Cincinnati will vote on support for Sara Lee cleanup

When it returns to work in September, Cincinnati City Council will consider a resolution supporting cleanup of the former Sara Lee facility in Camp Washington.

The 15.82-acre property at 3241 Spring Grove Avenue is owned by Hamilton County, who plans to assess and remediate the property to prepare it for redevelopment.

The county is seeking a Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) grant to perform a Phase II environmental site assessment of the property, which will allow them to develop a cost estimate and remediation plan.

The Ohio Department of Development, which administers the Clean Ohio program, requires a resolution of support from a project area's local jurisdiction for an application to be considered.

Sara Lee Food & Beverage announced the closure of the former Kahn's meat packing facility in 2006, eliminating nearly 350 jobs, with another approximately 100 jobs being transferred to a facility in Claryville, Kentucky.

In March 2007, the county accepted the site as a gift as a possible location for a new Hamilton County jail - a $3.8 million tax write-off for Sara Lee.

But a tax increase that would have funded the construction of a new jail was rejected in November 2007, the second tax failure in two years.