Two voice strong support for V&M plan at hearing

By Jon Moffett

YOUNGSTOWN — The public had a chance to come out to tell a state agency what it thought about a project that could bring hundreds of jobs to the area.

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had a public hearing Thursday at City Hall to get community response for a proposed expansion plan between V&M Star Steel, which manufactures seamless steel piping for the oil and gas industry, and the cities of Youngstown and Girard.

The expansion of the company’s Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard facility would be expected to create more than 400 jobs.

“We’re going to first give a presentation and let people know about a permit that we are considering that has been submitted by a company, V&M Star,” said Linda Oros, media relations coordinator for the Ohio EPA.

“After we get a chance to do that, we’re taking public comments to try and find out what people think of the permit; what they think the pros are; what they think the cons are; so we can use that in helping us evaluate the action,” she added.

About 20 people attended the hearing in the city council’s chambers. The hearing was preceded by a 10-minute presentation from Ed Perez of the EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control.

After the hearing was opened up to a public question-and-answer session, no one in the crowd wished to ask anything of the panel. The panel, however, then asked if anyone wished to have comments placed on the official record. Two residents spoke on behalf of the V&M project.

Joseph Planey, a lifetime city resident, said though he’s traveled all across the world, Youngstown will always be his home.

“I was here during the heyday of the steel industry, and I think what these folks are trying to do is a wonderful plan to bring 400-500 [jobs] here, which is critically needed by this area because we’ve been economically depressed,” Planey said.

The other resident who spoke, Don Crane, president of the Western Reserve Building & Construction Trades Council, said he and the council support the project.

“We look very forward to it moving forward,” Crane said.