A decision by the Springfield Twp. trustees not to participate in the infrastructure development at PrimeOhio II industrial park has put trustees and other development participants at odds.

On Sept. 8, all three trustees voted against participation in a $1.06 million federal Economic Development Administration grant to help cover costs of road construction and lighting at the site off Ridge Road.

According to Jim Scoby, trustees president, the reasons for the decision were that the township already had financial commitments to the existing PrimeOhio and that it needs to complete the township’s new $1.1 million fire station to be located on Tuttle Road.

But the sudden “no” vote against the project caught other players off-guard.

“We were shocked by this vote. We really need this kind of development to create jobs in this community,” said Mike McDorman, president of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce President and Community Improvement Corp. (CIC).

PrimeOhio II, a more-than $7 million project being developed by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the city of Springfield, will be located on three properties totaling 250 acres near the Clark County Fairgrounds.

The park will be located across from the original PrimeOhio Corporate Park and be bordered by Ridge Road, the existing rail line, Interstate 70 and Ohio 41.

At issue is $72,505, which is part of a $1.3 million federal Economic Development Administration grant to help cover costs of infrastructure construction at the site of PrimeOhio II.

Springfield Twp. trustees were recently asked by the Community Improvement Corp. to invest the money and become a financial partner in the development of PrimeOhio II, a new industrial park to be situated south of Interstate 70 from the Clark County Fairgrounds.

“We want to partner with the township in moving the community forward. The schools benefit and the community benefits from the new jobs created,” said Mike McDorman, president of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the CIC.

To the surprise and dismay of McDorman and other participants on Sept. 8, the three trustees voted against participation.

“This is a critical time period for infrastructure so when the economy picks back up, we’re ready to go. It will make us competitive,” McDorman said.

Trustees Jim Scoby and Tim Foley have said they do not oppose the development, but do not want to commit additional funds to PrimeOhio-related projects at this time.

“We continue to be involved with PrimeOhio and just this month have committed $50,000 for road improvements. ... We have every intention of being involved with PrimeOhio II in the future when we’re financially able,” Scoby said.

The township is also funding a $1.1 million fire station on Tuttle Road to be completed by 2010, which Foley said has to be a priority for the well-being of township residents.

While McDorman understands the trustees’ concern for their township residents, involved parties need to be “forward-looking about jobs and what that will do for the community,” he said.

PrimeOhio II could bring an estimated 1,000 jobs to the area, he said.

Another point of concern for trustees Scoby and Foley is their view that the CIC did not share enough information about the project.

Both men said they felt pressured to make a quick decision, a point with which CIC members disagree.

Township trustee Jeff Mayfield, who also participated in the Sept. 8 vote, did not return a call seeking comment.

According to records of meetings and phone calls provided to the News-Sun, CIC representative David Zak attended one trustees’ meetings in July and another on Aug. 11, presenting information on PrimeOhio II.

He then called the trustees Aug. 25, requesting to be placed on the next meeting’s agenda, but was asked to attend a meeting outside of the public trustees meeting.

The records indicate on Sept. 2, Zak, Al Wansing of the CIC, Commissioner Foley, township financial officer Herb Greer and township zoning officer Jeff Briner met to discuss specifics of the grant.

Additional information was requested by Briner and was provided Sept. 5. As a result of those discussions, no vote was expected before Sept. 22, according to Zak.

Development and finances

PrimeOhio II, a more than $7 million project being developed by the chamber and the city of Springfield, will be located on three properties totaling 250 acres near the Clark County Fairgrounds.

The park will be located across from the original PrimeOhio Corporate Park and be bordered by Ridge Road, the existing rail line, Interstate 70 and Ohio 41.

PrimeOhio II has been in the works for about two decades and all the necessary land is under option.

The Clark County GIS site lists existing zoning as Springfield Twp. I-2, or heavy industrial; the Crossroads comprehensive land use plan lists the area as mixed industrial.

The park would be governed by the Springfield Cooperative Economic Development Agreement which allows the city to annex undeveloped portions of the township in return for sharing income taxes from the jobs there back with the township.

Springfield Twp. has been the location for much of the county’s critical development over the years, McDorman said.

“They receive 12.5 percent of the income tax generated at PrimeOhio and would receive the same benefit from new jobs at PrimeOhio II. ... The township wins whether they participate financially or not,” he explained.

Between Nextedge Applied Research and Technology Park and PrimeOhio, the township receives about $160,000 per year, according to McDorman.

Over the past 25 or so years, he estimated the township has received a total of about $2.3 million in revenue from PrimeOhio.

The township has received other beneficial monetary infusions, including taxes from the estate of Harry Turner, benefactor of the Turner Foundation.

As of Aug. 31, the township had $6.12 million in the bank, according to Fiscal Officer Herb Greer.

The funds, however, are not all available for general use. The township’s unencumbered general fund balance — its only discretionary fund — as of Aug. 31 was $765,954.

In 2007, the township took in $3.28 million and had expenditures of $3.7 million; in 2008, the township took in $3.28 million and had expenditures of 3.2 million, Greer said.

More than money

Springfield Twp. has worked with the CIC on other projects, and during Scoby’s eight-year tenure, the experiences have sometimes been less than positive, he said. At the Sept. 8 meeting, Foley reminded attendees about a deal that fell through.

In 2008, he stated, the township agreed to partner with CIC for a paving project at PrimeOhio committing over $200,000 in good faith, but it became what he called “a last-minute panic pressure deal.”

The CIC approached the township about teaming for a more than $1 million Ohio Public Works Commission grant that would fund roadway and lighting improvements at PrimeOhio and road improvements on Highview Avenue.

“The day before the application review, the CIC called and said they didn’t have their share of the money,” Scoby recalled. “They asked the township to fund half of the CIC amount plus the $235,000 from the township. Because of the CIC’s failure to meet their commitment, the project fell apart.”

The CIC funds were to come from a grant incumbent upon the completion of another deal to bring a new business to the former O’Cedar building on Titus Road.

“When that deal did not materialize, we had to restructure the (OPWC grant),” McDorman said.

The CIC went back to its public partners to work on securing necessary funding; the city committed additional funds and the CIC committed what it had available.

“We felt this was a good compromise to get the project done,” McDorman said.

When drainage problems surfaced at PrimeOhio in 2003, the CIC approached township trustees to help.

“Due to inadequacies in design, there was extensive flooding at the park,” Scoby said. The township gave $236,000 in 2003 which the CIC held until work started on what became known as the Foray-Gray ditch project in 2007.

Work is still in progress and is expected to be completed in October.

Scoby and Foley dismiss the notion they are anti-development or are acting in retaliation.

“When you look at our history, we have been very giving. We have taken care of our residents, helped others and given to the CIC,” Scoby said. “I have to look at a situation holistically. Every decision is bigger than the money.”

Moving ahead

The EDA grant the township declined, which had a September deadline that has passed, would have brought $1.3 million to the PrimeOhio II project, 25 percent of which would have been matching funds from partners.

“The township has adversely impacted the possibilities. ... Another EDA grant can be applied for, but it would have a 50 percent match,” McDorman said.

That increases the matching amount to $703,000. Any EDA grant has to have support from every public entity that has jurisdiction, according to Zak, so if the township demonstrates lack of support, it is unlikely any EDA grant will find its way to the area.

If a grant does not come through, it will “greatly damage our ability to move forward with the project. We will be in a holding pattern,” McDorman said, “but I never say never. We’re going to find a way to get his done. We’re trying to find partners to bring jobs to the community.”