Damaged sections of Grandview to be removed

Dr. Bill Dingus, executive director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, told the LEDC executive committee during its regular meeting on Tuesday morning that the organization is “officially moving forward” with their plans to demolish parts of the Grandview Inn.

Dingus explained that demolition work will be done on sections of the building that have been boarded up since damage in a fire, and other freestanding buildings on the property.

LEDC is also moving forward with repairs to the roof of the restaurant building.

Though the group is no longer operating the location as a motel, meaning that the Grandview staff has been let go, Dingus said that they have placed most of the staff in other positions.

The committee approved a motion to pursue grant assistance for the demolition costs, and Dingus noted that they are already working with the Lawrence County Commissioners to begin the demolition process.

In other action, Dingus noted that the agreement with Green EnviroTech Holdings on the Dow Property was “moving along quite well,” and that he was “working toward” getting the property there fully utilized. GETH produces carbon black, a raw material used in a number of applications, from automobiles to food packaging to electronics.

During recent Legislative Day events in Columbus, Dingus said that he felt carbon related industries could be a significant economic contributor in the near future.

“We believe the future of the country is in carbon fibers,” Dingus told the Legislative Day economic development panel. “We want to move into the research of this. We really see carbon fibers as one of the better things we should be working on.”

In other action, the LEDC executive committee:

• Approved moving forward with a recommendation to allow an interested party to pursue financing for the trailer court property.

• Approved pursuing a $1.5 million credit line for action on the old engineer’s property, with $900,000 to go toward paying off the property and partnering with the CAO on the project.

• Tentatively set their next, semi-annual board meeting for June 8, at 11 a.m., followed by lunch and the groundbreaking for the new Harbison-Walker monolithics refractory site.

• Approve applications for grants, in the $10,000 to $25,000 range, from the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth and American Electric Power.

Dingus also discussed the recent town hall meeting conducted by Ironton Mayor Katrina Keith, noting that if the EPA freezes new building permits for non-compliance on wastewater treatment issues, it could negatively impact the recent growth that has been occurring in Ironton.