Economic Development Page1

Economic Development Page1

statement of purpose

To identify innovative land use and policy strategies for planned, measurable, and sustainable economic development.

process

The Economic Development task force held three group meetings and hosted a forum for economic development professionals. Thetask force meetings were held on September 28, 2006 in Shade at the Community Center; October 10, 2006 in Athens at the Athens County Extension office; and October 25, 2006 in Nelsonville at Rocky Brands Retail Center conference room. A forum to allow organizations, institutions and agencies to share their initiatives and programs for economic development in Athens County was held on January 26, 2007 at the Athens County Extension Office.

By the October 10, 2006 meeting, the task force had identified five pressing questions to frame the discussion and ensuing focus for this chapter. The topic areas were:

  1. How do we promote economic development from the waste stream? How do we incorporate peak oil issues?
  1. How can policy issues reframe economic development challenges or competition

such as revenue sharing between townships within the county?

  1. How do we brand or aggressively promote the county to strengthen specific sector development? For example some of our economic development strengths and focus areas include sustainable energy;utilizing high technology associated with Hocking College, Ohio University; technology businesses such as Sun Power, Global Cooling, and Diagnostic Hybrid; and tourism)
  1. How do we encourage more diversification of business types and sectors? We need to identify expansion businesses, encourage more density in desired sectors and ensure better quality jobs and continued job growth.
  1. How do we build consensus within communities as to where new or expanding economic development should occur?

Various questions allowed task force participants to provide input in two rounds of small group discussion. The feedback collected from this meeting framed discussion in the third task force meeting in Nelsonville.

background

The economy of Athens County is oriented to the government and services sectors. The Ohio Department of Development places Athens County in the Southeast region. Compared to the other eleven regions in Ohio, the Southeast Region has the lowest population as well as the fewest number of people in the labor force. The five dominant industries in the eight counties that comprise the Southeast Region are government, retail, service, manufacturing and construction.

The economy in Athens County has not always been government and service sector-oriented. The economy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was based on a combination of subsistence farming, salt production, iron production, clay products manufacturing, and coal production. Ohio University, located in the City of Athens, is an institution with approximately 20,000 students and it spawns a lot of retail and service activity. The University did not become the dominant economic force in the county until the latter half of the twentieth century.

Athens County and the region have faced economic challenges over the past two decades. The closing of a large coal mining operation in Meigs County in the 1990’s led to hundreds of layoffs for Athens County residents who worked in the Meigs mines. More recently TS Trim (315 jobs), Athens Plastics, Rocky Boots (67 jobs), and McBee Industries (361 jobs) closed their doors or reduced the manufacturing component of their business in the county.

Organizations whose primary focus is on economic development issues include:

  • The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Athens County Economic Development Council
  • The Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Nelsonville Chamber of Commerce
  • Athens County Port Authority
  • Athens County Community Improvement Corporation
  • Enterprise Development Corporation
  • Ohio University – InnovationCenter
  • Appalachian Center for Economic Networks

Organizations that actively engage in economic development work include:

  • Rural Action
  • Athens County Extension
  • Hocking College
  • OhioUniversity – Voinovich Center
  • Hocking/Athens/Perry Community Action Agency

In 2009, the Athens County Economic Development Council was created to be the principal organization for coordinating economic development activities. The Council maintains a list of properties available for business activity. This information and other county economic statistics are available on the Council’s website at

conditions & trends

Ohio County Profiles alphabetically lists the major employers of Athens County as follows:

Alexander Local Board of Education

Athens City Board of Education

Athens County Government

Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc.

ED MAP, Inc.

Federal Hocking Local Board of Education

Hocking College

Nelsonville-York Board of Education

O’Bleness Memorial Hospital

Ohio University

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Holzer, Inc. opened a medical clinic in the City of Athens in 2009 and it is also a major employer in the service sector. Of the major employers, only Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc. is listed as a manufacturer. The majority are government institutions with a concentration in education.

According to the Athens County Chamber of Commerce, AthensCounty brings in 1,591,176 visitors each year who spend a combined $170,800,000. Tourism is a significant component of local and regional business activity. The history, culture, and public recreation lands of Athens County will provide opportunities to expand this economic sector.

Residents of Athens County have a relatively short commute time of 21.7 minutes and 76.1% of them spend less than 30 minutes commuting to work. Approximately 43.7% of its residents spend 15 minutes or less commuting to work.

The following table shows employment by sector for the year 2006:

InnovationCenter at Ohio University

Photograph from Athens Area Chamber Website

Ohio County Profiles[1] lists the following employment figures by sector for Athens County:

SECTOR / AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT
Private Sector / 12,771
Goods-Producing / 1,160
Natural Resources and Mining / 150
Construction / 452
Manufacturing / 558
Service-Providing / 11,611
Trade, Transportation and Utilities / 3,587
Information / 350
Financial Services / 739
Professional and Business Services / 753
Education and Health Services / 3,176
Leisure and Hospitality / 2,516
Other Services / 481
Unclassified / 9
Federal Government / 277
State Government / 3,575
Local Government / 3,489

According to the Ohio Department of Development, the county residents have the following educational attainment:

Educational Attainment / Number / Percent
Persons 25 years and over / 31,563 / 100.0%
No high school diploma / 5,384 / 17.1%
High school graduate / 10,790 / 34.2%
Some college, no degree / 5,212 / 16.5%
Associate degree / 2,064 / 6.5%
Bachelor's degree / 3,970 / 12.6%
Master's degree or higher / 4,143 / 13.1%

According to the 2000 census, the median household income for Athens County residents was $27,322. The median household income for Ohio was $40,956.

