by Isabella Carwile | Jun 12, 2024 | Business Expansion, Community, PCED Office, Property Development
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release – June 12th, 2024
PAULDING – The Paulding County Land Reutilization Committee met in June to share information and receive updates about many completing and some new projects.
Several positive comments have been expressed to the committee in regard to a site recently remediated in the Village of Payne. The property, located just on the south edge of the village along Highway 49 at the Flat Rock Creek bridge, was purchased by the Land Bank committee last winter. The committee was able to contract with Dangler Excavating and had several old semi-trailers, a structure and some other trash removed prior to grading and seeding the lot. The noticeably clean property was then sold to the commercial building owner next door.
Paulding County Treasurer, and Land Bank Committee President Lou Ann Wannemacher, shared that the Land Bank has finalized purchase of the trailer court located at 802 N. Main Street in Paulding. The purchase from S&N Partnership,LLC will allow for some very aged mobile homes to be removed and remediation of the property to make room for future development. This trailer court had a fire last winter in which three residents lost their lives.
Another property purchase that has local attention is the former Faith Alive Church building located at 220 N. Williams Street in Paulding. This building will be removed to make way for the new Paulding Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial. There has been much inquiry about some of the stain glass windows, pews and other memorabilia inside the building. The committee is working with local auctioneer Larry Gorrell to have an online auction in the future for purchase of the items. More information will be shared about the auction dates as this project develops.
Matt Wagner, with EPA consultant Tetra Tech, shared information about the final clean-up procedures at the former Liberty Fuel Station, that was located in front of the former Varner’s Trailer Court on the east side of Antwerp. A final soil test is being procured. A low contamination reading will allow the sale of the property. Wagner also reported the Stokely and Grizzley remediation projects are still on hold awaiting Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) approvals of the remediation application.
Turning to residential and commercial building blight, Estee Blair, local land bank consultant with Maumee Valley Planning Organization, asked the committee for review and approval of a grading template that would provide her office a systematic process to determine awarded demolition contractors for future projects. Following questions and discussion, the committee approved the template as presented. Blair also noted that there still has been no response to the 47 projects submitted to ODOD for Paulding County remediation.
In final discussion of the full agenda meeting, the Land Bank committee had the opportunity to acquire two parcels in the unincorporated Village of Mandale, located in the county’s southeast corner. The parcels were not purchased in a recent foreclosure auction. The committee agreed to accept the parcels to try and remediate them and contribute to a positive change in the area.
by Office Manager | May 16, 2024 | PCED Office, Property Development
PAULDING COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRESS RELEASE 5 16 2024
PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development office recently hosted several development roundtable discussions. Businesses owners, employees and individual members of the Paulding County Economic Development office were invited to attend from three sectors: finance, construction/development and realty. The intent of the roundtables was to organize an internal county team that is interested in developing residential opportunities in Paulding County.
The first roundtable discussion was with the financial group. Banking and credit union leaders, from seven financial institutions around the region, met to hear about project opportunities, potential properties available through private and land bank property options, and learned about different State of Ohio residential grant programs taking place. The group also shared information including: subdivision development, current lending, interest rates, modular home financing and an upcoming Vibrant Communities Grant seminar. The seminar will be held at the Paulding Eagles from 2:30-4:00 pm on Thursday, May 23. The seminar is open to the public but the currently the only eligible communities for the grant are the villages of Antwerp, Broughton, Cecil, Grover Hill, Haviland, Melrose, Oakwood & Payne.
The next roundtable group was the construction/contractors group. This group included 13 businessmen whose expertise ranged anywhere from building inspection to foundation development, framing, drywall work and HVAC installation, to roofing, siding and finishing. This group was the most vocal as new introductions were made, new homebuilding myths were busted and new ideas were shared. The connections made in this meeting were certainly worthwhile and are already enticing new development project discussions.
The final group to meet was the realty teams. Nine realtors, representing six regional realty groups joined Megan Foos with Northwest Ohio REALTORS.
