JEFFERSON - - Ashtabula County Port Authority (ACPA) is moving soon to new quarters at the county's Granger Building at 77 N. Chestnut St. Ashtabula County commissioners approved a lease agreement Thursday with the ACPA, who will pay $1,200 a year for the office space through May 31, 2008.
The port authority has used the Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County (GPAC) building in Jefferson for it's meetings and GPAC staffer, Cindy Rabe as secretary, board president John Palo said.
"This will be good for us to be closer to the commissioners and the county planning department. We have two nice size offices on the south side of the building. We've needed to have a permanent office for some time," Palo said.
The move will be complete before the end of the month, he said. The board members in the last few months have been active in conferring with companies interested in utilizing space available at the old FirstEnergy Plant C on Lake Road.
The ACPA took over from the county commissioners in December 2005 to buy the 21.5 acre FirstEnergy Plant C site. They completed the purchase in March 2006 mainly for the plant's water-pumping operation.
Negotiations were then completed with two large users, Praxair Inc. and Lyondell Chemicals Inc. plus six other industrial customers to continue buying the raw water for their manufacturing uses.
Praxair Inc. has the contract to handle the raw water pumping operation for the port authority. The interior of the old electric utility plant has been partly cleared of asbestos, most in the lower level where the pumping operation is located, according to Palo.
He said the board was quite surprised at interest shown so far from Ohio and out-of-state firms wanting to tour the building site.
"We are considering what offers we have and how best the Plant C water source can be used, even for new customers. At the same time we've applied for a $3 million grant from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund," Palo said.
The funds would be used for cleanup of the old plant site for future industrial uses. The District 7 Executive Committee of the Ohio Public Works Commission recently reviewed the grant application and gave it a priority score, Palo said.
By mid-summer the port authority board hopes to learn if the grant is approved or not. Palo said 17 local government entities are all applying for the Ohio Department of Development funds.
The ACPA earlier this year hired the Cleveland consulting firm of Michael Baker Jr. Inc. for professional services relating to the grant application and soil remediation permitting processes.
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