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WOODSFIELD -- Taylor Abbott, Monroe County treasurer and chairman of the county land bank, announced that 11 more structures will be demolished in Monroe County.
He said the project will use the remaining funds from the last round of work to remove blighted buildings. The county land bank previously received over $9 million in grants from the Ohio Department of Development.
Abbott said the county has received another $500,000 in grant funding, which will help tear down more buildings this year. He said the work will be completed by Raze International, a demolition company based in Shadyside, after it submitted the lowest bid at $138,517.
"Each county in the state is eligible to receive this money. If a county doesn't spend its allocation, it automatically goes back to the state, which will then award the funding to another county," Abbott explained.
"Ultimately, we can use this money here in Monroe County, or we can let it go back to the state and be spent in the exact same manner in another county," he continued. "Given that our county's taxpayers and residents have paid more than $316 million in severance taxes from oil and gas production over the last decade, I am a staunch supporter and advocate of having state tax dollars returned to us and reinvested here."
Throughout this month, Raze International is conducting environmental surveys on all of the properties to be razed.
"Once surveys and any needed environmental work are complete, demolitions will be scheduled," Abbott said.
Abbott said the contract with Raze International states that the buildings will be torn down in an "environmentally sound way."
"In compliance with state guidelines, property owners retain ownership provided they consent to the land bank's demolition of the structures. Additionally, for this round and future initiatives, the land bank mandates a 10% match from property owners. This contribution ensures ongoing projects' sustainability and complements potential future grant awards from the state, amplifying the impact of the allocated funds," Abbott noted.
All of the properties this round are privately owned.
"The individuals reach out to us and then we also work with other county officials to identify properties. Since we got this sorted, we put out information that if anyone has a property that would like to be considered, we ask them to contact us and we review it and it goes before the board for approval," he said.
Abbott said the buildings that will be demolished this round are located across the county including in the communities of Antioch, Beallsville, Clarington, Duffy, Hannibal, Graysville, Sardis, Stafford and Woodsfield.
"This multi-town approach underscores the land bank's commitment to widespread community development and improvement," he said.
Abbott said he hopes to have all demolition work completed by late winter or early spring this year.
"It's all pending on environmental surveys because some of these properties may have remediation that requires asbestos or lead getting removed. So that has to happen first before demolition. Until the environmental surveys are done and the contractor schedules, we really don't have a firm timeline yet, but it's going to be in the very near future," he said.
He noted that the land bank plans to tear down over 40 properties during the next round. Abbott said the land bank will be utilizing an additional $1.5 million in grant funding.
"As we look ahead at 2024, we are excited to continue cleaning up Monroe County, stabilizing property values and making our communities safer," Abbott said.
Abbott added that future phases of the project depend on state funding.
"Right now we're working with what we have presently. It sounds like the state is very interested in continuing this program at least another year, but that's subject to the legislature and whether they decide they want to do this again or not. So we're making the best use of this money now because it may eventually disappear," Abbott said.
Over the past two years, 35 properties were demolished along with the former Beallsville and Clarington schools and much of the former Ormet Corp site at the Long Ridge Energy terminal.
"We're going to continue working with landowners and commercial owners to continue cleaning up the county," Abbott said.
For more information about the project or to inquire about getting a property torn down, call the Monroe County Land Bank at 740-472-1521, email Abbott at taylor.abbott@monroecountyohio.com or visit the Monroe County Land Reutilization Corp.'s office, located in Room 21 of the county courthouse at 101 N. Main St., Woodsfield.