County commissioners voted Thursday to write a letter to state officials urging approval of grant monies for water service to the South Point industrial complex.

Friday, March 24, 2000

County commissioners voted Thursday to write a letter to state officials urging approval of grant monies for water service to the South Point industrial complex.

The Lawrence Economic Development Corporation has applied for a $300,000 Urban and Rural Development Grant to provide water to the 504-acre site, LEDC executive director Pat Clonch told commissioners.

The LEDC is developing the property, which is key to the federal 10-year, $100 million Empowerment Zone grant project.

The site features river, road and rail access, with more than a mile of property fronting U.S. 52 and 4,700 feet of riverfront.

Experts have estimated that a site of such size and access could attract industries that will create as many as 7,200 jobs, Mrs. Clonch said.

"The big need is to get potable water there," she said.

The grant will help the LEDC connect the site to the Village of South Point water system but the commission must sign off on the idea, Mrs. Clonch said.

"We need a letter that states we are not competing with another county industrial project," she said.

Commissioners said they wanted to see the project continue, then voted to send the letter.

Meanwhile, South Point officials and Perry Township trustees are continuing talks about the site’s annexation into the village.

Commissioners challenged the two governments to work out a revenue-sharing arrangement when property owners requested village annexation earlier this year.

That process is moving forward, commissioners said.

"They were able to negotiate their position and it worked out to everybody’s best interest," Mrs. Clonch said.

In other action, commissioners:

– Approved changing county offices’ paging and long distance service to Ram Page/Unity Communications to save the county $2,000 per year.

– Referred to the county engineer a request to lower the speed limit on County Road 123 and to install "children playing" signs on Edgerton Hill.

– Heard a report from county apiary inspector Ernest Webb, who said there have been no indications of major disease in the county’s bee population.

Webb also reminded commissioners that all beekeepers must register their bees for inspection. Registration fee is $5 per bee yard per year.

– Voted to send a letter to the Ohio Department of Human Services, state representatives John Carey and Bill Ogg and state Sen. Mike Shoemaker, addressing concerns about the location of the new Children’s Center of Ohio juvenile residential treatment facility.