LISBON — When the Columbiana County land bank program was created in December 2014, its initial goal was to demolish 100 homes in the three targeted communities.

“We did more than that in East Liverpool alone,” said program director Robert Ritchey, speaking at this week’s land bank board meeting.

The program funded with $3.2 million in federal Neighborhood Initiative Program funding had to be spent by the end of 2019, and Ritchey delivered the final report at the meeting.

He said they ended up demolishing 184 abandoned and dilapidated homes in the target communities of East Liverpool, Salem and Wellsville. Another 40 homes in those communities were either torn or being rehabilitated by someone in exchange for ownership.

Ritchey said it was truly a group effort among the county departments that all played a role in the process at some point.

“That’s what made this such a successful program,” he said.

Ritchey announced at the end of the meeting he was stepping down to take a job with the county Port Authority, where he will help with writing state and federal grants seeking funding for economic development and related projects.

Replacing him as land bank director is Haeden Panezott of Salem, who has been with the land bank program for the past year. Panezott graduated in 2019 from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree, majoring in geography studies.

With the end of NIP, the land bank will continue demolishing problem homes, this time focusing on other communities, using proceeds left over from administering NIP and from the sale of delinquent property tax (DTAC) foreclosure sales.

Ritchey said they have demolished homes, or are going to, in the following communities: One each in East Palestine, Leetonia, Liverpool Township and New Waterford; and two each in Lisbon and Salineville. The village of Summitville just donated two properties it owns to the land bank

They also have land bank two homes in Lisbon currently being rehabilitated: 518 E. Chestnut St., and 116 Cross St. The owners are required to pay for an agreed upon level of repairs before the property is transferred to them.

Ritchey said their mow-to-own program continues to be very popular. Under the program, the adjacent property owner can acquire the lot where the demolished house once stood in exchange for maintaining the property for three years. More than 100 people have taken advantage of the program.

The board did agree to increase the transaction fee charged anyone wanting to acquire a now-vacant lot that was funded under the NIP. The fee had been $345 and it will now be $690. Ritchey recommended the increase to cover their costs of mowing and maintaining the property. Under NIP, the land bank was required to maintain the vacant lots for a minimum of three years, unless a buyer was found before then.