by Office Manager | Apr 26, 2023 | Community, Funding, PCED Office
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release April 20, 2023
Solicitor discussion tops Paulding County Mayor Association meeting
PAULDING – The Paulding County Mayors Association recently held a second quarter meeting. Discussion amongst the group was the recent appointment of Harvey Hyman as new Probate Judge. His appointment brought a mandated resignation as solicitor for many of the county villages. With the shortage of attorneys in the county, and the overall region, the villages are all working to lock in replacements for the position. A list of the village solicitors in the county was updated with several villages still in search.
The meeting was opened by Paulding Mayor Greg White. A presentation followed by Doug Blackwood, VP of Treasury Sales Management at Premier Bank. Blackwood shared information about a local option for municipal banking. Bundle options and various tier benefits were highlighted. Blackwood encouraged each municipality that has interest to set up a meeting to find the best fit option for their village.
Also sharing information was Brandon Manz with Manz Insurance and Accounting. Manz shared community frustrations for how RITA and CCA income tax collection is facilitated. The information followed discussion from previous mayor meetings about a futuristic solution for potentially having a county representative that could facilitate this tax collection. Manz sees this model currently working well for Hicksville, Defiance and Napoleon.
PC EMA Director Ed Bohn communicated information about county tornado sirens and current testing. It was identified during a recent storm that not all sirens are working. There was good discussion if EMA, or the village and township owners of the sirens, are responsible for testing and reporting. Bohn is also ensuring that testing will continue and offered solutions for community representatives to share results of testing. Bohn also noted that the county mitigation plans are complete and will be shared in May. The plan will be submitted and then go live July 1, 2023.
Bohn then shared information about the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse and the influx of population each village and township can expect from April 4-8, 2024. Bohn will present information at each village council meeting multiple times throughout the next year. Bohn closed by stating any village that has railroad may request a presentation from EMA about current updates in railroad safety following the devastating events in East Palestine, Ohio.
Economic Development Director Tim Copsey guided the second half of the meeting to discuss:
- The 2023-24 Ohio fiscal budget at the state house seems promising that the blight program may be funded again for both commercial and residential. As this discussion continues Copsey encouraged the villages to continue to think “outside the box” in residential or commercial properties that need remediated, and establish property parcel numbers or addresses to submit to Maumee Valley Planning for review. More details to follow once the budget is approved on June 30.
- PC Zoning Inspectors had their first meeting in March hosted by PCED. County Prosecutor Joe Burkard, and Assistant Matt Miller, were on hand to share their knowledge and answer questions for the inspectors. With many of the inspectors having limited experience the group felt the meeting was beneficial and decided to meet again next quarter.
Other open discussion included:
- Current water and sewer rates. Discussion turned to current charges, how that is working and potential ways to increase fees to stay current for future EPA grant funding as needed.
- The PCED office is developing a hard copy Paulding County service directory for residents that may not be cell phone or internet savvy. The hope is to have this list available in all villages going forward.
The group will meet again at 6pm, Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
by Office Manager | Mar 29, 2023 | Community, Events, Jobs, PCED Office, Workforce
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release March 22, 2023
PCED hosts College, Business & Industry Showcase
PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office will host a College, Business and Industry Showcase event on April 4 at the Extension Building on the Paulding County Fairgrounds. The event will bring junior and senior students from all three Paulding County high schools to learn about, meet and discuss future opportunities with area colleges and businesses.
“This event is an opportunity for students to become familiarized with local business and what they do, gain awareness of various careers, get leads on summer employment, see what colleges in the region have to offer, and much more. We understand that each student is in a different place with job and future education decisions. Our hope with this event is to meet students where they are in that decision process and help provide them with numerous options to consider for their future.” stated Economic Development Office Manager Kristen Schilt.
The event will run from 8am-12noon with students arriving at the top of each hour. All Vantage Career Center students from Antwerp, Paulding and Wayne Trace schools are invited to attend the opening hour on their way to the career center. Each school will then bus their students to the event on the hour for forty-five minutes. Homeschool students and the general public are invited to attend at any time.
Students will be provided a “passport” upon arrival. The passports suggest a variety of questions to ask participating entities to help create conversation. Each student is encouraged to talk to a minimum of five businesses and have the business sign their passport. Completed passports will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift gas card, one winner per school will be drawn. The gift cards were sponsored by National Oil & Gas, Inc. They provide fuel to Marathon gas stations all over the county.
This event has grown over the years. This year there are a new record of 52 entities that have sent an RSVP for the event, including the new Rhodes State Mobile RV laboratory. For questions about the event contact the PCED office at 419-399-8295.
by Office Manager | Mar 13, 2023 | Events, Jobs, Membership, PCED Office, Workforce
The Paulding/Defiance County Ohio Means Jobs (OMJ) office hosted a recent business workshop for Paulding County businesses. The event was facilitated by the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) at the Paulding Eagles community room.
The event was intended to educate business owners on services, tax credits and reimbursement programs available to employers through OMJ and Job & Family Services offices.
Tiffany Goings, Workforce Supervisor for Ohio Means Jobs, opened the meeting and presented OMJ’s Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) and On-The-Job (OTJ) Training reimbursement programs.
