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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Port Authority had a lengthy discussion with representatives from JSW Steel at Wednesday's meeting of the board of directors in relation to the company's work to modernize the facility in Mingo Junction.
One of the things discussed was the port authority being a bond conduit, with that process, the project and the broader picture of the company detailed by JSW Steel's reps.
Following the discussion, the board approved a reimbursement resolution, which Port Authority Executive Director Robert Naylor said is non-binding on both parties.
"It's essentially giving them our assurance at this time we would like to be a part of JSW and have them in our county and help them with what we could," Greg Nemeth, board chairman, said during the discussion.
According to Naylor, the resolution sets a date for tax-exempt financing should the board move forward with being a conduit issuer for $42 million in bonds, allowing JSW to go back 60 days from Wednesday to pay for expenses related to the project.
"Asking us to be the conduit issuer is a big deal for us because it gives us the opportunity to participate in (the project)," Naylor said.
Naylor said the action was required by the Internal Revenue Service code and accompanying regulations.
"They want to modernize the arc furnace and they want to modernize the arc furnace and modernize the caster line," Naylor said after the meeting, noting the electric arc furnace falls under the category of solid waste, which opens the door for the "funding mechanism."
"As the caster is made more efficient, it's going to allow them to operate more efficiently and also in a cleaner fashion for the environment," he said.
One thing that JSW Steel's reps talked about that excited Naylor was a potential increase in the company's workforce.
"The end game is the job creation," Naylor said. "They bought this facility in 2018, and it has been idle. If we can get an infusion of capital in there to get the modernization program done, what you have is the ability to put Jefferson County residents back to work and job creation, which is a win for everybody.
"This is exciting stuff, this is good news for Jefferson County."
Commissioner Dave Maple was in attendance and offered his personal nod of support for the project.
"I would be a strong reccomender of moving forward with this," Maple said. "I think this is one of the key reasons we put the port authority in place."
Mingo Junction Village Administrator Bob Smith thanked both the port authority and Maple for backing the project.
"It means a lot to the Village of Mingo," he said. "I think it will mean a lot to this valley to get this steel mill up and running."
(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)