CCPA Helps Marathon Oil, CNX Gas Expand
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – The Columbiana County Port Authority took another step Monday in helping Marathon Oil Corp. build a transfer station for semi trucks to park as they await to transfer their cargos in the Wellsville Intermodal Facility to barges on the Ohio River.
It also amended its lease agreement with CNX Gas Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Consol Energy, allowing it to expand its offices in World Trade Park just outside Leetonia.
For Marathon, the board of the port authority authorized the purchase of three lots owned by Robert E. Culp just north of the Wellsville industrial park. Culp sold the lots Nov. 9 for $10.
These lots, along with seven adjacent village lots, make up 3.6 acres that the port authority will sell to Marathon for $2.4 million, the port authority to keep $1.8 million, Wellsville to receive $600,000.
Marathon will complete the purchase later this year or early next year, port authority CEO Tracy Drake said. Besides adding $600,000 to Wellsville’s coffers, the trucks traveling to the industrial park will not need to pass through municipal streets.
CNX expanded its offices in World Trade Park to 12,600 square feet from 10,000 square feet through the amended lease and will pay the port authority $252,200 in rent between Jan. 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014.
The port authority board authorized the expenditure of $99,500 to DeCerbo Construction Inc., Canfield, to repair that building because the Drivet applied to an outside wall has not held up as it was supposed to. The original contract followed the specifications, Drake said.
So a new wall of hardy panel siding with a 7-inch exposure will cover the Drivet, the DeCerbo contract says, new window flashings will be installed and union carpenters will caulk all perimeters as part of the repair work.
In repairs needed on the port authority headquarters, 1250 St. George St., the board authorized spending $92,000 to repair its north wall. As noted at last month’s board meeting, absent repair work, the wall was in danger of collapsing.
In its last resolution, the board transferred title of Summitville Tiles Inc., Summitville, to the Johnson family.
Before the state of Ohio amended its environmental remediation procedures, Summitville sought to obtain funding from Clean Ohio to clean up the site and reopen. With Clean Ohio absorbed by JobsOhio, more stringent -- and expensive -- standards were imposed that prohibit Summitville from proceeding. One condition of Clean Ohio was that only a public entity qualified. Hence the port authority was willing to be a straw man and would have transferred title back once the remediation was complete, Summitville incurring any expense not paid for by the Clean Ohio fund.
In his report, Drake said the Seaforth Minerals is looking to JobsOhio for cleanup funds before it proceeds with purchasing the three Parsons coal terminals in the Wellsville industrial park. Seaforth is looking for the port authority to pay for a Phase One analysis of the extent to which remediation might be required before it will proceed.
And Drake reported that after further review and discussion with Tervita, the port authority has returned $100,000 of the $150,000 earnest money the Canadian energy giant put down in April 2011 for the Youngstown & Southern Railroad.
Tervita claimed that it was concerned over environmental hazards undiscovered at the time it announced its intent to acquire the 36-mile short line that runs from Youngstown to Darlington, Pa.
And the chairman of the port authority marketing committee, Robert Johnson, reported the port authority's website, www.ccpa-ohioriver.com, has been revamped and “is up and running.”