WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — The Fayette County Commissioners recently entered into an agreement with the State of Ohio that authorizes $6.2 million in Roadwork Development Grant funding to support roadwork improvements to Bluegrass Boulevard in Jefferson Township.
Improvements to Bluegrass Boulevard will support economic development in Jefferson Township, including Fayette County’s industrial park — home to the site of the new LGES/Honda electric battery facility announced in October 2022. Grant funds will support the construction of approximately one mile of new roadway with a roundabout and a 60-foot span bridge.
This funding was originally announced in August by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
“This work is critical to current and future infrastructure needs in Fayette County,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Department of Development. “As we create jobs and opportunities in our communities, we’re also supporting the infrastructure needed for this growth.”
The new joint venture facility — located at the Fayette County mega-site at the I-71/US 35 intersection — is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, with an annual production capacity of approximately 40GWh. The joint venture aims to start mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries in 2025, to be supplied exclusively to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.
Honda plans to start selling models built on its own EV underpinnings starting in 2026, but it will also continue to co-develop affordable EVs with GM, to be built by Honda, according to a news release. The Japanese automaker plans to introduce 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2030, with plans to sell all zero-emission automobiles by 2040.
The agreement between the county and state is from Aug. 8, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2026.
In other county business:
– The county commissioners moved to adopt a formula proposed by the Fayette County Budget Commission (for one year) to distribute local government and local government revenue assistance funds for calendar year 2024. The breakdown is as follows:
Fayette County — 37.04%
City of Washington Court House — 45.75%
Village of Bloomingburg — 2.63%
Village of Jeffersonville — 3.75%
Village of Milledgeville — .75%
Village of Octa — .08%
Townships — 10% divided by 10
– The commissioners entered into a three-year participating agreement with the County Employees Benefit Consortium of Ohio, Inc. (CEBCO) to assist the county in controlling employee benefit plan cost. The effective date of the agreement is Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2026.
– The commissioners entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Fayette County Board of Elections and the Department of Administrative Services concerning the purchase of selected electronic pollbooks and any necessary equipment. The Board of Elections is responsible for 15% of the purchase costs of those pollbooks as determined by the Department of Administrative Services and the Secretary of State.