Interestingly enough, these local teams confirmed much of the same that is being discussed in villages and counties throughout Ohio, that there needs to be more housing. There is interest to build, there is equity to be spent on speculative builds, there just isn’t enough road, water, sewer, surface drainage infrastructure in place for building of single family, multi family or senior living complexes to begin. The group provided thoughts on how we might overcome this barrier and how we need to work in conjunction with grants and other funding to make this work.
Tim Copsey, Director for Paulding County Economic Development office summarized, “We have been hearing from so many different business, individuals and entities involved with all of these sectors. We just felt the best way to include our current and potential investment members in the conversation, and get them a seat at the development table, was to pull them all together in these roundtable meetings. Once everyone was introduced in their respective groups the discussion took off just as we hoped. These were definitely worth our organizations time and investment. We are excited to share what came out of these roundtable meetings and discussions.”
To learn more about commercial, retail and residential projects developing in Paulding County please contact Paulding County Economic Development at 419-399-8282.
by Isabella Carwile | Apr 19, 2024 | Community, Property Development
PAULDING – The John Paulding VFW Post #587 has announced a new veterans memorial that will be established in the village. The monument will face the corner of US127 and Caroline Street and is designed to honor all veterans and branches of the military. The main monument is the centerpiece of the memorial that features three towering granite pillars and a life size bronze eagle. There will be six granite memorials honoring the service branches of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force. It will then have two additional memorials honoring Gold Star Families and Combat Wounded Veterans, along with a bronze battle cross memorial and three commercial grade flagpoles holding the flag of the United States of America, the Ohio State flag, and the Prisoner of War flag.
The memorial will be built at 220 N. Williams Street, facing northeast, so it will be viewed by passing cars going south on US127. This is the current site of the former Church of Christ and more recently Faith Alive Church building.
The Paulding VFW team has invested extensive time in sharing insight and aesthetic goals for the monument, working with Homier Monumental in Defiance, Ohio, in designing a plan that was recently revealed to the public.
VFW Post #587 Commander John Daeger stated, “Our post members wanted to give the Paulding community a memorial that would provide suitable recognition of their citizens who served in the military. The proposal, provided by Homier’s Monumental, exceeded everyone’s expectations. Upon our first review, we were awestruck. It took a while for us to fully absorb all the unique features of the veterans memorial. Once completed, the memorial will be a prominent feature of downtown Paulding and something for our future generations to respect and cherish.”
The site of the memorial was made in part by many collaborative discussions prior to the VFW team involvement. Paulding County Economic Development Director Tim Copsey shared, “The PCED office was tasked with trying to find a building for a new church organization that has grown in the Paulding village some time ago. We talked with the owner of this church building and scheduled some walk though visits. We brought in church members and then contractors to see what it would take to rehab the structure to a clean and safe environment. The deeper we looked the more we found that needed to be remediated, to the point that no one could afford the purchase and investment and still see a return on investment.”
The largest remediation issues, pointed out by two different contractors, included: roof, ceiling, HVAC, and lead paint issues, in addition to a heavy black mold presence in the basement area. It was at this point ownership was interested in working with the Paulding County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank) to see what options were available.
“Once it was agreed there was not going to be an investment into the building, and the Land Bank was asked to get involved. They provided the necessary funding for the demolition and removal of the church structure. However, the Land Bank was not interested in taking on this project just to tear down a building and have another empty lot in town. The Land Bank wanted to have a purposeful and positive end use for this site. The timing of the VFW team asking about available sites in the village could not have come at a better time.” Copsey continued.
The Paulding VFW team had been working on their own for quite some time discussing different options and sizes for memorials. The catch continually seemed to be where the memorial(s) would be located. A casual inquiry from Jon Snodgrass with Copsey, and a follow up conversation by VFW committee member John Daeger led to final discussion about the pending opportunity to place the memorial on this site.