The IWT program is for employers interested in upskilling or training an employee for a different skill. OMJ will provide reimbursement for 50% of the training cost. To be eligible, the employee must be full-time and employed for at least six months.
The OTJ program is for potential candidates an employee would want to bring onto their workforce. Before an employee goes through the onboarding process, they’ll meet with the OMJ career coach team to determine their eligibility, and if they are eligible, they can receive 50% of their hourly wage, up to $13,000 or six months, whichever comes first; meaning an employer can put $13,000 back into their business to train and bring on a new hire.
OMJ also offers pre-hire assessments, drug screens, background checks, job postings on their ohiomeansjobs.com website, and services to post to social media. All of these services are available at no cost to businesses.
Greg Warren, Ohio Means Jobs Program Administrator, demonstrated how to navigate the OMJ website, i.e. employers posting their job listings, establishing metrics and guidelines for resume mining to find the ideal candidate, and managing their online accounts.
Presenter B.J. Knutson, Program Administrator for the Office of Workforce Development, presented the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a federal tax program for employers who hire eligible individuals from defined targeted groups, many of which have barriers to employment. “There is no cap on the amount of dollars that the IRS is offering,” explains Knutson. This program can also be used in conjunction with OTJ training and apprenticeship programs.”
Tech Cred was then presented and explained by Tori Atkinson, Executive Director of Workforce Development Client Services for Northwest State Community College. TechCred, a workforce training program, provides reimbursement dollars to Ohio companies that have W2 employees. Reimbursement is provided for qualified businesses when they train and upskill their workforce in short-term, technology-focused, industry-recognized credentials. Atkinson describes the program as “a win-win. Ohio is winning because your companies are winning as you train your individuals and upskill them.”
Since the start of the program in October 2018 and through 2022, over 2100 employers have applied for TechCred, equaling $24.3 million. 57,000 plus credentials have been awarded and funded through the program. “We have companies in our area that have applied [every round] since October of 2018. The application portal is currently open. The window opened on March 1, 2023, and closes at 3 p.m. on March 31, 2023. The next round will begin in May.
There are currently over 2000 credentials that are pre-approved on the list. “When the program launched, there were just over 400, and the only way to have credentials added to the pre-approval list is by employers. Training providers, universities, community colleges, don’t have the ability to request to have something added. This is completely an employer-driven system.” Participants were guided through a sign-up form for the Ohio program. For more information, to begin the application process, visit www.techcred.ohio.gov.
The meeting closed out with quick presentations from Ivy Tech, Ft. Wayne; Northwest State and Rhodes State Community Colleges as the shared how each could assist businesses in using the Tech Cred office.
by Office Manager | Feb 28, 2023 | Business Expansion, New Business, PCED Office
The Small Business Innovation Center (SBIC) located between the Paulding Area Foundation building and the Board of Elections has multiple office spaces available for rent.
Managed by the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office, the SBIC was established in 2015 to offer an economical business office setting to young, growing businesses or established businesses located outside of the immediate area. With a prime location “on the square,” these businesses have the opportunity to gauge community support and maximize their visibility to determine if opening their own storefront would be viable or beneficial. Ideally, these businesses would flourish and eventually require their own permanent spaces from vacant storefronts in Paulding County or those in need of refurbishment.
AgCredit, a member-owned farm credit lending firm from northwest Ohio,
was the first business to take advantage of the SBIC opportunity and turn it into a success. After establishing a temporary office in the SBIC, AgCredit made their move in the fall of 2020 into a revamped retail space at 839 N. Williams St and added more members to their team.
Other businesses have taken up residence in the SBIC temporarily while their future locations were either under construction or yet to be established. Paulding’s probate court temporarily occupied one of the SBIC’s office suites before moving to its permanent location on McDonald Pike. In 2020, The Union Bank expanded into Paulding by utilizing the SBIC reception area and office suite while their future location on Main St in Paulding was under renovation. The Red Angel Pizza finished out their careers with their home office in the SBIC.
PCED Director Tim Copsey noted, “The SBIC has been instrumental in establishing office space for many new and existing businesses in Paulding County. We look forward to what the future brings for the next businesses in occupying the open space.”
What the SBIC offers
The SBIC consists of two levels of rentable office spaces. The main entrance opens to the reception area with approximately 240 sq ft and plenty of workspace with two seating areas.
Between the reception area and community office area are four, 10′ x 12′ office suites. The community area is equipped with a workspace, file storage, restrooms and a full kitchenette including a microwave, sink and refrigerator. Three of the suites are currently occupied by PC Waste Management, Maid to Achieve, and United Edge Real Estate and Auction.
At the far end of the lower level is a community boardroom that seats up to 12 people.
All of the spaces are powered and equipped with wifi.
Upstairs, there is a total of five rentable office spaces, four of which are currently occupied. There are two conference rooms available to rent by the hour. Northwest State Community College has held conferences in this space and Paulding Entrepreneurial Network (PEN) holds meetings there twice a month.
Businesses that currently occupy the upper-level offices are Habitat for Humanity, Family First Bail Bondsman, Papin Photography and Northwest Ohio Wind.
