YOUNGSTOWN - The Board of Control on Thursday approved an amended lease agreement for V&M Star's new plant.
Law Director and BOC member Anthony Farris said the new lease allows V&M to begin operations at the new plant, which will produce seamless pipe for the natural gas industry.
Last week, the city agreed to a 99-year lease for the property where the new mill is being built on nearby industrial land in Girard annexed into Youngstown for the new plant.
Girard and Youngstown worked out a tax sharing arrangement for the project in order for the annexation to proceed.
Farris said language governing production was not in the agreement that the city agreed to last week, so it was added in this week because V&M is ready to begin production at the new mill.
The lease calls for a payment to the city by V&M of $2.85 million a year for three years and $100,000 a year for the remainder of the lease.
The agreement between Youngstown and Girard for the land was reached in 2009 and construction on the addition began shortly thereafter. Youngstown annexed 191 acres of land from Girard for the project.
V&M announced in February 2010 that it would construct its new mill next to its existing plant in the former Brier Hill Works of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. The completed structure will be 1 million square feet, or almost 23 acres, under one roof.
The new plant will be capable of producing up to 500,000 metric tons of seamless pipe in small dimensions and is expected to be operating at full capacity shortly.
During the construction, the city has taken the lead on other improvement projects, such as rail and sewer lines, but has been reimbursed for several of those by the company.