YOUNGSTOWN — The receiver for SOBE Thermal Energy Systems LLC, which provides utility services to much of downtown Youngstown, had heated exchanges with city officials over the beleaguered company’s plans.

Reg Martin, the receiver, met Wednesday at the Central YMCA with various businesses and tenants who receive SOBE’s heating, cooling and hot water services. That includes Youngstown’s city hall and police station.

During the meeting, Martin asked the city for assistance, including allowing Wick Towers to again use a chilling system on the roof of the city-owned 20 Federal Place and for assistance with underground work. The chilling system tie-in would save SOBE $14,000 a month.

Several Youngstown officials said the city is a SOBE customer and nothing more — and demanded that Martin take the necessary steps to ensure reliable and effective utility services.

SOBE has 28 customers, Martin said, and if three or four are lost, “I’m shutting the place down” because there isn’t enough money to sustain its operations.

Nikki Fields, the mayor’s chief of staff and community planning and economic development department director, told Martin that it is his responsibility to provide utility services, and his talk “sounds like extortion.”

Martin said that wasn’t the case, and he was providing facts to SOBE’s customers.

“We weren’t trying to extort anyone,” he said. “We need funds to keep the system running.”

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown told Martin: “Reg, stop this. You are not a partner, and you’re not going to use us as a scapegoat, saying the city can help with this and the city can help with that. Tell them the truth.”

City Finance Director Kyle Miasek said the chiller on the roof of 20 Federal Place cannot be used to help Wick Towers. That’s because the building is “mothballed,” and to provide a service like that would increase the $190,000 the city currently pays annually to insure its building.

“It would cost too much for us to do,” Miasek said.

Brown said his primary concern is “reliable and adequate” utility services for SOBE’s 28 downtown customers.

Several city officials walked out of the meeting, including Brown; Miasek; Fields; Kevin Flinn, buildings and grounds commissioner; Jason Small, a senior assistant law director who spearheaded the city’s efforts with SOBE; and Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, who represents downtown.

Martin said the city “has a certain amount of obligation to its residents,” but “I’m not going to rely on the city.”

Martin said Wednesday that SOBE is “insolvent” with no assets besides its building and a few pieces of equipment while owing about $4 million to creditors.

“SOBE is history,” he said. “I have to run it. We’re never going to have enough revenue to build a system that’s bigger and better.”

Martin described his receivership as a “Band-Aid” that might last a year or two, perhaps longer.

Martin said financial assistance is needed to keep SOBE operating.

After the meeting, the city said it plans to send a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine requesting emergency funding from the state to keep utilities running downtown.

Martin painted a bleak picture of SOBE’s future between the company abandoning the city, a lack of funding to improve the system and the inability to find a permanent solution to provide utility services to downtown customers.

Martin was appointed SOBE receiver Sept. 26 at the request of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as the company was about to go out of business.

A rental steam plant that provided utility services for SOBE customers was repossessed Sept. 30 by court order because SOBE owes $383,214 in back payments to the steam plant’s owner.

Martin was able to get a smaller rental steam plant a few days after the old one was repossessed. But it took until Oct. 9 for it to operate, leaving customers without steam heat and hot water for 10 days. Martin said that only impacted three customers, but others at Wednesday’s meeting said they had issues.

Martin said the rented 650-horsepower boiler isn’t a final solution.

Martin had contacted Youngstown State University the day before the old plant was repossessed to see if SOBE could use the school’s boiler system through an old piping system. That effort failed Oct. 1 because leaks were found in the system, which hadn’t been used in more than nine years.

But Martin said Wednesday that the main problem could be fixed for about $25,000 because a contractor caused damage to the pipe at the Rayen Avenue and Elm Street intersection. The work should begin next week and take about three days to finish, Martin said.

There could be other smaller leaks on the line with Martin estimated the cost of repairs at $5,000.

The use of a YSU boiler isn’t a permanent solution, Martin said, as the school would provide the service for this winter and possibly next year.

If that doesn’t work, Martin said he would rent a 250-horsepower boiler, which would cost about $12,500 a month, to be used with the existing 650-horsepower boiler.

The current rented boiler costs $19,750 a month to rent and isn’t enough to get SOBE customers through the winter, Martin said.

Also, Martin mentioned an 800-horsepower boiler, like the one repossessed Sept. 30, would cost about $27,000 a month.

After the meeting, Andy Resnick, the city’s spokesman, said: “We were coming in here expecting to get some more answers and some more clarity on a backup system that all the customers were confident would provide adequate service going into the winter. Instead, we’re just walking away hearing more excuses and really getting no answers. Instead of pointing the finger at the city, we should be having a conversation about the state failing on its oversight responsibilities and why we sat here listening to a receiver who can’t seem to provide any answers.”

Before abandoning Youngstown, SOBE wanted to convert rubber tire chips into synthetic gas at its facility, 205 North Ave. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency granted a permit Feb. 14, 2024, to permit SOBE to move ahead with that plan, with the city filing an appeal March 15, 2024.

In preparation for that, Martin said SOBE removed the six boilers it had when it took ownership of the business.

Martin also served as receiver from 2017 to 2019 when the downtown utility, then operated by Youngstown Thermal LLC, financially failed.

Martin was named to run Youngstown Thermal after PUCO was informed by the company’s CEO that the business was financially failing, which could have caused an energy crisis downtown.

YSU used to be the largest customer for utility services from Youngstown Thermal until it left in 2016.

By 2017, Youngstown Thermal, which had numerous problems for years, could no longer ensure adequate service to its customers and was in danger of insolvency when PUCO stepped in and appointed Martin.

When Martin was Youngstown Thermal’s receiver, PUCO granted him permission for an additional surcharge on customers.

Martin was the receiver for two years before he worked out a deal with SOBE, based in Dublin, Ohio, to manage the facility in 2019. SOBE purchased the assets for $250,000 in November 2021.

But SOBE subsequently experienced financial problems and could no longer effectively provide utility services to its customers.