Crain's Cleveland Business (subscription required) reports that two programs, the Clean Ohio Fund and the Job Ready Sites program, will lose their funding source with the implementation of JobsOhio. The Clean Ohio Fund is a grant program created by the State to help cover or portion of the cost of cleaning up chemically contaminated land or vacant, asbestos-filled buildings for demolition or redevelopment and job creation. The Ohio Job Ready Sites Program is a competitive grant program targeted to offset costs traditionally incurred in speculative commercial and industrial development to accelerate investment decisions and to maximize the development potential of each property. Currently, both programs are funded with bond proceeds issued against the State of Ohio’s liquor franchise. The Kasich Administration plans to repurpose the state's liquor franchise revenue stream to provide a sustainable funding source to operate JobsOhio.
Furthermore, both JobsOhio and the Third Frontier Commission are transitioning toward loans and away from grants for a number of programs. Proponents of this change say that applicants will "be more discerning about what they propose when they're on the hook to pay the money back," the article said. Opponents say that grants not only reduce the cost to property owners of redevelopment, but also "help cities compete against areas with environmentally cleaner properties or undeveloped land for companies looking for places for new factories or office space."
Authorization for the Job Ready Sites program is set to expire December 31, 2011. Some theorize that the Clean Ohio Fund may end June 30, 2012, the date when grant awardees' will be announced for the current funding round for which communities are currently applying. Stay tuned…
