Not quite accurate
Hold on, I read back through old media reports from late in the Bushman regime. It says that Susan Crotty, this Hansley character?’s predecessor was a founding member of the alliance.
Is this another Gilleland smokescreen? What the matter Judith, too many blondes in the salon?
Pickerington joins alliance of Route 33 communities
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By SEAN CASEY
ThisWeek Staff Writer; ThisWeek Staff Writer Robert Paschen contributed to this story.
Pickerington has joined a regional consortium created to attract development to Fairfield County's primary commercial artery.
At its Oct. 19 meeting, city council's finance committee unanimously authorized the city's membership in the Route 33 Growth Alliance, a group that has pooled funds to hire a consultant to market the evolving corridor to business investors.
The alliance already consists of Canal Winchester and Lancaster; Bloom, Greenfield and Violet townships; Fairfield County; and the chambers of commerce from Canal Winchester, Pickerington and Lancaster.
Pickerington will contribute $2,000 this year and $6,000 for each of the next five years to the group to help fund the marketing campaign, said the city's economic development director, Tim Hansley, who recommended membership to the finance committee.
''(Route 33) is the lifeblood of development to the south,'' Hansley said. ''If we never did another annexation, we would still get spinoff benefits from development along the corridor.''
The Ohio Department of Transportation is transforming U.S. Route 33 into a limited-access, high-speed roadway by removing intersections and constructing interchanges. Coupled with the Lancaster bypass, which opened last fall, ODOT intends for this initiative to reduce the travel time between Columbus' outerbelt and Interstate 77 in eastern Ohio by as much as an hour.
The money amassed by the Route 33 Growth Alliance will pay for the Dublin-based firm, Resource Development Group, to craft a plan to market this improved access to major shipping routes to commercial investors.
Through RDG, the group wants to raise between $200,000 and $250,000 for the project annually over the next five years. RDG will attempt to raise two-thirds of those dollars through private-sector contributions, with the remaining third coming from public entities.
Canal Winchester Mayor Jeff Miller said the alliance expects the marketing campaign to launch next fall, once it raises some of the initial funding.
According to Mike Pettit, economic development director for Lancaster, the alliance has committed its efforts to just the stretch of Route 33 lying between Canal Winchester and Lancaster because of the group's unified goals for the area. However, if the partnership proves effective, the alliance may extend an invitation to the city of Columbus and Franklin County, he said.
In addition to the commercial development that may materialize through the efforts of the alliance, Hansley said the mere formation of the group is beneficial.
''It shows every one of us is working with our neighbors and that can lead to other positive discussions,'' he said. ''There is no downside I can think of to it.''
Hold on, I read back through old media reports from late in the Bushman regime. It says that Susan Crotty, this Hansley character?’s predecessor was a founding member of the alliance.
Is this another Gilleland smokescreen? What the matter Judith, too many blondes in the salon?
Pickerington joins alliance of Route 33 communities
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By SEAN CASEY
ThisWeek Staff Writer; ThisWeek Staff Writer Robert Paschen contributed to this story.
Pickerington has joined a regional consortium created to attract development to Fairfield County's primary commercial artery.
At its Oct. 19 meeting, city council's finance committee unanimously authorized the city's membership in the Route 33 Growth Alliance, a group that has pooled funds to hire a consultant to market the evolving corridor to business investors.
The alliance already consists of Canal Winchester and Lancaster; Bloom, Greenfield and Violet townships; Fairfield County; and the chambers of commerce from Canal Winchester, Pickerington and Lancaster.
Pickerington will contribute $2,000 this year and $6,000 for each of the next five years to the group to help fund the marketing campaign, said the city's economic development director, Tim Hansley, who recommended membership to the finance committee.
''(Route 33) is the lifeblood of development to the south,'' Hansley said. ''If we never did another annexation, we would still get spinoff benefits from development along the corridor.''
The Ohio Department of Transportation is transforming U.S. Route 33 into a limited-access, high-speed roadway by removing intersections and constructing interchanges. Coupled with the Lancaster bypass, which opened last fall, ODOT intends for this initiative to reduce the travel time between Columbus' outerbelt and Interstate 77 in eastern Ohio by as much as an hour.
The money amassed by the Route 33 Growth Alliance will pay for the Dublin-based firm, Resource Development Group, to craft a plan to market this improved access to major shipping routes to commercial investors.
Through RDG, the group wants to raise between $200,000 and $250,000 for the project annually over the next five years. RDG will attempt to raise two-thirds of those dollars through private-sector contributions, with the remaining third coming from public entities.
Canal Winchester Mayor Jeff Miller said the alliance expects the marketing campaign to launch next fall, once it raises some of the initial funding.
According to Mike Pettit, economic development director for Lancaster, the alliance has committed its efforts to just the stretch of Route 33 lying between Canal Winchester and Lancaster because of the group's unified goals for the area. However, if the partnership proves effective, the alliance may extend an invitation to the city of Columbus and Franklin County, he said.
In addition to the commercial development that may materialize through the efforts of the alliance, Hansley said the mere formation of the group is beneficial.
''It shows every one of us is working with our neighbors and that can lead to other positive discussions,'' he said. ''There is no downside I can think of to it.''
