For Sale: More than 330 acres of county land surrounding regional airport awaiting sealed bids

Lorain County has listed more than 330 acres of unused property at the county Regional Airport in New Russia Township for public sale. The asking price in the sealed bid sale ending Nov. 4 is $70,000 per acre, according to a public notice published Wednesday. Twelve parcels totaling 337.49 acres are up for bid. The smallest is 0.41 acres and the largest is 82.37 acres. Bid packets for prospective buyers can be found www.loraincountyohio.gov/bids.aspx. The final balance is due to the winning bidder within 30 days of sale, with the property sold "as-is" and the buyer responsible for all costs, the notice read. All bids must be received by 2 p.m. Nov. 4 and will be opened immediately after in meeting room A on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, 226 Middle Ave., Elyria. The county said any questions should be directed to Fiscal Administrator Jessica Burns at jburns@loraincounty.us. The airport, which is at 44050 Russia Road and is open 24 hours a day, is owned by the county. It has a board of directors and is managed by MRK Aviation. The airport will continue to operate after the sale and may even get a long-awaited and necessary expansion, commissioners said at their meeting Tuesday. The county won't get to keep all the money it makes from the sale of the land, Commissioner David Moore said. Upon releasing the land for sale, the Federal Aviation Administration requires that about $19,000 per acre must be reinvested into the airport, Moore said. "We'll be debating that down the road," he said. Still, by Moore's estimation, the county could get close to $17 million from the sale of the land to help shore up its finances or for economic development. Moore said the county has needed to expand the runway and the airport for years, and hangars there are in disrepair. "That debate will be coming once the property sells," he said, "and we'll be able to reinvest in those hangars because they need to be fixed up." He said approximately 160 acres south of the airport, at its front, can still be used for industrial development. With the sale of some airport property and the sale of the Midway Mall property in Elyria closing in the coming months, "maybe we can plug some shortcomings in the budget," Moore said. The announcement came as the county deals with shortfalls in its general fund. Commissioner Marty Gallagher said county commissioners and government shouldn't be in the business of owning real estate. The land was earmarked for the expansion of the airport, he said. "It's a potential increase in revenue for us," Gallagher said. "We are going to be getting rid of properties we're not using." Commissioner Jeff Riddell agreed. "The plan for the airport land is not a new plan" and has been in place since the 1960s, Riddell said. "We're gonna let the experts develop it," Moore said. Riddell is up for reelection and facing challengers Carolyn White, a Democrat, and Andrew Lipian, an independent write-in candidate, in the Nov. 3 election. Development in the area has met with public opposition. Residents in New Russia and surrounding townships have banded together to oppose rezoning for industrial and/or commercial purposes. New Russia Township trustees turned down a rezoning request for the so-called mega site in March. A planned commercial sewer project in western Lorain County, connecting a planned wastewater treatment plant in Vermilion with property surrounding the airport, also has proved unpopular. Commissioners have said the development is needed to increase the county's tax base. Lorain County has one of the four lowest sales tax rates in Ohio. Additionally, voters are increasingly reluctant to approve property tax increases, with rising inflation, utility rates, fuel costs and tariffs on imports affecting income and spending, they and elected officials have told The Chronicle-Telegram. Contact Dave O'Brien at 440-329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.