Greene park tenant seeks defense work
WAYNESBURG – A previously announced tenant at EverGreene Technology Park is in the running for a defense contract that could bring a 50,000-square-foot building and as many as 200 jobs to the park, according to a development team. Leroy Kline, president of Delta Development Group, briefed the Greene County Industrial Development Authority board Wednesday morning on the efforts of R.J. Lee Group Inc. to secure a contract with the U.S. Air Force.
According to information from Kline, the company proposes to establish a central location for wear debris data, which is collected to determine the operating condition of engine components.
Mark Compton, principal for national accounts at Delta, said the work the contract would cover includes performance management and preventative maintenance on engines.
Kline said he has met with the staff of U.S. Rep. John Murtha, who has pledged his support to R.J. Lee to get the Air Force contract and with whom Delta is working to secure as much as $1 million for building construction. He said Murtha will play an important role in the park’s development, and the congressman should be in Greene County the week of Feb. 17 for a tour of EverGreene.
Murtha has requested information about the contract from the company before he meets with Air Force and R.J. Lee officials in early February to discuss the project.
The longtime lawmaker, who just began representing Greene County this year, has linked EverGreene with the contract. Consequently, R.J. Lee must locate the facility needed for the work outlined in the contract in the park, in exchange for Murtha’s help in getting the company the job, Compton said.
“We will discuss the level of criteria that have to be met to get the contract letted,” Compton said. “There’s a lot of due diligence that must be done to prepare for this meeting, but this marks a step forward.”
Compton encouraged the board to have the EverGreene site ready for Murtha’s visit by having stakes planted to show where the first building will be located and where the access road will travel.
Kline said the latest developments with R.J. Lee are a “change in direction” from earlier plans to house the company at EverGreene. He said the firm had looked at a recycling operation at the park, but the company president opted to make an additional investment at its facility in Minnesota.
“The only other competitor for this contract is outside the United States, so we feel good about where this is going,” he said. “Jack Murtha is clear about the funding, that it requires a commitment to the technology park.”
Joe Simatic, GCIDA board vice chairman, asked Compton and Kline about the type of facility that would be needed if R.J. Lee would receive the defense contract, because the company originally had intended to take as much as 5,000 square feet of the multi-tenant building planned for EverGreene.
“This is good news,” Simatic said. “We’ve been waiting for good news for quite some time.”
Compton said the contract work would require a building of at least 50,000 square feet. So, the R.J. Lee facility and the multi-tenant building – which would house Westmoreland County Community College center, the Greene County Vocational-Technical School and new offices for the industrial development authority – could be under construction simultaneously.
He stressed, however, that this proposal is far from a done deal.
“It is in the pipeline, and we hope to have all of the paperwork done by the end of January,” he said. “R.J. Lee needs that Air Force commitment to give to Congressman Murtha, who has tied this project to Greene County.”
Don Chappel, GCIDA executive director, said that engineer Kevin Doody submitted environmental plans for review and has filed a permit with the state Department of Environmental Protection. Chappel said while no dirt may be turned, the authority could hold a groundbreaking for infrastructure at EverGreene as early as next month.
GCIDA received $700,000 from the state’s Infrastructure Development Program for water and sewer lines at the park and another $497,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission for construction of the access road.
Chappel said Delta is working with state Rep. H. William DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) and state Sen. J. Barry Stout (D-Bentleyville) to obtain $100,000 in community revitalization grant money for park development.
Meanwhile, Kline said the Pittsburgh Technology Council is planning to host an event this spring at Waynesburg College to showcase the park and encourage people from a four-county area to consider locating their business there.
In other business, the board voted to give 26 employees in the child-care program 50-cent hourly raises after the completion of their probationary period. Bert Menhart, special projects coordinator, said enrollment is growing in both the child-care program and the adult education classes.
He said the county will submit a grant application this month to several foundations to continue funding for the program. The county also will apply to the state Department of Community and Economic Development to expand the child-care program to morning and early afternoon hours to provide more opportunity for residents.
The board also approved an extension of the agreement with Mather Recovery Systems to reclaim the Crucible mine gob pile. Chappel said he, the county commissioners, chief clerk Gene Lee and parks and recreation director J. Allen Blaker toured the site last week and reviewed what MRS can do to improve the site. The agreement with MRS will expire Dec. 31.