Phar-Mor building, where parking would be a problem.
Other obvious options are signing a long-term contract with the McGuffey Center or building a new structure for county offices.
Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock said previously that she was committed to locating the agency in the downtown.
However, she said she wants a recommendation from city officials before they act on the Phar-Mor building or any other site.
Commissioner David Ludt said previously he would prefer that the county own, rather than rent, a building.
Whatever is eventually done, Reese said the county should first hire a private consultant, as Cuyahoga County has done in a similar situation, to get a third-party view of the situation and to make sure all factors are considered, such as who actually owns the Phar-Mor building and property.
"We need to know before we move, and I certainly don't have that type of expertise," he said.
alcorn@vindy.com