ONTARIO — City Council passed legislation unanimously Wednesday allowing Mayor Randy Hutchinson to seek advice from the United States Environmental Protection Agency about Ontario Commerce Park.
The legislation authorizes Hutchinson to accept a technical assistance grant from the EPA which will provide advice on how to most effectively clean the site and help the city to develop a marketing plan.
“We don’t receive any money. We don’t receive any product, and they don’t give you any money for infrastructure. It’s basically advice and a marketing plan,” Hutchinson said.
Still, he thinks the city’s participation will be beneficial for the former General Motors property, located along West Fourth Street and Stumbo Road. The mayor said it could help to identify funding needs for infrastructure and other site improvements and guide the city towards its next steps.
At a personnel committee meeting in April, Ontario officials discussed hiring an additional full-time employee and a temporary one to clean up the remainder of the Ontario Commerce Park this summer. Hutchinson theorized that it could be less expensive to hire help than to pay a company to clean up the property’s interior.
Prior to council, at an economic development committee meeting, Hutchinson was encouraged to bring back estimates to run sewer lines to a portion of the General Motors property. Several members of council thought this should be taken into consideration before determining what to do with the property’s nearly 40,000 square-foot “press prep building,” which was once used by GM for stamping preparation.
Read more about Ontario City Council’s discussions on bringing utilities to Ontario Commerce Park here.
