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May 3 - 10, 2006
Council OKs agreement for development consultant
City Council also approved a new agreement with Barb Slaven for media and community relations.
By DAVID S. OWEN
Pickerington City Council last night approved an ordinance authorizing City Manager Judy Gilleland to execute a one-year agreement with the McGory Group, LLC consultants, who will encourage developers to come to Pickerington and work with the city and other governmental agencies on development agreements such as a joint economic development district and a cooperative economic development agreement.
Councilman Jeff Fix said, "the McGory Group is experienced and knowledgeable and they know a lot about the development going on in Pickerington, Canal Winchester and (Violet) Township.
"They also bring an amount of expertise to the table that we couldn't afford to pay somebody for full-time with that level of experience," Fix said.
Councilman Michael Sabatino, however, had a different opinion about the issue.
He voted against the ordinance on its first two readings and prior to last night's meeting, he said, "I have two concerns, one is, we need to have some depth in our staff, and I don't believe consultants add any long-term value to developing an effective staff for the city, and two, I believe if we are going to use a consultant, we should use one that is exclusive to the city."
But, Sabatino then voted yes on the ordinance Tuesday after Councilman Brian Wisniewski explained the agreement is for one year only.
Wisniewski said the agreement is "back-dated" to Jan. 1 of this year, so it is not long term, and the city can look at other options later.
A second ordinance approved Tuesday authorized City Manager Judith Gilleland to execute an agreement with Barbara Slaven for consulting services regarding media relations, public information during emergencies and citizen communications.
Before the meeting began, Sabatino said he had concerns with the ordinance -- not with Slaven -- but with the use of her services.
"I have been opposed to the media consultant contract from the beginning because the problem I have is the way the Shaver administration has been using it, by having her author or attribute articles toward publicly elected officials, " he said.
"I don't think it's right for city tax dollars to be spent promoting any publicly elected official, and if we have information that needs to get out on behalf of the city, then we should be able to do it under the guise of City Hall, or the City Manager, or for example when the Police Chief Michael Taylor puts an article out.
"Those types of things make sense, not 'spin' articles that are put out attributed to a councilman or the mayor, and spending city tax dollars to do it," Sabatino said.
Sabatino voted for the agreement Tuesday night after a stipulation in the ordinance was put in before its first reading that says Slaven cannot be used to either author or attribute any articles toward any publicly elected official.
Special proclamation
In last night's city council meeting Mayor David Shaver opened the meeting by proclaiming April 30 through May 6, Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Week in the city of Pickerington.
"It is important for the citizens of Pickerington to work together as a community to recognize and help to increase research and understanding of this syndrome," he said.
The mayor then presented Pickerington Planning and Zoning Administrative Assistant Dawn Romine, who's young daughter Julianna has the syndrome, with a framed proclamation in recognition of Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Week.
"I'd like to thank the staff and the council for their support, and say that the more people are made aware of Prader-Willi Syndrome the closer we may get to finding a cure," Romine said.
First discovered in 1956, Prader-Willi Syndrome is an uncommon inherited disorder characterized by mental retardation, decreased muscle tone, short stature, emotional lability and an insatiable appetite which can lead to life-threatening obesity.
'Mumper' cutting VTFD response time
Thursday, March 2, 2006
By SEAN CASEY
ThisWeek Staff Writer By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Violet Township Fire Department Lt. Jim Paxton displays the new medic truck at the new fire station at Taylor Park near the intersection of Taylor Road and state Route 256.
Equipped with a new substation and a unique new vehicle, the Violet Township Fire Department has reduced travel time to emergencies in the northwest corner of the township by as much as five minutes.
According to Chief Kenn Taylor, the department's new outpost station at 2365 Taylor Park Drive, behind Logan's Road House restaurant, began operating last week. The small outpost station, which can accommodate up to three firefighter-medics, is located in the heart of the department's busiest zone.
The one-square-mile of land that includes the Interstate 70 interchange at state Route 256, the Taylor Square shopping plaza and an assisted-living facility has accounted for nearly one-fourth of the department's runs in the last two years, he said. A large majority of these calls are medic runs resulting from traffic accidents and medical emergencies, such as cardiac arrests, he said.
By positioning emergency personnel closer to this area, the department can gain precious seconds that could make the difference in life and death situations, Assistant Chief John Eisel added.
"In our business, response time is a big deal; it's all about how fast you can get to the people in need," he said. "This puts us closer to a very busy area."
The firefighter-medics working at the new outpost, Station 593, will man an emergency medical service unit uniquely outfitted with limited fire-fighting capacities. Taylor said he knows of no other unit like it in the region.
Unofficially dubbed "Mumper," meaning half medic unit, half pumper, the vehicle gives the department the ability to extinguish small blazes, such as car fires, and prevent the spread of structural fires until the regular pumper truck can arrive on scene, according to Lt. Jim Paxton.
The unit uses compressed air, water and flame-extinguishing foam to give firefighters about five minutes worth of spray, Paxton said.
