Controlling Board approves All Ohio Futures award for Warren-area access road amid member concerns over transparency and loan/grant mix

The State Controlling Board on April 7 approved a Development item to fund an access road and related infrastructure to open roughly 1,000 acres outside Warren in Trumbull County for future economic development.

Representative Stewart and senators pressed Department of Development staff about the project’s economic impact, how many jobs the work might enable and whether the award is structured as a grant or loan. Department staff said the award will be issued in part as a grant and in part as a forgivable loan at 0% interest, and that the department generally works toward a roughly 50/50 grant-to-loan split depending on local capacity and project needs.

Through the chair, a department representative described the project as “mainly for an access road along with a couple of other pieces” and said the work “will enable about 1,000 acres just on the outskirts of the city of Warren in Trumbull County, to be utilized for economic development in the future.”

Representative Stewart asked whether the agenda item made clear which portion of the $17,000,000 award is a loan and which is a grant. The department replied that the controlling board submittal notes awards are issued partially as grants and partially as forgivable loans; the precise mix is worked out with the community after board approval, with forgivability based on criteria in program guidelines.

The department summarized the forgivability factors included in program guidance: a confirmed end user that falls within JobsOhio's 10 targeted sectors and an average wage for the project at least 125% of the community median wage. Department staff said the intent of the forgivable-loan design is to incentivize completion of projects and recruitment of employers so loan amounts can ultimately be forgiven.

Several legislators, including Senator Ingram and Senator Cerino, told the board they were concerned about how members of the General Assembly are notified about awards and projects funded from the All Ohio Futures Fund. Senator Ingram said she had learned after the fact about a $26,000,000 award in her area and asked for better communication to members before awards are finalized. Senator Cerino said the chamber should be informed earlier and said she expected no additional All Ohio Futures items to come to the controlling board until communication issues are addressed.

The department said it has a pipeline of potential projects exceeding $1 billion in requests and that department staff expects roughly $500 million to $600 million could move in the next few months.

The board approved the item; no objections were recorded in the meeting transcript.

Ending: Board members asked the department for improved communication to legislators about All Ohio Futures projects and for clearer pre-vote documentation about the grant/loan mix on future submissions.