Pickerington continues deal debate
Scrutiny endures over economic development agreement
By TAMARIA L. KULEMEKA
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
tkulemeka@nncogannett.com
PICKERINGTON - The debate on a proposed economic development agreement between the city and township will continue next week before Pickerington City Council.
The proposal has been scrutinized by some council members and praised by others.
The city and township would work jointly in any future commercial development within the township boundaries and Pickerington Local School District boundaries under the proposed agreement.
''I think when you look at where we're at, we have a strong agreement that will have a long lasting impact in our community,'' said Councilman Jeff Fix, who drafted the initial economic development agreement.
The proposed agreement has undergone many revisions through council work sessions. The agreement was reviewed by council's Service Committee on Thursday. Service Committee members voted 2-1 to pass the agreement on to council.
Councilman Ted Hackworth, who serves as chairman of the Service Committee, cast the dissenting vote.
''(The agreement has) been kind of rewritten in a lot of ways, but it still has the same flaws as far as I'm concerned,'' Hackworth said. ''We're giving up our right to annex and form our own boundaries. Any annexations we do, especially on commercial, we'd have to share our revenues with the township.''
Hackworth said the city has been adamant about paying its debt down, putting policies in place to reduce its debt.
''We will be in a lot of trouble if we follow through on this,'' he said. ''Even if everything out on U.S. 33 comes to be, we're 10 to 20 years out before any revenues start coming in from there. It's nice to think about the future, but we better think about the debt we have today, and how we're going to pay for that.''
Council will consider options such as how much revenue the city will share with the township regarding annexations, the road and bridge levy and income tax revenue. Compensation was to be shared equally in the original drafted agreement.
Council also will decide how long the agreement will last. The original draft was for 30 years.
Some headway is being made, said Tim Hansley, director of development for the city.
''I think that the debate a month and a half ago was kind of divisive,'' Hansley said. ''But now, I think the focus is more on the issues and not the personalities behind the issues. I think either side can now come together and agree on the language that will result in an agreement coming out of council.''
Some people have questioned why Hansley was not placed in charge of such a task calling for economic development ties between the city and township.
Mayor David Shaver appointed Fix to work with the township and develop an agreement, which was prior to Hansley being hired by the city.
Fix believes he has enough votes to get the agreement passed through council.
By Snake Oil
Scrutiny endures over economic development agreement
By TAMARIA L. KULEMEKA
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
tkulemeka@nncogannett.com
PICKERINGTON - The debate on a proposed economic development agreement between the city and township will continue next week before Pickerington City Council.
The proposal has been scrutinized by some council members and praised by others.
The city and township would work jointly in any future commercial development within the township boundaries and Pickerington Local School District boundaries under the proposed agreement.
''I think when you look at where we're at, we have a strong agreement that will have a long lasting impact in our community,'' said Councilman Jeff Fix, who drafted the initial economic development agreement.
The proposed agreement has undergone many revisions through council work sessions. The agreement was reviewed by council's Service Committee on Thursday. Service Committee members voted 2-1 to pass the agreement on to council.
Councilman Ted Hackworth, who serves as chairman of the Service Committee, cast the dissenting vote.
''(The agreement has) been kind of rewritten in a lot of ways, but it still has the same flaws as far as I'm concerned,'' Hackworth said. ''We're giving up our right to annex and form our own boundaries. Any annexations we do, especially on commercial, we'd have to share our revenues with the township.''
Hackworth said the city has been adamant about paying its debt down, putting policies in place to reduce its debt.
''We will be in a lot of trouble if we follow through on this,'' he said. ''Even if everything out on U.S. 33 comes to be, we're 10 to 20 years out before any revenues start coming in from there. It's nice to think about the future, but we better think about the debt we have today, and how we're going to pay for that.''
Council will consider options such as how much revenue the city will share with the township regarding annexations, the road and bridge levy and income tax revenue. Compensation was to be shared equally in the original drafted agreement.
Council also will decide how long the agreement will last. The original draft was for 30 years.
Some headway is being made, said Tim Hansley, director of development for the city.
''I think that the debate a month and a half ago was kind of divisive,'' Hansley said. ''But now, I think the focus is more on the issues and not the personalities behind the issues. I think either side can now come together and agree on the language that will result in an agreement coming out of council.''
Some people have questioned why Hansley was not placed in charge of such a task calling for economic development ties between the city and township.
Mayor David Shaver appointed Fix to work with the township and develop an agreement, which was prior to Hansley being hired by the city.
Fix believes he has enough votes to get the agreement passed through council.
By Snake Oil
