The Ohio Department of Development has announced the award of a $500,000 grant for sanitary sewer and natural gas line extensions in Henry Township, Southern Wood County, to the Northwestern Water and Sewer District.

This grant, under the Job Ready Site (JRS) program, will be used to further economic development in Henry Township, south of the existing CSX Northwest Ohio Intermodal Facility, two miles east of North Baltimore.

The Wood County Economic Development Commission has an option on 80 acres near the corner of Wingston Rd and State Route 18, which is the center of possible development for an area up to 1000 acres between North Baltimore and Hoytville.

“We are very excited about this,” Jerry Greiner, Executive Director of the Northwestern Water and Sewer District said. “This is our second JRS grant for the county. This is the 4^th and last round for this funding and this award was only 1 of 7 in the state. This grant will allow us to expand the capabilities of the site with sewer and gas for larger, additional economic development expected in the future.” (Water, electric, rail, fiber optic and easy access to Rt. 18 and I-75 already exists). “With 3 years to complete the work, we should have the balance of funding in place to build the projects and (hopefully) users ready to proceed,” Greiner said.

“The district’s application for this grant cites the $190 million investment made by CSX for the Intermodal Yard and adjacent improvements. Over 300 new jobs have been created by CSX," Greiner added.

This grant request was supported by Wood County Economic Development Commission, Wood County Commissioners, Henry Township Trustee, and the Wood County Port Authority.

The District is operated by a nine member Board of Trustees, in which three are appointed by the commissioners (John Cheney, William Hirzel, Alex Molner); three by the townships (John Ault, Melinda Kale, Lyle Schulte) and three by the municipalities (John Current, Adam Seibert, Leonard Michaels).


The 80 acre Job Ready Site is on the southeast corner of SR 18 and Wingston Road - across from the Main Entrance to the CSX Northwest Ohio Intermodal Rail Yard, two miles east of North Baltimore.


The gas, water and sanitary sewer lines all will run east from near Hoytville to the JRS site.