BY ANNE MICHAUD and LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The U.S. Postal Service has ruled out a Bond Hill site to replace its Dalton Avenue processing hub, but Cincinnati officials are hoping to steer it to another location.
Word that the Bond Hill site had been nixed raised questions Wednesday about whether Cincinnati was in danger of losing 2,200 jobs and the earnings taxes from the $60 million payroll.
"I just hope we keep it -- we're talking about 2,200 jobs, we're talking about taxes, we're talking about serious business," Vice Mayor Minette Cooper said.
City Manager John Shirey said he remained optimistic the Postal Service would be interested in 60 acres straddling the Sedamsville and Riverside neighborhoods, south of River Road.
"They've indicated they might like to work with us on that site and see where that might lead," he told council Wednesday.
Councilman Dwight Tillery said that, within reason, "we want to make every effort to keep this in the city."
Ray Jacobs, a spokesman for the Postal Service, would not say whether the agency is considering other sites within city limits. "The (Bond Hill) site in its present condition is not really suitable to our needs," Mr. Jacobs said.
The site is owned by the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Sciences and is east of Paddock Road and Seymour Avenue.
Postal officials have indicated in the past the site's topography and road access were not ideal.
The Postal Service wants to move its 64-year-old facility in the West End because it needs more room and a more modern operation. The agency has said it is searching within the Interstate 275 beltway. Sharonville, Lockland and Northern Kentucky have asked to be considered.
The Postal Service's decision to rule out Bond Hill surfaced Wednesday during a meeting of Hamilton County commissioners. Sharon Ledonne with Frank J. Catanzaro Sons & Daughters Inc. said her company had been offered the site the previous day by Toni Selvey-Maddox, a manager with Cincinnati's economic development department. The wholesale produce company was seeking to move from its Over-the-Rhine headquarters.
It has chosen Lockland and will receive a tax break in exchange for adding 25 jobs to its 80-person payroll, said Harry Blanton, economic development coordinator for the Hamilton County Development Corp.
Mr. Jacobs emphasized Wednesday that the Postal Service will need all 2,200 employees no matter where it relocates.
"We have been willing all along to entertain any sites the city brings to us," he said, adding that the Postal Service is not close to a decision.
From Cincinnati's perspective, the risk is the earnings tax loss to its annual $800 million budget.
Mayor Roxanne Qualls has made keeping the operation within city limits a high priority. In January, she appealed to President Clinton to encourage the Postal Service to relocate its center within city limits.
