MANSFIELD — Last year proved to be a big one for the local business community.
From economic and workforce development to tourism, Richland County made big strides in 2017 and hopes to keep up the momentum in 2018.
Richland Area Chamber of Commerce President Jodie Perry, Destination Mansfield President Lee Tasseff, Richland Community Development Group Director of Economic Development Barrett Thomas and RCDG Director of Workforce Development Karen Seman sat down with the Richland County commissioners on Thursday to discuss what happened in 2017, and what they’re looking forward to in 2018.
According to Perry, the chamber held over 41 ribbon-cutting ceremonies in celebration of new businesses in Richland County in 2017.
For its After Hours events, the Chamber averages over 200 attendees. The organization is also edging closer to the 1,000-member mark, with incremental growth and an improved retention rate.
One of the top priorities in 2018 is finalizing its strategic plan.
Upcoming events include the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce and Richland Community Development Group’s “Evening of Excellence” Annual Meeting & Dinner on Jan. 25 at the Kehoe Center in Shelby, the fourth annual countywide Economic Forecast Breakfast on Feb. 2 at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, and the 2018 Business Expo on March 22 at the Richland County Fairgrounds.
Perry said the Chamber plans to continue its focus on economic development, while advancing community excellence and evolving as an organization.
RCDG is also working toward that end. Thomas said the organization plans to be much more proactive in business attraction this year, as well as working with existing companies on expansion plans.
Last year, RCDG met with about 50 different companies, “lots of visits, lots of working through projects with some of those companies,” Thomas said.
Thirteen of those projects created 200 new jobs, over $8 million in new payroll and north of $60 million in capital expenses, according to Thomas. Three of the projects involved JobsOhio, a nonprofit that promotes job creation and economic development for Ohio.
Thomas noted some of the major economic development projects that took place, including the expansion at Next Generation Films, the new OhioHealth Emergency Care facility in Ontario, the Avita expansion, the Skybox Packaging expansion, and the addition of Synova, LLC in Mansfield.
Thomas pointed out that the Synova project could have been lost to Tennessee or Florida, but the company ended up choosing Mansfield.
“We beat Florida, which doesn’t have income tax, so that’s a good sign,” he said.
The area also lost a couple projects, the majority of which were related to medical marijuana.
Mansfield City Council approved legislation prohibiting the cultivation, processing and retail distribution of medical marijuana within city limits at its regular meeting in November.
Ontario City Council approved an ordinance imposing a six-month moratorium on the “acceptance, consideration and/or granting of any applications for local licensing approval, cultivators, processors or retail dispensaries on medical marijuana within the City of Ontario” in June.
There was some talk on the status of the Campus District. Thomas said conversations are ongoing, noting there are interested developers and that it’s a matter of negotiating what it’ll take to make the project come to fruition.
Commissioner Tony Vero spoke highly of the project, saying it isn’t just a “pipedream,” and that there is a framework plan available.
Seman stated she plans to work with the safety council, human resource council and the Regional Manufacturing Coalition on developing a series for better recruitment and retention practices among employers.
She’s also involved in restart preparation for a Citizen Circle. This concept of a community providing support/guidance to those who have been returned after their incarceration will relaunch in February.
“Our county had such a group some years ago. Citizens can voluntarily seek support from the Citizen Circle,” Seman said. “I hope that my role in the Circle can bring more support from employers, as full-time employment (earning a livable wage) is a critical component to their success.”
She said there is some interest in restarting summer camps geared toward manufacturing. There previously was a program like this in place called Rising Stars.
She also discussed the Rethink Richland event, noting that RCDG plans to hold it again next year.
In tourism news, Tasseff said last year was strong all the way around, with good attendance at events.
“The fact that we had Rover Pipeline people here for a long period of time helped immensely as well,” he said.
He said Destination Mansfield took last year as an opportunity to reinvest in itself, noting that one of the biggest changes the organization underwent was renaming itself. The change, he said, was “seamless.”
One of the highlights of the year was the filming of “Escape Plan 3” at the Ohio State Reformatory.
Commissioner Marilyn John said while she served as mayor of Shelby, there were a couple of movies filmed in the Shelby area.
“They talked to us about how difficult it is to find good filming locations because a lot of communities don’t want the mess that can sometimes (occur),” she said.
“So I think that it speaks highly of the Richland community that so many movies have been filmed here because we kind of open our doors to that.”
Destination Mansfield plans to embark on a digital campaign aimed at riding the coattails of the Museum of the Bible that opened in Washington, D.C. in November 2017. The hope is that it will attract attention to BibleWalk in Mansfield.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“We have a PR campaign that we’ll be starting later this year,” Tasseff said in regard to the anniversary.
There’s talk of bringing in Stephen King experts and scholars to the area for a panel discussion or press conference to compliment the year-long Stephen King Film Festival at the Renaissance Theatre.
