Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance allowing it to accept and appropriate a state grant for the cleanup of a portion of the Blue Ash Airport.
The nearly $1.1 million grant, disbursed through the Ohio Department of Development's Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund, will be used to remediate lead contaminated soil and to remove two underground storage tanks on a 7.5-acre portion of the 130 acres that Cincinnati sold to the City of Blue Ash in August 2007.
The ordinance also allows the City to allocate a 25 percent local match, or $375,000 in un-appropriated surplus funding, for cleanup costs not eligible under the state program.
A deadline for completing the land sale has been set for August 2011, but could be extended.
The City is still awaiting word from the Federal Aviation Administration on a $10 million grant that would allow it to reconfigure airport operations onto the site's remaining 98 acres.
Blue Ash hopes to begin a phased redevelopment of the site in 2012-2013, creating a new "central park" with such features as a performing arts and conference center, pedestrian mall, walking trails, and a golf course.
Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati, Blue Ash await CORF, FAA funds for airport (7/12/10)
Construction on Blue Ash's 'central park' unlikely until 2012-2013 (12/8/09)
Blue Ash Airport cleanup a go (10/29/08)
Cincinnati to create account for Blue Ash Airport cleanup (10/22/08)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Ordinance supports Blue Ash Airport cleanup
