Xenia officials seek input on funding for land study

Xenia officials will hold a public meeting today, June 29, to collect input from residents on a city funding request that would help pay for a study that could help determine future development possibilities for the Hooven & Allison Co. industrial site on Cincinnati Avenue.

The city will ask for more than $282,000 in Clean Up Ohio Assistance Fund dollars for studies to see if the 21-acre site is contaminated, and if so, to what extent. Steve Brodsky, executive director of the Xenia Economic Growth Corp., has worked with city officials and site owners to determine future uses for the property.

Before any development, environmental issues and any needed cleanup must be addressed, Brodsky said. The public meeting will end the required 45-day period for public input on the city’s application. An application copy is on file at the Greene County Public Library in Xenia, Brodsky said.

All these steps are needed to see if the complex is viable for future development. Initial studies of the site found possible asbestos issues, as well as 14 underground storage tanks containing unknown material. Officials believe the tanks contain oil or another lubricant.

Xenia City Council members authorized City Manager Jim Percival to apply for the funding in February, but delays at the state level halted the process. Comments collected from now up to today’s meeting will be considered. The city plans to file the application in early July, Brodsky said.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, second floor, at Xenia City Hall.

Hooven & Allison, a rope manufacturing company, opened in 1869. The firm went bankrupt and the site was sold at a tax sale in 2005 to National Land Developers, LLC, of New Carlisle.

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