Progress reported on land bank's Building Demolition & Site Revitalization, Brownfield Remediation projects

Members of the Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank) board received updates on the progress of properties being cleaned up with state grant funding during their Thursday, April 17 meeting.

The meeting was held at Southern State Community College due to renovations to their usual meeting place, the Highland County Administration Building. Land bank board member David Daniels, who served as president in the absence of the board president and vice president, said the board will continue to meet at SSCC “for the better part of the year.”

Land bank coordinator Jason Johansen provided an update on asbestos work on several properties under the Building Demolition & Site Revitalization Grant program and its financial impact.

At Johansen’s recommendation, the board agreed in March to award an asbestos abatement contract for 644 North West Street in Hillsboro to the lowest bidder, Rainbow Environmental Services, in the amount of $1,954.
 
As discussed in March, there were six other parcels that were also rebid, as Johansen said it was determined three did not have asbestos. Johansen listed those structures (6950 Pence Rd. and 4506 Sharpsville Rd., Hillsboro, and 13535 U.S. 50, Bainbridge) in a new bid package (package A) along with the aforementioned 644 North West St., which will be done after asbestos abatement. That package was awarded to Banks Construction in the amount of $30,000.

One other property, 937 North High Street, is “still a hot demo” and was listed separately in a second bid package (package B). Its demolition was awarded to Evans Landscaping in the amount of $19,250.

“By rebidding these five structures, we did save $45,096,” Johansen said. “Rainbow Environmental has completed their asbestos abatement at 644 North West Street, and the demolition contractor, Banks Construction, is able to now get started.”

For an update on the remaining projects being cleaned up using the building demolition grant funding, Johansen reminded the public that all but one of those properties are privately owned, as he said he is receiving calls from interested buyers.

“We only own the 222 McClain Avenue in Greenfield in that program, and if you want to purchase a property that is not in the name of the land bank, you would have to go through the property owner,” Johansen said. “The land bank has no involvement in any sales of any properties that we’re demolishing except the 222 McClain Avenue in Greenfield.”

Environmental consultant Matt Wagner of TetraTech gave the first update in several months on the former Rocky Fork Truck Stop. Initial work, including the removal of underground storage tanks, was done on the project using the first round of the state’s Brownfield Remediation program. In December, the land bank was awarded another $497,522 for “BUSTR corrective actions, including remedial action, tier 2 evaluations, model calibration and well abandonment,” according to the state.

“We're going to do a full round of groundwater sampling just to verify vertical and horizontal extent of the groundwater impact, and then based on that, we're going to develop the remedial action plan to address the cleanup,” Wagner said Thursday. “I know that there is some work that we're going to be doing on the other side of [U.S. Route] 50 as well, so it's migrated a little bit to the east, and that's what we're evaluating.”

Johansen also reported on the other projects funded through the state’s Brownfield Remediation Program. As discussed by Johansen at the land bank’s March meeting, at least one underground storage tank was located on the East Monroe property in Leesburg, and he told the board Thursday that “it is scheduled to be removed on May 7.”

Three underground storage tanks were identified at the former machine shop in Greenfield.
 
“Drilling for soil samples was performed, and contamination was found in one boring near the former gas dispenser island,” Johansen said. “TetraTech is on site today collecting groundwater samples from the monitoring wells that were put in.

“The tanks were filled in and closed in place, and TetraTech is evaluating the next steps of the assessment phase.”

Johansen said that TetraTech is also “evaluating the next steps” after “contamination running south of the property” was found at the former gas station in Hillsboro.

“A phase two property assessment and the BUSTR [Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations] report are being prepared,” Johansen said.

Johansen told the board he has not heard anything from the state on the former Bell’s Foundry, for which the HCLRC has applied but not yet been awarded an additional grant.

In other grant news, Wagner reported that the state has indicated interest in including funding for the two programs — the Building Demolition & Site Revitalization and Brownfield Remediation grants — in a third straight biennial budget.

“Initially the statewide budget did not have any additional funding for revitalization or brownfields,” Wagner said. “Many folks, maybe some in this room, actually sent letters and talked to their congressmen, so thank you, if you did. I went up and testified up at the Statehouse to show the return on investment of taxpayer dollars, and I only asked for $150 million. The House passed the budget that included $250 million, which included brownfields and revitalization.”

Wagner added that the Ohio Land Bank Association has proposed an even higher number of $350 million and that the budget is now being considered by the Senate.

“[The Ohio Land Bank Association is] wanting some administrative modifications,” Wagner said. “They don't like the ‘first come, first serve.’ They don't feel that's fair. It favors the bigger cities that have big, robust administrative staffs, that they could have six people on a computer at the same time and entering six different projects, where poor Jason's got to enter in three by himself.

