STEUBENVILLE - After nearly two hours of summaries, discussion, reports and debate, it was Ed Looman, executive director of Progress Alliance, who put it best.

"There is an awful lot going on around here," he said at the conclusion of a Jefferson County Community Investment Plan committee meeting in the economic development group's offices.

Among the items:

The 3-2-1 Jobs Initiative, being facilitated by the Voinovich School of Leadership from Ohio University in Athens, through an Economic Development Administration grant. The program's concept is to identify industries that should be good fits economically in the area, then to market to them. The idea is three counties (Brooke, Hancock and Jefferson), two states (Ohio and West Virginia), one goal, a better community for all.

Smart Communities, a movement that started with a meeting of community leaders from business, government and education at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in April. The group is led by Suzanne Morse, who, through the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, leads seminars trying to help communities recognize strengths upon which to build.

Brownfield investigation and redevelopment. Jefferson County has a $1 million grant and has some site owners who have agreed to permit surveys of their properties for potential hazards that may exist.

A freight study funded through the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission that could lead to opportunities for port, rail and highway freight transfer facilities in the future.

A possible marketplace for locally grown and raised produce and farm products.

Trails and greenways, with a group working on a plan that should lead to development of hiking, biking and walking trails and green spaces throughout the county for recreation, exercise and as a community asset.

Broadband development, with Jefferson County considering the possibilities of building its own ultra-high-speed backbone that could serve government, schools, health care and business.

Wednesday's meeting was the usual monthly session of the group involved in making sure the Community Investment Plan stays alive and does not become another document gathering dust on a planner's shelf. The plan was put together with input from business, industry, educators and economic development specialists over the course of two years before it was presented to the Ohio Department of Development in late 2008. The plan is touted by the state as an example of what the state wants to see: Coherent concepts that make it easy to justify state investments in local projects with grants and loans and programs in the future.

The 3-2-1 Jobs initiative has been ongoing for several months. The grant is being used as a pilot project by the Voinovich School as a survey that recognizes that the Ohio-West Virginia state line isn't an impedence to the employment market. The survey is working on both sides of the state line, recognizing that workers do cross the Ohio River for jobs.

After a lengthy discussion, the committee noted there needs to be a little more clarity in the relationship with the Vonoivich School representatives as the work winds down. The local plan committee is waiting for final decisions on marketing and jobs groupings to pursue from the Voinovich School representatives, while the school is awaiting the local response to what the area wants to pursue. It's a question of the difference between facilitators and consultants, said John Brown, executive director of the BHJ.

The freight study, Brown said, is coming at a vital time, given that West Virginia and Ohio both are doing state studies and local areas will be competing for state attention when it comes to developing intermodal sites (areas where freight is offloaded from one kind of transportation and put onto another). Brown said Cincinnati is doing a similar study and West Virginia is looking at five potential port/intermodal facility sites for investment of federal funds for development.

On brownfields, Looman said there have been access agreements granted by several property owners, which means surveys of site history for potential environmental problems can take place. Where necessary, Phase II studies, where actual physical sampling and testing occurs, can take place under the $1 million grant program.

"This will definitely help our development efforts," Looman said. The idea is that property that has hazards identified can then be eligible for cleanup grants, and then returned to good economic use, for jobs and to the productive tax base.

Looman said Progress Alliance is hopeful an announcement can come in the next several weeks on an initial investment in a project at Mingo Junction that eventually could lead, in future phases, to a substantial number of jobs.

He also said a recent visit by TechGrowth Ohio to the site of a project seeking Third Frontier technology financing proved positive, with the business owner being told the project would qualify. The project would involve a manufacturing concern already in the county and could lead to new jobs and the development of other facilities to support the project.

Irene Moore, director of the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, discussed the potential development of a farmer's market dedicated to local farmers. She said county farmers generally have jobs off the farm and can't take time off to be in the downtown farmer's market. She said plans are being made to hold an evening market, probably beginning in July at Eastern Gateway Community College.

She said a local inventory of farms is being conducted to determine what is grown and available to be sold here. She said the agricultural community has identified Jefferson County as a "perfect county to graze cattle and raise local organically raised beef." She said there are cattle farms in the county that graze animals year-round, without having to resort to feeding them feed or hay, through resource management.

(Giannamore may be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com.)