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Controlling Board approves $17 million All-Ohio award for Warren-area access road; members seek clearer legislative briefings
Summary
The board approved a roughly $17 million award for an access road project near Warren in Trumbull County under the All Ohio Futures program. Members asked for clearer pre-approval information on loan-versus-grant splits and program oversight.
The State Controlling Board approved funding on April 7 for an access road and related improvements on about 1,000 acres on the outskirts of Warren in Trumbull County under the All Ohio Futures program.
Senators and representatives asked department officials for specifics about the projects economic impact, loan-versus-grant terms and how the All Ohio Futures program is administered. A Department of Development representative told the board the project will build an access road and enable use of roughly 1,000 acres "to be utilized for economic development in the future," and that improving truck access to the parcels is central to making the land marketable.
Board members asked how many jobs the project might produce. The departments representative said the expectation is "potentially hundreds of jobs" given multiple large developable sites. Representative Stewart asked whether the funding is a grant or a loan; a department representative said program guidelines provide for "part grant, part forgivable loan, subject to 0% interest," and that historically the department has worked toward an approximately 50/50 split between grant and loan depending on local contribution and site conditions.
The department described the forgivability criteria: securing an end user in one of JobsOhios 10 targeted sectors and meeting a wage threshold (the end-users median wage at least 125% of the community median wage). The representative said the goal is for the loan portion ultimately to be forgiven if the forgivability conditions are met.
Several members said they want better advance communication about All Ohio Futures awards and the pipeline of projects. The department told the board it has a pipeline of project interest totaling more than $1 billion and expects $500 million to $600 million of potential projects to advance in the coming months; staff offered to provide a geographic map of pipeline sites.
After discussion, the board approved the item. Members indicated they will pursue improved legislative briefings about the program and the split of loan and grant funds before future approvals.
