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Controlling Board approves All Ohio Future Fund award for Trumbull County access road; lawmakers press for clearer briefings
Summary
The board approved item 25 on April 7 to support an access road and related work near Warren in Trumbull County intended to open about 1,000 acres for future economic development. Lawmakers questioned how the All Ohio Future Fund determines grant-versus-loan mixes and said they need better pre-approval briefings about projects.
The State Controlling Board on April 7 approved item 25, a Development Department submittal to support an access road and related infrastructure on about 1,000 acres on the outskirts of the city of Warren in Trumbull County.
Board members and department staff described the project as intended to provide truck access to a large parcel now limited by routing through the city, which the department said will enable future industrial or commercial development on multiple large sites. A department representative said the access 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 sought clarity on whether awards from the All Ohio Future Fund are grants or loans. The Development Department staff told the board the program’s awards are “in part as a grant and in part as a forgivable loan, subject to 0% interest,” and that the agency generally negotiates the percentage of loan versus grant after board approval based on community contribution and site needs; staff said they typically target about a 50/50 split. The department also described forgivability criteria used to convert loan dollars to grant: finding an end user on the site that falls within JobsOhio’s 10 targeted sectors and that the end user’s median wage meets at least 125% of the community median wage.
Representative Stewart also asked how communities or board members would know the loan/grant mix from the agenda; department staff said the controlling board submittal indicates funds will be issued partly as a grant and partly as a forgivable loan and that the final percentages are typically worked out after approval.
Several legislators said they have been surprised by allocations made from the All Ohio Future Fund and asked for more timely communication. Senator Ingram and Senator Cerino both said members of their chambers were not always aware of awards affecting their districts; Senator Cerino said she expects no additional All Ohio Future Fund items will be presented to the controlling board until communication issues are resolved.
Department staff said the program has a large pipeline of proposals and that roughly $500,000,000 to $600,000,000 could move forward from that pipeline in the coming months.
The board approved the item after discussion. Several legislators asked staff to provide additional briefing materials and geographic breakdowns of pipeline proposals in follow-up.
