Multiple updates were given for a couple of grants programs at the monthly meeting Thursday of the Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank).

Concerning the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Grant program, the land bank board approved Jason Johansen, land bank coordinator, to begin the bidding process on 17 different properties for the leftover $77,000 from the first round of funding.

The 17 properties approved for that process are as follows: 9965 U.S. 62, Leesburg (Samantha), 6747 and 6749 Heather Moor Trail in Hillsboro, 140 E. North St. in Hillsboro, 142 N. Fairfield St. in Leesburg featuring one trailer, 167 Trenton St. in Hillsboro, 212 N. High St. in Hillsboro, 226 E. South St. in Hillsboro, 264 E. Beech St. in Hillsboro, 314 Bigelow St. in Hillsboro, 352 Johnson St. in Hillsboro featuring two trailers, 454 E. Walnut St. in Hillsboro, 464 E. Walnut St. in Hillsboro, 937 N. High St. in Hillsboro, 3479 Pleasant Rd. in Hillsboro, 5107 Washburn Rd. in Hillsboro featuring one trailer, 7377 Beechwood Rd. in Hillsboro and S.R. 138 in Sardinia – the tank at the old Buford school.

Johansen said they could do about four or five projects with the remaining pool of money, with the remaining properties to go toward the next round of funding coming in what he said was “looking like” the winter.

Todd Book, the land bank’s legal counsel, said the parcels at 6747 and 6749 Heather Moor Trail in Hillsboro should be priorities due to them being a “mess” and needing a lot of cleanup.

Book also said he and Johansen met with the village of Greenfield in August about some possible locations in the village that could be a part of the grant. He said the village talked about 239 and 245 Jefferson St. He said the village might want to do a transfer of property and fix them up.

Regarding the Brownfield Remediation Grant program, Matt Wagner, a certified professional at Tetra Tech, said the Rocky Fork Truck Stop remediation is still “ongoing.” He said there is currently groundwater impacts due to the problems there, with injections to be done to treat that groundwater. He also said that they’re currently determining whether or not the problems at the truck stop impacted the property to the east. He also said a drinking water well was found 110 feet under the truck stop and needed to be properly abandoned.

Johansen said that for other Brownfield projects, the old store in Petersburg was brought forward as a possibility. He said it’s being held up by two-by-fours and looks to be falling into the road. He said it’s being looked at as something to fix but Johansen said in his opinion it might be “best” for it to come down.

Another location that was brought forward was Emerson Electric, which Johansen said has no building on it.

He also said the East Monroe Mill project has been completely finalized, with the final report submitted.

Wagner informed the board about confirmed underground tanks on the road just off of the East Monroe Mill along the railroad tracks. He said that property access has already been confirmed, with the owners willing to work with the land bank.

Johansen said that multiple Highland County newspapers had already or were preparing to advertise the bids for the lawn care services at 229 E. South St., 622 S. East St. and 453 E. Main St., all in Hillsboro. He said there would then be another round of advertisements in mid-October. He said he was currently looking to contact possible companies that might want to receive bid packages.

Johansen said the contract for the lawn services would run from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, and all three properties would be awarded to the same contractor on a month-to-month basis in case one of them was sold and taken off the contract.

Book said he was in the process of compiling a forfeited land list. He said that if a tax foreclosed property doesn’t sell, it becomes a forfeited property owned by the state. He said he was working with the county auditor to create that list because, as a land bank, the entity was entitled to take ownership of any or all of those forfeited properties.

Johansen also gave updates on the following properties:

* The squatters at 6747 and 6749 Heather Moor Trail in Hillsboro have been sent another notice to leave the property, now having been sent a three-day notice and a 30-day notice. He said if they’re not out after that another notice would be sent, with Book saying after that the next step would be a forceful action in Hillsboro Municipal Court.

* The prices for the properties at 229 E. South St., 622 S. East St. and 453 E. Main St., all in Hillsboro, have all been lowered to $9,000 as the starting bid based on approval by the land bank board.

* Book said the owner of the old Belfast school at 2024 S.R. 73 in Hillsboro was looking to fix it up. He said the fixes have been on hold due to vandalism and broken windows. However, he also said the owner stated a phase one test was done around 10 years ago and brought back no contaminations. Terry Britton, president of the board of commissioners, said the owner’s plan was a remodel instead of a demolition.

* Neighbors of the property at 111410 Cathys Ct. in the Rocky Fork area are interested. However, the property has over $33,000 in delinquent taxes and the owner said they were only interested in helping the land bank if they got something back. He also said a title search was submitted for the property.

* For multiple properties on Taylor Street in Greenfield, Johansen said a cleanup was estimated at $26,000 but he hasn’t heard anything back from the family members. He said the properties are “definitely” blighted because the house is 12 feet off the road and can’t be seen, with the pond full of tires and “who knows what else?” Wagner said that due to the blight, maybe a letter to the health department about the properties needs to be addressed.

The land bank board approved a resolution and signed a letter to the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to appoint the land bank as the lead entity for the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization and Brownfield Remediation Grant programs.

The next meeting of the land bank isat 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, due to a scheduling conflict in October.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.