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Rail funds boost V&M outlook
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EXPANSION INCENTIVE: Posing in Columbus on Monday after a talk are, from left, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams; Roger Lindgren, president of manufacturer V&M Star Steel; and GIrard Mayor James Melfi. Youngstown and Girard have offered incentives to V&M Star, which borders the cities, if it chooses to expand in that area.
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS — Officials are hopeful that $20 million in federal stimulus funding will help solidify V&M Star Steel’s decision to expand at a site straddling Youngstown and Girard.
“At this point, this project is not [guaranteed],” Girard Mayor James Melfi said Thursday. “These [funds] are very important pieces of the puzzle so that the company realizes that this is a great place to expand, [and] that local, state and the federal governments are willing to do whatever it takes to make that a reality.”
State officials announced Thursday that the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 4 office will receive $20 million to relocate rail lines near V&M’s existing property.
The project will provide space for the company’s proposed expansion while maintaining rail access to the area.
“This is a significant shot in the arm to the state of Ohio, Youngstown, Girard and the Mahoning Valley,” said Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams. He added, “In these most bleak of economic times, that this commitment is coming forth from the state is tremendous.”
V&M Star manufactures steel pipe for the oil and gas industry. It is considering an expansion that would nearly double its steel production and lead to the creation of 294 jobs and the retention of 465 existing ones.
The company has not committed to the project and has continued to work with the state on the required permits and economic incentives. Earlier this month, V&M laid off about 50 workers and postponed a final decision on the nearly $1 billion project.
“I have spoken with the executives at the company who are still committed to the project,” Williams said. “They have asked Youngstown to continue moving forward with land acquisition and some of the work being done.”
Roger Lindgren, the company’s CEO, was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Melfi added that the railroad relocation also could assist other economic development in the area, which boasts easy access to U.S. Route 422, Interstate 80 and state Route 11.
“That’s been an industrial corridor since the founding of this area,” he said. “It has been home to steel, manufacturing, lumber, transportation companies. ... We’re excited about the rebirth of it.”
He added, concerning V&M, “We are optimistic that this will happen. Everything points in that direction ... but we understand it’s a world economy in which we work and live, and we know we have a lot of work to do.”
The V&M project was among 149 statewide that were selected to receive a combined $774 million in federal stimulus funds. The total includes road and bridge replacements, rail improvements and transportation infrastructure that connects freight shipments by air, rail and road.
ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris said the state received upward of 4,600 proposals for transportation projects through a Web site established for that purpose.
Columbiana County received a large financial shot in the arm Thursday with the awarding of federal stimulus funds that totaled $6.2 million.
The biggest share was $5.7 million for the Columbiana County Port Authority’s Wellsville Intermodal Facility. When completed, the project will fully allow materials to be sent and switched from road to river to train shipping. The site is close to the pending Baard Energy plant that would turn Ohio coal into liquid fuel for cars or planes.
Some $250,000 will go for a safety upgrade of warning lights in Minerva.
Columbiana County Community Action in Lisbon will get money for a variety of projects: an upgrade of two-way communication and a vehicle tracking system between vehicles and dispatchers, $95,249; garage rehabilitation and renovation, $60,000; six new light transit vehicles for its transportation programs, $270,000; and capitalized maintenance, $112,251.
In Trumbull County, $1 million has been slated for the resurfacing of Mahoning Avenue in the city of Warren. That project includes new curbing, signs and light improvements.
Spending authority for the new projects is included in the biennial transportation budget, being debated by the Ohio House and Senate and expected to be signed by the governor next week.