LISBON — A Wellsville riverfront terminal operator is the latest recipient of a state grant obtained through the Columbiana County Port Authority.
The port authority obtained a $300,000 grant on behalf of the Wellsville Terminals Co. to build a 100-feet by 100-feet warehouse and equipment to transport and store bulk and aggregate materials. The company is required to put up $300,000 of its own money, for a total project cost of $600,000.
“The new building and equipment will ultimately increase their capacity in off-loading materials from the river,” said port authority director Penny Traina, speaking during Monday’s board meeting.
The grant was obtained through the Ohio Maritime Assistance Program (MAP), a new program created by the state legislature in 2019 to specifically assist in commercial waterfront development.
Wellsville Terminals is the third local recipient of MAP money in as many months. In June, Traina announced two East Liverpool river terminal operators–the S.H. Bell Co. and Parsons Coal Co. — were awarded a combined $1.43 million in MAP grants through the efforts of the port authority. In both instances, the companies were required to put up money equal to the grant. S.H. Bell is using the grant to expand its dock by 200 feet, while the money awarded Parsons will be used to resurface its docks and add two front-end loaders.
Traina also reported their application for a federal Brownfield Assessment Grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fell several points shy of qualifying, so they are going to apply again for $600,000. The money would be used to assess seven abandon industrial (brownfield) sites in East Liverpool and three in Wellsville to determine if they can be cleaned up and redeveloped for future industrial use.
The port authority has obtained $3.7 million in grants over the past two years, including the $300,000 awarded for Wellsville Terminals. Traina said a large part of this money is from the federal Community Development Block Grant dollars awarded county commissioners every two years and other CDBG awards also obtained on behalf of commissioners by the port authority.
Another three grant applications totaling $1.3 million are pending, and the port authority is in the process of applying for three more grants in the amount of $2 million.
“We have a strong team, and COVID hasn’t stopped us … We may be small but we’re mighty,” she said of their two-person grant team.