Daeger shared, “In the initial stages of our project, our post members spent hours searching Paulding for locations for the veteran’s memorial without success. Just when we were about ready to terminate the project, we were contacted by Tim Copsey who inquired if we would be interested in the church property. It only took us a couple heartbeats to respond yes, and to request additional information. Since our first meeting with the Land Bank, Paulding County Area Foundation (PCAF) and the Paulding Fraternal Order of Eagles, the VFW has been totally overwhelmed by the level of support and interest of everyone we spoke with. What started as a dream, has now turned into something that is very achievable.”
There are many incredible individuals and various entities working toward the end goal of a meaningful and beautiful memorial. Included in that is the Village of Paulding. Through initial design drawings and revisions, the village has been instrumental in discussing pieces of sidewalk development and potential upgrade of the adjoining city owned parking lot to the south of this site.
“The Village of Paulding is very excited about the new Veterans Memorial. We believe it’s a wonderful project that will honor those who have served our country worldwide, and also in remembrance of those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom.” Commented Village of Paulding Mayor Greg White.
Fundraising for the project has already begun. In yet further collaboration, the Paulding Fraternal Order of Eagles has made a significant initial donation to kick off the $250,000+ fundraising needed for the project. PCAF will be the fundraising collection point for the project. There are many achievable levels of donation including “in-kind” donations. If you would like to make a monetary donation you can send them to PCAF at 101 E. Perry Street Paulding Attn: Cardinal Park Veterans Memorial. For additional questions or involvement contact John Daeger.
by Office Manager | Mar 19, 2024 | Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), PCED Office, Property Development
PAULDING – The first quarter Paulding County Zoning Inspector meeting was recently held at the OSU Extension Building. Tim Copsey, Paulding County Economic Development Director, provided a brief overview of previous meetings for new attendees and shared how this meeting has developed and grown out of the quarterly county mayor meetings. This group developed in 2023 and has continued to meet as a way to bridge communication gaps and provide idea sharing and collaboration around the county. Copsey then introduced the guest speaker, the Honorable Suzanne Rister, Municipal Court Judge, to the group of township trustees, mayors, village council officials and other local officials that attended.
Judge Rister shared the legal process involved in addressing junk or trash ordinances within villages and townships. She presented stats regarding the number of cases handled by the municipal court and shared that there is a low occurrence of zoning cases across the county. Most issues are resolved through correspondence from governing agencies. The number of zoning cases presented to the court annually were: eight in 2020, two in 2021, nineteen in 2022, eight in 2023, and none so far in 2024. Only a small fraction of cases gets to the point of jailable offenses. The cases that do mainly involve repeated violations of the same code.
Judge Rister highlighted the importance of clear communication between townships and village officials and residents, stressing the need of providing detailed documentation and current evidence in zoning violation cases.
Fines collected from convictions are returned to the charging entity. Judge Rister also addressed reimbursement policies, including attorney fees, indicating her efforts to alleviate financial burden on localities in these cases.
Incite was provided for how to increase the likelihood of favorable rulings for concerned localities. Judge Rister advised that representatives from villages or townships stand alongside prosecutors during court proceedings to be a witness to the case.
Participants asked about various procedure and process aspects, such as submitting evidence and how to handle repeat offenders. Judge Rister provided clarifications on landlord responsibilities and the criteria for jailable offenses.
Prosecutor Joe Burkard followed and elaborated on strategies for addressing property cleanup, expressing the importance of thorough information and gathering photos and time stamped evidence.
Copsey followed providing updates on community cleanup efforts, highlighting recent accomplishments, and shared ongoing projects where the Paulding County Land Bank and Community Improvement Corporations are involved.
Copsey then shared a prospective new project that may aid in cutting down zoning violations. A recent investment at Kohart’s Surplus and Salvage, now provides a way to efficiently shred and recycle vehicles. A request was made to all townships and villages to have conversations with property owners that have vehicles that do not have current plates on them. If the owners are willing to sell the vehicle there is a possibility of designing a county program to purchase these cars and remove them at no cost to the owners. In order for this program to develop we need to understand the demand and interest from residents.
