MANSFIELD — Spec buildings can be constructed. Roads can be built. Storm sewers can be dug and installed. Tax abatements can be proposed.
All of that work can be done in advance in the hopes of greasing the skids to attract new economic development.
But if a potential new industry has electrical power needs that far outstrip local supply, there is no apparent easy answer.
Private power companies like FirstEnergy and AEP don’t do “spec” power supply infrastructure construction, according to Barrett Thomas, director of economic development for Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.
“They don’t. That’s the answer. They don’t. They are private investment utilities. They don’t build on spec,” Thomas said
The power question arose Thursday during a Richland County Board of Commissioners meeting as Thomas and other chamber officials during their twice-yearly report on economic development efforts.
The semiannual report has been provided since county commissioners in 2021 voted to pay the chamber $100,000 annually through the Richland Community Development Group to enhance local economic development efforts.
Thomas told commissioners the chamber “worked on a large (development) project that looked promising, but in the end, we didn’t have the (electrical) utilities needed to support the size project the company wanted.”
He said power companies, regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, will help communities plan for such projects.
“They will do some planning to say, ‘OK, we understand we’re going to need to run a transmission line out here. We’ll do some high-level engineering work to give you some time and money estimates for what is that extension will likely look like.’
“But they won’t do any spec (power supply) building and anything they do build requires a detailed load study from the (prospective) company to say exactly what you need. What does that look like?
“Because there’s a lot of variables in there and the actual engineering happens and then they go build it,” Thomas said.
He said there are also issues with even the availability of electric infrastructure equipment.
“Some of those pieces that are required for those transmission line extensions are on three- or four-year timelines,” Thomas said.
In the case of Intel siting a new $28 billion campus outside Columbus to build leading-edge computer chop factories on a nearly 1,000-acre campus, Thomas said AEP did do the load study work.
“They went through the detailed load study and said, ‘What do we need to do to support this?'” Thomas said.
“It’s the same process we would do here. If we have a company that says, ‘We need a lot of electricity, but not an entire power plant’s worth of electricity,’ and it would fit … either AEP or First Energy would do that detail loading and say ‘OK, how do we do this?’ So they have an obligation to serve,” Thomas said.
“The question is how long will it take and how much will it cost and that’s what drives that
site selection process,” he said.
The “miss” on the large project was one of the few blips chamber officials discussed during the hour-long meeting with commissioners.
(Below is a PDF with the latest semiannual report from RCDG to the Richland County Board of Commissioners.)
Highlighting the successes were:
— a report from new chamber President and CEO Ellen Heinz, who took over the chamber earlier this year with the election of former leader Jodie Perry to Mansfield mayor.
“We’re appreciative to be here today and are so thankful for Richland County commissioners’ support,” Heinz said. “We have a wonderful collaborative partnership, not only with our internal team, but with all of our partners in the community.”
— outreach to local companies, which uncovered expansion projects Thomas said he hoped would close in 2024 and be reported in year-end metrics.
— assisting the Ohio Air National Guard’s new 179th Cyberspace Wing locate temporary space outside of the base during a construction phase. The effort led to a connection between the unit and OSU-Mansfield, Thomas said.
— attraction leads from JobsOhio are down this year, but “local connection leads,” in which companies reach out to the chamber are up. “These projects are on a smaller scale, but with much higher odds of success,” Thomas said.
— continued efforts for U.S. 30 broadband internet corridor project with hopes of securing millions of dollars to support the effort in the next state budget.
— assisting Adena Corp. in its efforts to participate in a state low-interest, loan program that would assist in the construction of a new $13 million spec building near Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.
— working with the Shelby Foundation to facilitate the purchase of three downtown buildings. Jessica Gribben, economic development manager to the City of Shelby and northern Richland County, said the buildings would be improved “and brought back to useful life.”
— asked for and received $20,000 in appropriations for a Shelby building facade improvement project. Gribben said five projects were selected and the total investment will be more than $53,000.
— working on preliminary planning, seeking partners and resources to bring to life Phase III of the Black Fork Commons Southlands Project in Shelby, according to Gribben.
— received a $100,000 state business resource network grant and developed www.midohioskills.com to promote and guide Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act participants to training, according to Clint Knight, director of workforce development for the chamber.
— received a $50,000 Microsoft Techspark Grant, identifying improved digital skills for workers as a priority in Richland County. Knight said the grant has helped support several programs, including a “Teacher Bootcamp,” which puts teachers into businesses and requires them to build curriculums around the needs of local employers. In 2024, this involved 11 teachers from Richland County and focused on technology advancements and digital skills.
— a boost in outbound marketing with Google Ads has been boosted through funding from the Richland County Foundation, according to Sandy Messner, the chamber marketing and communications director.
— ongoing success after the launch of the BrandRichland video in May.
— the first draft of Messner’s project for Mansfield Rising 2.0, provides a response to survivors of gun violence and the community, has been submitted and is awaiting review. She said the project aligns with the Mansfield Rising goal of creating a feeling of security and inclusion and the chamber’s vision to advocate for the county to be a premiere place to live, work and raise a family. The final draft is expected to be available to the public in late summer, she said.