Controlling board approves 4 projects

Photo

Youngstown finance director David Bozanich

The board also OK’d funds for projects in Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

By Marc Kovac

The state controlling board has approved funding for four projects in the Mahoning Valley.

It has given its OK to fund a road project that could help a company create 450 jobs in Youngstown.

The board released $747,500 to complete public improvements at the Salt Springs Road Industrial Park on Youngstown’s West Side. The work would accommodate Exal Corp.’s proposal to build a 600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and 300,000-square-foot warehouse operation.

The company hopes to move forward with the Youngstown project, but the expansion is on hold given the continuing economic downturn. If the project is a go, city Finance Director David Bozanich said building construction likely wouldn’t start until next year.

The state already committed about $4.3 million in Ohio Job Ready Sites funding for the project, which is expected to cost about $44 million; Exal Corp. would provide a match of at least $39 million if it moves ahead with the expansion, according to documents.

The city of Youngstown has bought the 68-acre site where the facility would be located; the city also has committed to building the road to the area and installing the needed utilities and infrastructure, according to documents.

Exal makes aluminum beer bottles for Budweiser as well as containers for other consumer products, including Axe body spray.

In other business, the controlling board released about $1.4 million for a cleanup of the former Mahoningside Property in Warren.

The 6.5-acre site is located at 650 Summit St. N.W., and the project will include the demolition of two structures and the removal of asbestos and contaminated soils from the property, according to documents.

The total cost of the cleanup is about $1.9 million, with Warren Concrete and Supply Co. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency covering the balance.

The site formerly housed the Warren Electric Light and Power Co. and was used for decades to generate electricity. The city has held title to the property for the past decade.

After the cleanup, the site will be used for industrial and/or commercial development, according to documents.

In other business, the controlling board OK’d $134,680 for a storefront replacement project at KSU’s Columbiana County campus in Salem. The project involves replacing glass storefront doors and windows to improve energy efficiency of the building, which was constructed in 1971 and houses offices and classrooms.

Lawmakers also released $187,280 for sanitary-sewer improvements at Mosquito Lake State Park in Trumbull County.

The project includes the installation of two pumping stations plus other infrastructure needed to connect the park campground to the county waste-treatment facility. All of the work is scheduled to be completed by May 2010.