By Kimberly Pistone
For the Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY – The Shelby County Land Reutilization Corp. (Land Bank) discussed the Wagner demolition at a meeting on Nov. 21.
Phase I of the Wagner Building demolition is on track to be completed by the end of December 2023. All windows have been removed and properly disposed with EPA reports confirming. Every day the demolition subcontractor is removing between 15 and 18 truckloads of material. The majority of the asbestos has been removed. Some of the concrete that needs to be removed is in the CSX railroad right-of-way, and CSX is charging the Land Bank an additional $56,000 to have their inspection crew on-site. This should be reimbursed by the grant.
Once Phase I is complete, there will be additional EPA inspections before bidding for Phase II can commence. Phase II is required because of the previous partial collapse of the buildings. Phase II will include final clean up, soil samples and remediation, as well as the final grade of the land.
According to Director Doug Ahler’s report, the Land Bank has acquired a total of 116 units, of which 80 have been demolished and 74 have been disposed of using various means. There are currently three properties in foreclosure, two in Sidney and one in Port Jefferson. There is one property in Sidney ready to be demolished, but the Land Bank is waiting for monies to become available to do so. There were no new donations of properties in October or November.
There are additional grant monies available in 2024 for a maximum of $500,000 for each county in Ohio. The board is getting details and preparing to apply. Also, there will likely be a $1,000,000 brownfield grant available in 2024.
The Land Bank continues to work with Ohio Land Bank Association to locate additional funding for future needs. The current balance is $589,176.64, with a loan of $200,000 from the Shelby County Commissioners which is due Dec. 31.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ meeting room.
