Photo Provided Some members of the coalition that successfully advocated for and supported creation of the Ohio River Commission of Ohio participated in a panel discussion in Cincinnati Thursday. From left are Robert Naylor, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority; Jesse Roush, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority; Monroe County Treasurer Taylor Abbott; Mike Paprocki, executive director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission; and Eric Thomas, executive director of the Central Ohio River Business Association.

CINCINNATI — Riverside development leaders from up and down the Ohio River considered the future of the recently approved Ohio River Commission of Ohio during a gathering last week.

Representatives from several agencies — including the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission and Jefferson County Port Authority — traveled to Cincinnati to attend the Central Ohio River Business Association’s winter meeting Thursday. Each agency had a hand in drafting legislation or advocating for ORCO.

Officials participated in a panel discussion centered around ORCO, a new office under the Ohio Department of Development aimed at promoting economic growth on the Ohio River.

Individuals not only recapped the years-long process to establish the commission but plotted out plans for the future, including commission appointment recommendations and regional collaboration.

Established through Senate Bill 54, ORCO received Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature Jan. 2 — the fruit of efforts from a coalition of river-concerned stakeholders dating back to 2019.

ORCO, which is modeled after the Ohio Rail Development Commission, would represent public and private interests on the Ohio River and assist stakeholders with leveraging available grant opportunities for the benefit of river industry, both commercial and recreational.

Participating as a panel guest Thursday was Mike Paprocki, executive director of BHJ. Paprocki, a charter member of the coalition that pushed for ORCO’s creation, said he’s been involved in the process since late 2017, and Thursday’s meeting with CORBA was a chance to reflect on “where we are and how far we’ve come.”

Also participating was Jesse Roush, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, Washington County’s economic development agency. Having entered his position in 2020, Roush inherited his predecessor’s involvement in the river coalition.

Notions of an official Ohio River commission pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic but resurfaced shortly after, Roush said. By then, he had enough experience to recognize the importance of such an initiative and contributed toward establishing language and drafting legislation that would become ORCO. Advocacy efforts ramped up in the ensuing years until the Ohio Legislature sent SB54 through.

Roush’s primary interest with ORCO is creating a greater voice for Ohio River interests and boosting its funding opportunities, which he believes are currently deficient.

Ohio’s only maritime funding mechanism, the Maritime Assistance Program, is “skewed very heavily toward the lakes,” Roush said, adding that’s indicative of broader underinvestment in rural parts of the state.

To be eligible for MAP funding, an area must be part of a federally designated opportunity zone, a stipulation that Roush said greatly limits spaces’ eligibility. Washington County, for example, has more than 50 miles of Ohio River frontage but less than 1 mile of an opportunity zone.

Created through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity zones are designations for lower-income areas, investment in which offers various tax benefits for the developer.

With ORCO’s new voice, Roush said, “My proponent testimony is going to be modifications to the Maritime Assistance Program. One simple edit would open it up to all Appalachian counties and all of the Ohio River. … It opens up our entire county and multiple large development sites once that gets changed. Then we’re competitive for the program and have development sites that could use that funding …”

Roush said the Ohio River is a “tremendous transportation asset” and “much larger economic driver than the lakes,” though it’s never had its one voice — Lake Erie, comparatively, benefits from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. ORCO’s establishment gives momentum to Ohio’s “marine highway,” setting the stage for investment, an increase in jobs and a larger tax base, he added.

What’s next for the nascent ORCO is two-fold: Funding and appointments.

ORCO’s staff and operations must be funded through DeWine’s biennium budget. Paprocki said word of that should arrive around late April or early May.

More imminently, designated officials are approaching their deadline to make appointments to ORCO. According to SB54, the nine-member commission must be composed of the state directors of development, transportation and natural resources — or their designees – as well as six individuals representing the general public: Three appointed by the president of the Ohio Senate and the rest appointed by the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

The appointments must be made no later than 60 days after SB54’s signing, placing the deadline at March 3.

Paprocki said the coalition has compiled a list of geographically diverse, recommended candidates, and that list has been submitted to different legislators.

Roush added that the list includes a mix of port authority officials and private port operators.

Robert Naylor ,executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority, spoke of the coalition’s hope that appointees would “possess the experience and understanding of marine cargo operations on the river and also understand the importance of the Ohio River as an economic generator for the state of Ohio and the region.”

Thursday’s discussions also involved river stakeholders’ long-term objectives, now that ORCO has been passed. The direction, according to Naylor, appears to be regionalization.

“Since we have the commission formed, let’s move forward (with) the Ohio River, which spans 10,000 miles, making it not only a statewide driver of commerce but a regional driver of commerce from the Mississippi River to the Port of New Orleans,” he said.

Roush credited CORBA and its executive director, Eric Thomas, for being incubators of the broader Ohio River movement and instrumental in overcoming hurdles to found ORCO.

CORBA — a trade association representing Ohio River-operating businesses in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana — is looking to expand its focus through the rest of Ohio, reaching Columbiana County, Roush said.

Paprocki said that vision extends to Pennsylvania and would include leaders from West Virginia.

The Jefferson County Port Authority Board of Directors approved joining CORBA in November.

Mahoning County Treasurer Taylor Abbott also participated on Thursday’s panel. Unable to attend were Penny Traina, executive director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, and Bill Dingus, executive director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corp.