It would only be a matter of time, Dawson reasoned, before the $16 billion Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex began to have a residual effect on the southern part of the county. Dawson predicted a boom and he prepared for it.

“We knew it was coming. We have invested in the Calcutta area and have made improvements already, but there’s still work to be done,” Dawson said. “It was foolish to believe that a $16 billion plant just over the stateline in Pennsylvania wouldn’t have an impact on our county. We knew it was going to happen. It’s happening now.”

The facility in Monaca produces polyethylene pellets to create common household goods, consumer and food packaging, as well as industrial and utility products. The plant, which began construction in 2015 and opened in 2022, also produced jobs — nearly 800 permanent positions and what Robert Morris University estimates to be about $22.4 billion in labor income generated by operations over the next 40 years.

And that’s just Shell salaries. Dawson said many more job opportunities have been created by the plant. It’s a simple ripple effect. The Shell dollars have to be spent somewhere.

“There’s 600 to 800 people employed at the plant but it’s more than that. Think about the trucking people that truck in and truck out. The people in the power plants that supply the power,” he said. “Okay there’s 600 to 800 people in that plant but the sphere of employment that goes into keeping that plant running everyday is much bigger. Think about the guy who makes the lunches that the workers eat. So it’s just not 600 to 800 people. I don’t know the exact number but it has to be thousands.”

Those ripples are already being felt in Columbiana County. Major franchises are setting up shop in St. Clair Township, companies that have done business in the village for years are expanding and new housing is under construction. Starbucks opened this year in Summit Square in Calcutta. It followed Chipotle and T.J. Maxx (which now occupies the former JCPenney’s space). Up the road, where Kmart once was, Planet Fitness now stands. Walmart is expanding, Sheetz acquired the adjacent property to build a bigger gas station and Fairway Chevrolet added on to its facility. Superior Marine Services also expanded. A state-of-the art carwash is being built at the intersection of Calcutta Smith Ferry Road. Santa Clara Mobile Home Park is constructing new homes and adding acres to its property.

“Sheetz just tore down a perfectly good gas station to make room for an even bigger gas station. Walmart is going to put an addition on. That isn’t something that might happen. That is happening,” Dawson said. “A new car wash is going in at the intersection of Calcutta Smith Ferry Road. Again, there’s a reason they are building it and building it there.”

Calcutta is closer to Pennsylvania than many realize. A short drive from where the new carwash is under construction is the stateline. Calcutta Smith Ferry Road connects with state Route 68 — a straight shot to the Monaca.

“When I go to bed at night in Calcutta, I am sleeping 11 miles away from that plant,” Dawson said. “When I get out of that bed and come to work here in the morning I am 14 miles from that plant. And it’s not that much farther from East Palestine in that part of the county. The stateline is right there.”

Chipotle is one of several franchises to set up shop in Calcutta recently. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

And just on the other side of that line, Ohio offers more than just department stores, car washes, coffee shops and gyms. It offers cheaper property, school and sales taxes and a short commute to the cracker plant.

“It’s expensive to live in Pennsylvania. School district taxes are higher. Gas is higher,” Dawson said. “The cost of living is higher. Ohio is a more affordable alternative and we are literally 11 miles away.”

Dawson said an influx of people is inevitable. That’s why his office has been focusing on infrastructure in the Calcutta area like the widening of Calcutta Smith Ferry Road.

“We’ve already had four projects on the Calcutta Smith Ferry Road,” Dawson said. “We are ready to start five. We were really counting on money from OMEGA to help us finish that project, but for whatever reason we didn’t get it.”

The county had asked OMEGA (Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association) for $500,000 to “fill in” what is needed to finish the $1.8 million project’s fifth phase. Last month, the county received word the request had been turned down.

That left Dawson scratching his head and pulling no punches.

“I am disappointed in the state of Ohio. We are a big state and Columbiana County isn’t a podunk. Depending on whose numbers you take, we’re either the 18th or 20th county in population out of 88. We are a little big county or we are a big little county but hey where’s the love?” Dawson said. “We got something happening 11 miles from my house. Name me one thing that the state of Ohio has done economic development wise to take advantage of a $16 billion project that’s going to indirectly hire a couple thousand people that’s 11 miles from Bert Dawson’s house.”

When asked what we wanted from the state, Dawson was candid.

“I want money,” he said. “I want Ohio to invest in Columbiana County.”