Available spaces for rent
There is currently one upstairs office space available for rent, as well as the reception area and one office suite on the lower level now that Union Bank has moved into its new location next to Grounded Coffee & Crumbs on Main St.
For more information about the SBIC, or for a tour of these spaces, contact Office Manager Kristen Schilt at 419-399-8295, or office@pced.net.
by Office Manager | Feb 28, 2023 | Community, Events, Funding, PCED Office
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release February 26, 2023
MVPO facilitates Antwerp community SWOT meeting
ANTWERP – The Antwerp community recently participated in a Strengths,Weaknesses ,Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis with public input from village officials and community organization partners and residents. 32 guests participated in the public event, held at the Antwerp VFW community room. The collaborative event was hosted by the Paulding County Economic Development office and Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission, and facilitated by Estee Miller with Maumee Valley Planning Organization (MVPO).
Miller noted, “Conducting SWOT analyses allow us to gain an understanding of the needs of a community and how we (MVPO) can leverage strengths and opportunities to meet those needs.”
The Antwerp community is blessed with many organizations and groups that provide: government oversite, community fundraising and input, not-for-profit facilitation, and philanthropic input throughout the year. Several of the noted groups that participated included: Antwerp Village Council, Carryall Township, Antwerp Chamber of Commerce, Antwerp Community Development Corporation (ACDC), Antwerp Rotary, Antwerp Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and the Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission.
Economic Development Director Tim Copsey set the stage, opening the meeting by explaining how the meeting came about: “While attending meetings with all of the Antwerp organizations, it was clear that each group has a goal or mission in mind to better the community. There just didn’t seem to be a clear interweaving of information or definition that each group was aware, or understood the goals of the other groups. This sharing of communication allows for all groups and community residents to collectively participate, and share, what each believes would be the pertinent pieces for a SWOT analysis”.
MVPO will take the data that was shared and gathered, and will develop a community survey. The survey data will guide MVPO, and the village, when future grants become available. Having data already collected saves time when grant application timelines are short.
This event follows similar events held around Paulding County. MVPO facilitated a similar event recently in the Village of Oakwood and the Village of Latty hosted their own independent analysis.
The Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission also held a brief business meeting during the event and shared several zoning maps in hope of receiving feedback for future thoughts in regard to the traffic thoroughfare in the community.
Learn more about the Village of Antwerp www.villageofantwerp.com and for more information about Maumee Valley Planning Organization and their grant writing for Paulding, Defiance, Fulton, Henry, or Williams County contact them at 419-784-3882
by Office Manager | Feb 14, 2023 | Community, Funding, PCED Office, Workforce
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release February 13, 2022
OhioMeansJobs presents to Paulding County Commissioners
PAULDING – OhioMeansJobs (OMJ) representatives visited Paulding County to share information and answer questions here.
During some recent business retention and expansion (BR&E) visits in the county, HR Managers at manufacturing business sites shared some concerns and frustrations for their employees. This was in regard to the current unemployment system and payments. The concerns were noted by county Commissioner Mike Weible. This meeting came at the request of Commissioner Mike Weible to county economic development Director Tim Copsey to see if there might be some local OMJ support members to see how they might help.
The meeting was attended by Rocky Rockhold, Greater Ohio Workforce Board; Jamie Stemen, Program Delivery Supervisor, Office of Workforce Development, Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services (OJFS); Michael Burkholder, Workforce Specialist, Office of Workforce Development OJFS; Nathan Strange, Program Delivery Manager, Office of Workforce Development, OJFS; local contact Tiffany Goings, OhioMeansJobs Defiance/Paulding Counties, Workforce Supervisor; PC commissioners Mark Holtsberry, Lisa McClure, Weible, Copsey and Kristen Schilt with the PC Economic Development office.
Copsey introduced Burkholder who in turn introduced the team and shared how the offices work closely with the county through the communication and collaboration of Goings and Copsey at the local level, and how other branches and higher levels are pulled in as necessary. This led to the sharing of questions and concerns from commissioners.
Rockhold stepped in and started from the top and shared how the “chain of command” works with the OhioMeansJobs hierarchy, including all that is involved from the federal level, all the way down through the state to the local level. In sharing the information, it was emphasized that despite their many roles and divisions, the team really was there to help and get questions answered or requests guided in the right direction. It was then realized that the unemployment questions and issues are not even covered in these branches of OhioMeansJobs, but actually from the Ohio unemployment side. This is an entirely different division of offices in Ohio. However, the representatives present could get the commissioners in touch with a contact from the unemployment division of the office at any time.
Once the unemployment information was understood, the conversation of all the additional pieces of help and collaboration that could take place with these representatives, was promoted. The current programs funded by the group, and new opportunities that could be beneficial were all noted for future projects and discussion.
Copsey pointed out that Goings is an outstanding county resource and that on many visits to area businesses she is invited and attends. This helps employers with workforce questions get answers both quickly and accurately and that the collaboration between offices remains strong.
All parties involved noted this was a very good meeting for learning and understanding and that a follow up meeting should be scheduled.
