IDA reports Brownfields grant, new loan arm and Hydromech redevelopment plan
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Summary
The Allegany County IDA told the Planning and Economic Development Committee it received a $500,000 EPA Brownfields assessment grant, is launching the ACLDC to offer $30,000–$100,000 secondary loans, and is working with a developer to redevelop the former Hydromech plant in Scio with an eventual 30 jobs projected.
Melissa Pinjatore, Assistant Director at the Industrial Development Agency, told the committee the IDA produced an annual report and one‑page summaries of affiliated bodies and reviewed current projects.
Pinjatore said the IDA received a $500,000 Brownfields assessment grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has completed four Phase I studies; the grant will fund Phase II sampling on prioritized sites, starting with properties in Wellsville. "We have a half million dollar Brownfields grant through the EPA," Pinjatore said, noting an environmental consultant has been engaged and the IDA is coordinating with the county land bank for site work.
She updated members on a proposed redevelopment of the former Hydromech plant in Scio. The developer, based in Canada, shut down operations there in 2023 and is seeking to reconfigure the site for frozen foods and pastry production. Pinjatore said the application has been approved by the IDA board but faces site challenges; at full build‑out the project is expected to support about 30 jobs, starting with a single production line staffed by roughly 8–10 workers.
Pinjatore also described the recently formed Allegany County Local Development Corporation (ACLDC), which will provide secondary loans intended to fill a financing gap between federal CDBG and larger IDA incentive packages. "Our expectation is between $30,000 and $100,000," she said, adding that each loan application will require board approval and the ACLDC is designed to be lower in the capital stack.
Committee members asked whether asbestos in buildings qualifies as a brownfield; Pinjatore confirmed that building materials (walls, ceilings and floors) can make a site eligible for assessment, and clarified that the current EPA grant funds assessments (Phase I and moving toward Phase II sampling) rather than direct cleanup funds.
The IDA asked legislators for referrals of potential brownfield sites and said it maintains an inventory of nearly 200 candidate properties countywide. Pinjatore encouraged members to forward any properties they believe are redevelopable so the IDA can evaluate assessment eligibility.
The committee did not take separate formal action on the IDA report during the session; subsequent agenda items included contract and grant votes.