The county has done the most with the government funds it has received when it comes to upgrading Calcutta. A new lift station was built on McCoy using Appalachian Regional Commission grants. Grant money was also used to replace old pumps with bigger ones at another lift station. Manholes were replaced, a portion of sewer lines were lined to prevent leaks and improve flow and the county completed a “major infiltration and drainage study.”

TJ Maxx recently opened in Calcutta, occupying the space of the former JCPenney’s store that closed its doors years ago. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“We’ve increased the capacity of the sewer system of Calcutta. When development comes, we will be able to handle it,” Dawson said.

The study was to combat an issue that will come with the growth and allow for even more.

“With all this development, we put down blacktop and the rain doesn’t no longer goes into the ground and it has to go somewhere. Normally, it goes into manholes and gets diverted and put in catch basins and you pipe it somewhere but you can’t just cut it loose,” Dawson said. “Right now, that water is piped down to 170 by Ohio Valley Business College. But there’s a lot of developable ground there and we want people to develop it so we can’t flood them out.”

The completion of McGuffey Road (which connects Dresden Avenue directly to Sinclair Avenue) and Columbia Drive (which connects state Route 170 with McGuffey) are finished, making navigation around Calcutta easier and helping reduce the traffic congestion on 170. Dawson said the township finished McGuffey and the county completed Columbia. Both county and state roads in Calcutta will be paved during the 2025 hot-mix project.

As for state Route 170, the main artery that cuts through Calcutta’s shopping district, that road (from Bruster’s Ice Cream to O.S. Hill) is set to receive a lighting upgrade with a $900,000 project through the Ohio Department of Transportation.

A new state-of-art car wash is under construction at the intersection of state Route 170 and Calcutta Smith Ferry Road. The business is a sign of the economic boom Calcutta is experiencing since Shell built its $16 billion cracker plant 11 miles away. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“On the five-lane part, our department went together with ODOT to install new lighting. And we aren’t talking 32-footers, we’re talking 40-footers. That’s a done deal, we are just waiting on the poles. You are going to be able to get a suntan on 170,” Dawson said. “Why are we doing that? Because that’s the busiest road in Columbiana County. There’s 20,000 people a day that use that road. Six county roads intersect that part of 170 along with three township roads. There’s been over 200 accidents along that strip because it’s hard to see at night. The new lights will prevent accidents.”

The county also has been focused on improvements to Old Fredericktown Road (another route into Pennsylvania), recently repairing a road slip and partnering with Buckeye Water District to supply water to that area.

Three subdivisions are currently under construction in St. Clair Township — including one on Old Fredericktown and one on Calcutta Smith Ferry.

“We’re talking $300,000 to $500,000 houses,” Dawson said. “The people building those houses are executives working at Monaca but are living here. More people are going to follow.”

Dawson, who grew up in the southern part of the county and has seen more busts than booms. He saw the farmlands disappear as shopping plazas replaced fields, but he also saw the big retail giants that anchored those plazas — companies like Kmart, JCPenney and Sears — close their doors. He saw the downtown of Wellsville and East Liverpool bustle before being absorbed into the rustbelt when the steel and pottery industries declined and crumbled. But Dawson believes the cracker plant is going to be a game changer — a catalyst that leads to permanent growth and fosters future development in Calcutta and potentially help East Liverpool and Wellsville shake the rust off.

“We see what’s already here and we see what’s coming,” Dawson said. “This is a $16 billion investment that is already having impacts on the southern parts of the county. East Liverpool and Wellsville can benefit too. Right now, we are seeing the carry over from Pennsylvania to Calcutta. There is the potential to see a carry over from Calcutta to East Liverpool and then Wellsville and even into Lisbon and, of course, the East Palestine area. This really is an opportunity that we need to take full advantage of.”

Ohio does too, according to Dawson. He wants Ohio to open its eyes and its pockets.

“I don’t understand how the state of Ohio can’t see what happening here in Columbiana County,” he said. “Anybody can see it how big this is.”

selverd@mojonews.com

Starbucks was the latest franchise to open its doors in Calcutta. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

Fairway Chevrolet recently expanded its operations in Calcutta. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

The $16 billion Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex has led to an economic boom in the Calcutta area. Just 11 miles from the plant, the opening of new businesses, expansion of old ones and improvements to infrastructure have rebranded St. Clair Township. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)