The Township Has Applied For The Five Million Dollars
According to the Ohio Department of Development, Granville Township has applied for an Ohio Job Ready Sites Program grant. Under the program, the State will provide up to $5,000,000 requiring local matching money. Trustee Bill Habig told the other trustees, “Owens plans to do the on-site work and that will serve as the local match for the grant.”
The Granville Press asked Melissa Vince of the Ohio Department of Development when the Township’s application was submitted. She said, “The deadline for submission to the District Public Works Integrating Committees was May 15, so it could have been submitted that day or earlier, but we don’t have an exact date.”
The Township Trustees first considered and approved this grant at their meeting on April 9, 2008 (See minutes) which means Trustee Habig produced the $5,000,000 application in a month or less.
When asked for a copy of the application, Norm Kennedy, Township Fiscal Officer, replied, “I have not seen the application and will need to find out how much it will cost to copy it.” Kennedy promised to determine the cost and provide a copy.
It isn’t clear if the other Township Trustees, Fred Abraham and Wes Sargent have seen the application.
The Ohio Job Ready Sites (JRS) Program, authorized by Ohio’s voters under Issue 1 in 2005, was created to bolster the State’s inventory of available facility locations served by utility and transportation infrastructure. Sites improved under the program are kept at-the-ready for future business prospects seeking locations for new or expanded operations.
The State will sell $150 million in bonds during a seven-year period to fund the availability of JRS Program grant awards. Each grant is capped at $5 million and may be used to offset costs traditionally incurred in industrial and commercial site development, from acquisition of real property to utility upgrades to construction build-out of speculative facilities.
Funds are directed strategically to achieve two equally important objectives: (1) to create sites filling gaps in Ohio’s current site inventory and (2) to foster unique, catalytic re-investments in developed areas of the State. As such, JRS Program funds are available each year to a limited number of sites that offer Ohio’s best opportunities for future large-scale development and/or re-use.
Click here to view grants previously awarded under the JRS program.
The proposed update to the Granville Comprehensive Plan calls for a traditional neighborhood development on the Owens Corning site with a possible new town center - the first outside of downtown Granville.
However, the JRS program will not support residential development, but could underwrite infrastructure development costs for light industry and/or research/office facilities on the Owens site. This kind of development would be very beneficial to the tax base in support of Granville Schools.
The grant could also be used to help with the development of commercial properties including “big box” stores. However, the residents of both Granville Township and the Village have repeatedly expressed overwhelming opposition to this type of commercial development.
See previous story about the Township - Owens Corning grant:
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Go Habig go
Tell us when it’s over. You are our HERO, even though we don’t know you. Whatever a trustee that nobody’s ever met does must be great. It’s like a surprise party. The Unknown Trustee comes to town and reinvents Owens Corning. Let’s hope he’s also controlling open space money and roads and the Granville Rec Commission. We all know that not living here, never having a kid in a rec league or in Granville schools, not owning a business or going to Denison or cutting down a christmas tree at homestead farms …we all know that’s what makes the Great Habig perfect for fixing this sad old place. What did we do without you! You are my HERO. But please please please, do it secretly. We’re too stupid to know what’s best for Granville. We shall follow you. All hail Plankton!
trustees-own worst enemy?
The secretness of the trustees and their contempt for public opinion could hurt them here if they’re trying to do something that works for Granville. Let’s wait to see the details and, if they deserve plaudits, let’s give it to them. However, experience tells that elected officials seldom hide something they’re proud of.
Could Habig Really Be On Our Side?
Well, well, well.
Looks to me like Habig knows what he’s doing. Do you think he can actually get us five million dollars and develop a research/office complex on the Owens Corning property?
If he does that, I’ll take back all my suspicions and mean thoughts about him.
Oh, by the way, Granville utilities only, please.
How about more information in a timely manner?
It helps a lot to know that the JRS program cannot be used to support residential development. But it would be nice to see a copy of the application so we are all on the same wavelength. It is not clear how this fits in or not with the draft Comprehensive Plan. I think the trustees may want to be a bit more open with their plans.
A grant to help support light industry and/or research/office could be very helpful. Obviously big or medium box stores would be a disaster, but it sounds like that could be avoided.
If we can also avoid Habig’s proposed potential placement of Southwest Licking Water and Sewer deep into the township, then this could end up being quite beneficial.