The department has not needed to use the pumper part of "Mumper" during a run yet, but the unit has performed extremely well in exercises, easily snuffing out a blazing room during training, he said.
Firefighters do not need any special training to use the new firefighting unit, but Paxton said each member of the department is assigned shifts at the new station to become familiar with the equipment.
In addition to reducing the response time to the area around Taylor Square, Paxton said the new substation benefits the department because it no longer has to summon the medics from its other two stations.
The township does not own the building. It is leasing it for approximately $2,000 per month from the developer, which built two additional walls on the back end of the building to accommodate the substation.
Paxton said the rent is significantly less than the township would pay to construct a new station, and if Reynoldsburg and Truro Township ever decide to conform their borders, Violet Township can simply terminate its lease for the structure.
Although the area around Taylor Square was annexed into the city of Reynoldsburg to provide for its development, the land remained a part of Violet Township and is in the Violet Township Fire Department's territory.
The department responds to more than 3,500 fire and medical emergency calls each year. It also has stations at 8700 Refugee Road and 21 Lockville Road in the center of Olde Pickerington Village.
CEDA potential enticing to Pickerington officials
Thursday, January 12, 2006
By SEAN CASEY
ThisWeek Staff Writer
The progress made through Canal Winchester and Violet Township's joint effort to attract economic development to the area holds promise for a second agreement now in the works that would include Pickerington.
According to Canal Winchester and Violet Township officials, 2006 could become a landmark year for their Cooperative Economic Development Agreement (CEDA), which the pair signed in June 2001.
The potential being unlocked through Canal Winchester and Violet Township's CEDA has enticed Pickerington, which declined to participate in the 2001 agreement, to pursue a similar pact with the two bodies this year.
"I don't think you can foster any kind of economic growth if there are disagreements over annexations and those kinds of things," Pickerington City Councilman Ted Hackworth said. "Obviously, a good solid agreement between the communities is something that I would look for if I was a developer."
Hackworth, who did not serve on city council during the formation of the Canal Winchester-Violet Township CEDA, is on a committee established by members of the three governments to discuss a possible agreement.
He said participation in a CEDA would be beneficial for Pickerington because it could pool its resources with Canal Winchester and the township to commission studies and engineering services.
Hackworth said the parties are negotiating in good faith and they anticipate drafting an agreement as soon as this spring. However, the exact area of the cooperative district is yet to be established.
Under the 2001 CEDA agreement, Canal Winchester and Violet Township have worked together to attract business investment and jobs to the 1,533 acres that extend south from Busey Road to U.S. Route 33 between the Franklin County Line and the eastern border of the Canal Winchester school district.
Since its formation, the CEDA area has attracted 10 new businesses and more than 200 additional jobs, according to Canal Winchester development director Bruce Langner. However, development in the CEDA district will likely increase greatly with the construction of a medical center planned for 55 acres just north of the U.S. 33 interchange at Hill and Diley roads. Development of the facility, which is a joint venture involving Mount Carmel and Fairfield Medical Center, could begin as early as this year.
Dave Bickham, spokesman for Fairfield Medical, said both hospitals are reviewing a recently completed feasibility study for the project, and he expects the project to progress toward construction throughout the year.
Mount Carmel and Fairfield Medical announced plans for the facility in December 2004 as a way to meet the needs of an underserved and growing population. Since then, the hospitals have acquired the property and commissioned requisite studies.
"Everything from a land standpoint is completed," Bickham said, which allows for rapid development once designs for the structure are approved.
Langner said the medical center would serve as a primary impetus for economic growth for the area, driving demand for office space way up and creating a market for other types of development, such as retail.
In addition to the medical center, Bill Yaple, director of operations for Violet Township, said the CEDA should benefit from the completion of the widening of Diley Road to provide four lanes and a turn lane between U.S. 33 and Busey Road. Work on that project is expected to begin this spring, Yaple said.
Better traffic flow along Diley Road, coupled with the improved access to the CEDA area provided by the Hill-Diley interchange, which became operational in late 2004, opens up the land for development.
Yaple said many developers have shown interest in the CEDA district because of the road projects, but are not committing to anything just yet. He said he thinks they are holding off until the widening is finished in order to avoid traffic disruptions caused by that work.
"People maybe staying away because they did not want to be in that mess," he said.
Once complete, though, he said he hopes the project will become a deal-maker for the CEDA.
The Diley widening is indicative of the potential and advantages offered by Cooperative Economic Development Agreements. For the project, the village and township secured a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to pay half of the cost. The two bodies will cover the other half through a bond issue and by splitting the remaining cost, Langner said. Canal Winchester and Violet Township have also launched joint marketing efforts to attract businesses to the area.
CEDA agreements developed as a way for villages and townships to promote the creation of a commercial tax base while avoiding hostile annexations that could have arisen under previous state annexation law, which changed a few years ago.
Under the agreement between Canal Winchester and Violet Township, which was the first in central Ohio, Canal Winchester collects a 2-percent income tax from workers within the CEDA district and then remits 21.5 percent of those funds to the township for the provision of fire, road and other public services.
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