“The other big part of that is they would like to see the set-asides, again, for each county, so that's the million-dollar set-aside with no match requirement for the land banks.”

In other state budget discussion, legal counsel Todd Book said there is also a proposed change to the administration of Welcome Home Ohio funding, “which was the money that was specifically targeted to land banks to do rehab work.

“That has now been expanded into other entities, not just the land banks, but other nonprofits in the community,” Book said. “We'll see how that all plays out.

“We still have the Senate process to go through, and historically, the Senate has been more supportive of these programs than the House, so there is an opportunity that those numbers could go up.”

In other discussion:

• Johansen announced that the expedited foreclosure process for 11470 Spruance Road in Marshall Township, which was submitted to the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office last spring, has been completed. According to Johansen, the parcel was the site of “a former gas station that turned into a convenience store for a little bit.

“We should have the deed any day now,” Johansen said. “This property is a potential brownfield, and we will need a phase one environmental assessment to see if the tanks are still underground, see if there's any contamination at that site. It's a nine-acre parcel out in Marshall Township.

“Terry [Britton, land bank board president and Highland County commissioner] and I did attend the Marshall Township trustee meeting on Monday night to discuss the potential opportunities for the property. I told them that we don't have a time frame for the disposition process, and we would need to see the results of the environmental work. They would like to to be updated on the ongoing work, what our intentions are for the property, how we plan to sell, when we plan to sell, things of that sort.”

Johansen said the property currently has “tires everywhere, abandoned buildings” and cinder blocks and septic tank pipes from trailers formerly abandoned on the land.
 
“It's going to need a lot of brush clearing,” he said. “I mean, it's nine acres of straight brush, except the pond that's in the middle. It’s going to need quite a bit of work.”

Next in line for expedited foreclosure is 11410 Cathy’s Court in Paint Township, Johansen said, which involves a “burnt-out structure.

“It's a health and safety hazard, very overgrown, $38,000 tax delinquent,” Johansen said. “There is very heavy interest from the neighbors on each side of the property. It's a 1.5 acre lot.”

Johansen added that there is also a $166,500 mortgage on the property.    
• After accepting a bid in March for the sale of two adjoining parcels on Heather Moor Trail at Rocky Fork Lake that the HCLRC obtained via tax foreclosure and cleaned up, Johansen said that the property has officially sold.

“That deposit will show on the April statement,” he said.

Johansen asked the board if they wanted to discuss “a percentage possibly going back to the county when we do sell property” for property transactions in the future.

“That would kind of reimburse the county for the tax delinquency that's been wiped out through that expedited foreclosure,” Johansen said. “It was $33,000 that was was wiped in taxes, which, you know, we got it back into the tax base, that's the goal. But I think that it would be a good discussion to have.”

“The county should be reimbursed for some of it, but the land bank needs to have some of that funding to continue the work that they're doing,” Daniels said. “However we want to do it, whether it's by percentage or each individual property or how, I think that we do need to come to some kind of resolution about it, because obviously we've just sold a piece of property for $28,000. The debt that's been wiped out is owed to the taxpayers of the county, so we need to devise a plan or percentage, going forward.”

Johansen said he would “put something together” for the board to consider.

• After advising Johansen to seek bids for May through October lawn care services at HCLRC-owned properties during their March meeting, the board conducted a bid opening and voted to award a contract to Dan Butcher. The contractor also provided lawn care services for the land bank in 2024 and offered to continue at the same rate ($200 biweekly for four properties), coming in over $300 cheaper than the only other bid received.

In response to a question from board member Lauren Walker, Johansen said the bids were broken down “by service amount.

“We only have one property to mow in Samantha, but we have three more properties that should be coming up here this summer, so we should have four total,” Johansen said. “They're aware that as we sell, those get taken off.”

Book said, in answer to a question from Daniels, that the board has “the ability to add properties” to the contract in the event they acquire additional land.

• The board approved the financial report as presented by Johansen. Johansen reported a beginning balance of $391,241.19 and ending balance of $356,944.52 for March 2025.
Also approved was a request by Johansen to pay a list of unpaid bills, which included invoices for advertising, legal fees, rent, Johansen’s salary and stamps as well as a credit card bill for upcoming conference expenses.

• Johansen noted that he would be at the Ohio Land Bank Conference April 23-25; the Ohio Statehouse April 28; and the Ohio Brownfields Conference May 8.   

• Book said he had a meeting scheduled with NAR Ohio, Inc. to continue discussions on acquiring tax lien certificates.

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