EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – When a Norfolk Southern train derailed in the village in February 2023, it required a huge, quick response from firefighters and police who battled the fiery crash and evacuated citizens nearby.
But if the derailment had happened less than a mile earlier, it could have destroyed most of East Palestine’s firefighting resources, which were housed in the main fire station on East Clark Street.
And because the police station is located on East Main Street, within the 1-mile radius for evacuation, dispatchers had to be temporarily relocated to nearby New Waterford.
The village now plans to move its public safety forces away from the railroad tracks. Last fall, it learned it had been awarded $15.8 million for the project from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Community Facilities Disaster Assistance program.
The plan is to build a new public safety forces complex on property the village bought in 2024 at 1132 N. Market St.
Mayor Trent Conaway said the complex will have the new fire department on one side, the police on the other and Village Hall in the center.
“We need to be a mile away for safety issues,” Conaway said, noting some residents are concerned about the move. “If you have a spill or something like that, the average [evacuation] space is 1 mile.”
Village Council on Monday authorized the finance director to set aside up to $5.2 million, the village’s matching share of federal grant money, for the construction of the new facility.
Conaway said the village must provide a 25% match to the $15.8 million, some of which is coming from other grant money, including a previously announced $1 million in state funding through the One Time Strategic Community Investment Fund. If necessary, the village could put some of its $22 million settlement with Norfolk Southern toward the match for the project.
Composed of two plots totaling 16.33 acres, the property and the new facility will give the village room to spread out. The complex will include a backup 911 dispatch center for Columbiana County and training space.
Conaway said the village is grateful to former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office, which helped start the process for the village to receive the USDA grant, and to Vice President JD Vance, who helped push the funding through completion while serving as a U.S. senator.
The village also received $50,000 from Norfolk Southern’s Thriving Communities Grant program, which will be used for the cemetery.
Norfolk Southern has spent a substantial amount of money in the village since the derailment two years ago, including $13.5 million that went toward improving the water treatment plant, replacing fire and police equipment and vehicles and exterior remodeling of the historic train depot.
Another $25 million is slated for the East Palestine Park project, which has become contentious as it has fallen behind schedule and over budget.
Settlement with Residents
And while the village has received these benefits and the $22 million settlement from Norfolk Southern, Conaway reiterated that the village is not involved in the distribution of the $600 million settlement with residents that was approved through the Northern District Court of Ohio in Youngstown.
He said, however, that he hears their frustrations.
Recently, the parking lots have been full in the vicinity of the Settlement Center on Rebecca Street, where Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, which has been appointed to distribute the $600 million court settlement, is located.
While payments from the direct payment claim and business loss claim are on hold pending appeals, the personal injury payments are being distributed, slowly.
Those electing for a check instead of direct deposit and those who have discrepancies in their paperwork are being asked to go to the Settlement Center.
Conaway said he personally knows people who are hearing that their paperwork is wrong, even if they had an attorney fill it out or look it over.
“It’s frustrating for everybody,” Conaway said. “We have made numerous calls to Kroll and to Norfolk Southern, and we just play tag, back and forth. It seems like the holdup is in the paperwork. … They want to make sure they have all their ducks in the line so years down the road, if anything would arise, they would have the proper information.”
Conaway said when he talked to the Kroll administrator, he was told they would like to have all the letters sent out in the next six weeks to explain how much settlement money people will receive for their personal injury payments.
Nearly 55,000 claims were filed regarding the settlement, with claims due in late August 2024. The final approval hearing was in late September. Six months later, many people continue to wait.