Attendees discussed potential ways, including local recycling events, to facilitate resident cleanup efforts and how to identify blighted properties or open lots for future redevelopment.
Sarah McCabe, with the Paulding County Auditors office, shared that the County GIS system is updated now with zoning layers for Oakwood, Antwerp, Paulding and Crane Township. This was thanks to collaboration with the Paulding County Engineers office.
The importance of continuing to improve the county GIS system was noted. It is extremely helpful when inquires for site development come into the PCED office, especially for water and sewer infrastructure mapping. All localities were encouraged to work on mapping their utilities to better streamline planning down the road.
All in attendance agreed to meet again next quarter for continued collaboration between zoning inspectors and to discuss community revitalization efforts.
by Office Manager | Jan 5, 2024 | Business Expansion, Events, Funding, New Business, Property Development
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release January 5, 2024
JobsOhio Inclusion Grant Info Session for Local Businesses
Paulding County – Local business owners are invited to an informative session on the JobsOhio Inclusion Grant, presented by Jessica Sattler from the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP).
Date: Wednesday January 17, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Location: Paulding Eagles, 206 W Perry St, Paulding
This session will highlight grant opportunities for businesses in the specific communities of Paulding, Broughton, Cecil, and Oakwood. Qualifying businesses may access a $25,000 grant. Additionally, minority, female, disabled, or veteran-owned businesses may qualify for further funding opportunities.
To attend, RSVP to Paulding County Economic Development at office@pced.net or call 419-399-8295.
by Office Manager | Dec 19, 2023 | Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), Property Development
PAULDING – The December meeting of the Paulding County Land Reutilization Committee (Land Bank) was hosted at the office of the Paulding County Commissioners.
Matt Wagner, with EPA consultant Tetra Tech, shared that the long-awaited letter of approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers has finally been received. The letter confirms that the bodies of water located on the former Stokely and Grizzley properties were man-made and are not actual designated Ohio wetlands. With this confirmation the water can be drained and the property leveled for approved future development. As the committee establishes criteria for a future excavation bidding, the current owner of the former Grizzley brake factory, Arvin Environmental Management, LLC. has committed to some property border foliage remediation and fence repair on the site.
The Paulding theatre building and adjoining Noneman building demolition will begin after the first of the year. There continues to be research in regard to an adjoining wall on the west side of the theatre with a neighboring building. Legal pieces are taking place to make sure everything is legally covered should the demolition of the wall hurt the integrity of that building. The entire project must be complete by June 2024 for the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) funding to be used. The committee and Wagner are making sure the timeline will be met.
In regard to the residential and commercial blight removal program, completed applications continue to flow in. Estee Miller, Planner with Maumee Valley Planning Organization, shared the updated list of Paulding County completed applications that have been received. The committee discussed the list and also noted the several properties that applications have been sent out but not yet received. The group understands there may be more applications this year than funds to provide remediation for all properties. The committee will begin prioritizing the list. The applications will be submitted to the state by April 1, 2024.
Miller also shared that the remaining $50,000 in funding from the first round of ODOD residential funds was approved to be used for existing projects. This allowed four more projects to be bid for remediation. These properties should see demolition work starting immediately.
Paulding County Economic Development Director, Tim Copsey updated the committee on the properties located on the Paulding County side of the Village of Scott. A good meeting with the village council provided the detailed information requested by the county health department in regard to sewer and water connections there. This should allow future new residential development on the four Paulding County Land Bank owned properties including a potential new Vantage Career Center student-built home. If all details worked out the home would not begin until the 2025-26 school year.
The committee closed out the meeting going into executive session to discuss additional properties to acquire for potential remediation. No decisions were made. The land bank will continue to accept and work with property owners looking to find relief for properties that are behind on taxes or they are struggling to maintain or keep up.
