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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Port Authority wants a bite of the economic potential posed by an entrepreneurship competition known as Shark Tub, which its board of directors approved sponsoring.
Executive director Robert Naylor said during the board's regular meeting Wednesday that the port authority donated $100 to Shark Tub's first competition last year, but he was surprised to see how much of a positive impact the event had.
Shark Tub is a pitch competition akin to the reality TV show "Shark Tank." This year's competition on April 2 will bring together fledgling to 5-year-old businesses from six Eastern Ohio counties, including Jefferson, to set up displays in New Philadelphia's Buckeye Career Center.
Attendees can allot fake money to businesses whose displays they like, and the three businesses with the most money will give a pitch to a panel of judges, which ranks them and gives them money for their business pursuits.
Naylor said he sees potential in the program for Jefferson County, and he hopes more businesses from the county can get involved to increase local entrepreneurship. In addition, Naylor said the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce could get involved with providing mentorship, advice and a "critical eye" for the local, emerging entrepreneurs.
The board approved upping its sponsorship to $250 for this year's competition.
Separately, the board approved Naylor and Fiscal Officer Gary Folden to arrange appointments with representatives from Huntington Bank and WesBanco to weigh options for the port authority's investment funds.
The port authority currently has its investment funds with Huntington, with whom it has a longstanding relationship, but funds acquired through facilitating the most recent JSW Steel bond issuance warranted investigation into alternative options to make the most of the funds.
Another option being discussed was the State Treasury Asset Reserve of Ohio, an investment pool for government subdivisions. Although STAR Ohio has a higher current interest rate than Huntington by .28 percent, Folden said, investments are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which protects deposits in the event of a bank failure.
In other business:
• Naylor said he is in the process of scheduling interviews for all four engineering firms that responded to the port authority's request for qualifications regarding the spec building -- proposed to be 50,000 square feet with an expandable pad -- in the Jefferson County Industrial Park.
The Jefferson County commissioners approved a resolution Feb. 2, expressing their financial support for the port authority by committing to be the guarantor of any loan or debt taken on by the port authority during the spec building's development process.
• The board approved a motion to enter into a contract with the consulting firm Envision Group LLC to assist with development of the South Third Street Corridor, an area in Steubenville near the intersection of South Third Street and South Street that looks out onto state Route 7.
Located in Steubenville's Census Tract 8, the corridor is a Low-Income Community Opportunity Zone, meaning it qualifies for development through a federal incentive program introduced in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Through the program, corporations with capital gains may receive tax benefits for investing those unrealized capital gains in a designated Opportunity Zone.
• The board tabled consideration of having the port authority take responsibility of the old armory building on Cherry Avenue until board members can tour the building.
This comes nearly a week after the commissioners, who own the building as surplus property, decided to gauge the port authority's interest in taking on the property and working to find potential buyers.