The Ohio County Development Authority has another six months to buy back a piece of The Highlands from the state of West Virginia.

After a regular authority meeting Wednesday, Treasurer/Secretary Greg Stewart said the authority is working on a plan to repurchase the land before the April deadline.

Six months ago, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority board agreed to purchase 32 acres of The Highlands for $5 million. The money collected from the sale was expected to help the OCDA pay down about $12 million in debt owed to about 30 contractors who have conducted work at the site, anchored by Cabela's, Wal-Mart and several other businesses.

During a past OCDA meeting, Stewart noted most contractors had been paid off completely and others are on payment schedules.

In April, the county has the option of repurchasing the land from the state for $5 million, plus interest.

''We're working on two different options to accomplish that,'' Stewart said, noting the authority ''feels good'' about its ability to buy back the land.

If the county does not repurchase the land, the state has the option of marketing the acreage itself.

Stewart could not say whether the authority would need a loan to repurchase the acreage but hoped that would not be the case. He also did not know if an extension on the 12-month timetable would be granted by the state, if necessary.

"We're not thinking about that at this time now. We haven't had that discussion to date," he noted.

Stewart added the authority is "very optimistic" about The Highlands' future. He noted 19 new businesses opened there this year, to date. And in the spring, the authority hopes to have another 10-12 new businesses lined up. Much of it depends on the economy and companies' willingness to invest and expand across the country.

He also said a Wild Escape Theme Park for the site still is in the works. He expects to recommend to the authority during its next meeting, tentatively set for 5 p.m. Nov. 17, an engineering firm to oversee earthwork at the site.

All related federal and state permits have been approved for the theme park site.

Currently, Stewart is working with engineering firm Pederson and Pederson on design layouts for the site. And the theme park's president, Steve Minard, is working with another company on design issues. The two firms, Stewart noted, likely will work together since the earth moving work is so large - at 12 million to 13 million cubic feet.

During the meeting, the authority approved two new tenants for the site: H&R Block and Tony's Nails. Also, Nini's Treasures is set to open Friday. And a ribbon-cutting for a new AT&T store is set for 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, following the authority's meeting, the Ohio County Commission met at 6 p.m. The commission agreed to consider exonerating tax issues related to Ron Baker Motors allegedly not paying its personal property taxes between 2007 and 2009.

But first, commissioners wanted their attorney, Landers Bonenberger, to go over information from the state tax office and related laws.

For now, the business will be allowed to stay open until the matter is resolved.

Also, Communication Workers of America Local 2006 representatives asked the commission to consider adopting a resolution asking the state Public Service Commission to not allow Verizon to sell its West Virginia landline portion of its business to Frontier Communications.

The commissioners, Tim McCormick, Randy Wharton and David Sims, said they would consider the resolution.