WOODSFIELD – Monroe County committed up to $450,000 for an upcoming port authority project that could create more than a dozen permanent full-time jobs once it’s complete.

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners discussed the Monroe County Port Authority Powhatan No. 7 project during Monday’s weekly meeting. The port authority is hoping to secure grant funding for the majority of the project, which includes the repair and replacement of eight of the 12 barge cells located along the Ohio River at Powhatan Point. The project is estimated to cost around $3 million.

Commissioner Carl Davis said the board of commissioners had a teleconference with Jason Hamman, economic development consultant with Hamman Consulting, to discuss using some of the revenue generated from the Payment in Lieu of Tax, or PILOT, program to help fund a portion of the project.

“The port authority has applied for some grants for the Powhatan No. 7 project, and we committed some future money toward repaying a loan,” Davis said. “They (port authority) are wanting to work on some of the barge cells and to put an access road into the property.”

The county’s committed funds will come from the PILOT program, which is expected to generate $10 million for the county through payments from the Long Ridge Energy Terminal’s natural gas power plant that is under construction at Hannibal.

“The power plant that is being built at the former Ormet Aluminum plant, they had a tax agreement. Instead of paying the normal property tax, they signed a PILOT agreement with the county that over a period of 15 years they would pay to the county, the school districts and the township a total of $10 million. This $30,000 (per year for up to 15 years) that we’ve committed is actually out of the county’s share of the PILOT money,” Davis said.

Commissioners committed around $30,000 per year for up to 15 years from the PILOT funds to aid with repayment of a loan for the project.

Davis said the project will help to increase barge fleeting capacity and create around 15 full-time jobs once the cell repairs and replacements are completed.

However, Davis said the project hinges on whether the port authority is successful in obtaining the necessary grant funding to complete the project. The port authority is hoping to obtain a $1,515,725 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Maritime Assistance Program. The awards will be announced in October.

The port authority already has obtained some of the project’s funding, including:

– A $1,162,580 loan from Woodsfield Bank’s Rural Industrial Park Loan (60 percent forgiven, 40 percent loan);

– A $50,000 grant through Borghese Lane LLC;

– A $303,145 through the port authority’s match.

As of yet, there is no set date for the project to get underway.

In other county news, Commissioners Mick Schumacher, Tim Price and Davis met with Ron Mattox, director for Woolpert Inc., an engineering company hired by the county to aid in the Knowlton Covered Bridge rehabilitation project.

Commissioners, along with Mattox, went to the collapsed bridge’s location in order to salvage materials for the planned reconstruction. The historic bridge collapsed last summer due to bouts of harsh weather in combination with its deteriorating condition.

Davis said the bridge’s redesign is almost complete.

“There’s a possibility the project could go out to bid this fall,” he said.

Officials are hoping to begin the bridge rehabilitation and restoration next spring.