Chillicothe, Ross County, & the Regional Economy — There is still no news out of Pixelle / H.I.G. on a possible buyer of the paper mill, as the “Pixelle Task Force” again met with the Ross County Commissioners.
As they convened on their regular date and time of 1:00 Monday, the 18-minute meeting remained in open session as members gave updates.
Team member Tammy Eallonardo, director of Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development, said that in a Monday morning conference call, their state partner JobsOhio “is in a holding pattern” with no information from the mill owner.
But she said they admitted that they have became aware of a new company in consideration for buying the mill…though they could not give the name because of a non-disclosure agreement. Eallonardo asked them if it was a manufacturer, liquidator, or developer – and she said they responded “we believe it to be a manufacturer.”
However, she said it is apparently not the manufacturer that the team was aware of being in talks to buy the paper mill (name also unreleased). Eallonardo said JobsOhio is reaching reach out to this new company to learn more about them and to offer support.
She also said there was a little negative news for the manufacturer that they assumed was working on a deal for the paper mill – she said that JobsOhio requested information from them about a week ago, but they did not respond, and the thought is that they have dropped out of the running.
Ross County Commissioner Glass commented that he assumes that H.I.G. / Pixelle are considering final bids in the back-and-forth following the July deadline for offers to buy.
Eallonardo noted that this is a private business and that everyone is at the mercy of the owner’s timeline, and that “everyone is still in the dark, everyone is still waiting on H.I.G. to share information.”
Jody Walker, Executive Director of South Central Ohio Job & Family Services, said there are probably at least two more layoffs of remaining Pixelle staff, leaving a skeleton crew for maintenance. He said 50 to 60 employees remain now, and expects 15 layoffs in the next round…then 20 to 30…leaving less than 20 at the end of September.
Walker said 222 people went through the resource center last week in the Main Library Annex. By 9:00 that morning they had 22 more people going through.
He said state unemployment services visits on Mondays because that is the heaviest day for the foreseeable future. But he said he is working on having them here virtually, through Teams or Zoom.
Currently, the “resource hub” is open 9 to 4 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Walker said it will remain there, behind the Paint Street library – closer to the mill – through the end of the month and maybe into October…then transition to the permanent jobs center in the Ross County Service Center.
He said they are keeping the website “Scioto Valley Forward” updated on the hub’s status.
Walker said they are still waiting for final authorization of an additional National Emergency Grant: $2M for three years. Once it is approved, they will roll out job trainings. The representative of U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno said he will let his boss know if he needs to nudge the Department of Labor along.
Ryan Scribner, on a video call from the consulting firm Montrose Group, said they are working on the potential of brownfield remediation. He said they are in a state of readiness for whatever the next phase looks like.
Scribner said they were getting organized around potential use of Ross County’s allocation of brownfield and demolition funds – and have a good list of questions to ask of any potential new owner, whether manufacturer, developer, or scrapper.
They now know more about the site and area around it than they have ever known, from several standpoints: engineering, utilities, and the existing condition of the grounds in and around the paper mill.
But he said the team has very little control over the deliberations that H.I.G. is going through…but they will be as ready as they can for what comes out.
Devon Shoemaker, Ross County Planner, said he is patiently waiting like everyone else on the team – but once they have information from Pixelle, he will free to get into specifics.
But that does not mean he is not planning for other strategic areas nearby, including existing condition reports and needs capacities. A specifically focused area, what he described as “a prime industrial innovation area,” is getting an analysis by American Structurepoint as part of the upcoming county strategic plan.
Since the city has its own plan, this area is outside the city limits – mostly on Eastern and Southern avenues – bounded by Douglas Avenue, US 23, Paint Creek, and the city limits around the paper mill.
Ross County Commissioner Jack Everson mentioned that the team had a conference call on Thursday with the Ohio EPA about the Wear-Ever groundwater pollution. He said the team asked questions and expressed concerns about the plume – how it has developed, potential movement – and were told that the EPA has been testing the plume.
Everson said the EPA appears to be doing a good job and is staying on top of that issue.
He said the plume overlaps with “Sub-Area 1” in the planning study, so planner Shoemaker gave the EPA a map for them to overlay and see if there might be future concerns.
Ross County Commissioner David Glass emphasized that the paper mill information is good to have, but it is all speculative. Eallonardo agreed, and said that this is hearsay – right now they have no concrete information, “but we are better prepared for any decision than I think we have been, for as long as I have been involved.”
Glass said that the time frame of the process for a possible sale is dwindling, but the team is waiting for things to happen so they can respond in an informed way.
Ross County Commissioner Oody Lowe said “sometimes we’re left in the dark, but we’re finding a little bit of light every once in a while.”
The team did not go into executive session.