This is a significant gap.

Athens County is considered the poorest county in the state with an individual poverty rate of 27.4%.[2]

The out-migration of higher paying miningand manufacturing jobs has had a significant impact in transforming the Athens County economy to one that is more service-based. Although the individual poverty rate is high, the unemployment rate is relatively low in comparison to the surrounding Appalachia counties. This is because many of the service-oriented jobs pay a low wage and because Ohio University requires a large labor pool. In 2007, Athens County’s unemployment rate was5.9%[PHM1], only slightly higher that the state’s rate of 5.6%. The U.S. rate for 2007 was 4.6%[3]

Athens[PHM2] County has attributes that help with business opportunity:

  • US Highway 33 by pass around Lancaster and the by pass around Nelsonville (under construction) provide a faster transport time to major highways to the north and south.
  • Ohio University and Hocking College provide technology and skilled labor while adding economic stability and a unique culture.
  • Athens County has or is close to several outdoor recreation opportunities including Wayne National Forest; Burr Oak, Strouds Run, and Hocking Hills State Parks;state forests; nature preserves; and unique city parks.These beautiful surroundings also play a large part in making Athens County a desirable place to liveand work.
  • The unique Athens culture, including an active arts community, makes the County a desirable place to have a business.

Athens Farmers Market

Photograph from Project for Public Spaces website

Following are examples of businesses that are a good match for the amenities that Athens County offers:

  • Professional service businesses – These firms will be attracted toAthens County’ high quality of life andthe presence of Ohio University and Hocking College. These businesses may include corporate headquarters,software design, science and engineering research, and callcenters.
  • Small and medium-scale manufacturing firms (20 to 150 employees) – These firms will be attracted to the county’s accessto transportation and comparatively low laborcosts. Businesses of thistype include food processors, recreationalequipment manufacturers, furniture manufacturing, specialtyapparel, and other specialty manufacturing.
  • Retirement facilities[KMB3] – Such providers will find Athens County’s health care services, access torecreational opportunities, and rural setting appealing. Businesses of this type includeactive retirement communities, assisted livingfacilities, and traditional nursing homes.
  • Tourist and recreational services-

Firms provide lodging,restaurants, guiding and liveries, specialty retail, and arts and crafts.

  • Specialty food and agriculture – An active farmer’s market, a kitchen incubator at the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet), a growing awareness of the value of locally grown food, and land suitable for truck farming provides an environment for small-scale farming.
  • Alternative energy and green service industries -These industries focus on wind, solar, biomass, and other alternative energy production.Also included are recycling and reuse industries that attempt to minimize the waste stream and find productive reuses for products. This may also includemanufacturing and/or providing green building materials and services.

Specialty wood products – Athens County’s landscape is mostly wooded. There are opportunities for utilizing wood as a natural resource to create value-added products. There are also opportunities for woodland owners to engage in active cooperative ventures in order to reduce individual costs of timber production and harvest.

Plan Concept

The strength of Athens County’s economy is essential to the community’s vitality. Proximity to outdoor recreational opportunities combined with the community’s character makes it a great place to live, visit, and do business. The Comprehensive Plan promotes economic activities that focus on green and sustainable energy, tourism and the arts, specialty food and agriculture, bio-technology, healthcare provision, recycling and reuse from the waste stream, and internet technology.

This Comprehensive Plan supports retention and expansion of businesses that employ large numbers of Athens residents suchDiagnostic Hybrids Inc., Rocky Shoes & Boots, EdMap, and Stewart MacDonald. Attracting additional business like these is important to expanding the county’s economy. Government employment is also a large portion of the economy in AthensCounty. The Comprehensive Plan encourages the continued support of existing government agencies that headquarter in Athens County. This plan identifies emerging opportunities by strengthening and attracting specific businesses, leveraging resources and creating a multi-layer brand identity.

Economic Development Page1

goals & policies

GOAL 1: Collaboration

Economic development practitioners, non-profit agencies and local governments collaborate more explicitly on projects.

Policies:

AExpand entrepreneurship support networks such as business incubators, business planning and mentoring programs, and cooperatives.

BSecure additional local, state, regional and federal funding to support retention and expansion in a variety of sectors. Strengthen partnerships with regional, state and federal resource providers to bring more capital and development services to the county.

CPromote leadership development and recruit an on-going pool of economic development professional and local entrepreneurs to participate more fully in long-term business planning.

DPartner more effectivelywith educational institutions to develop curriculum focused on entrepreneurship and technology.

EReexamine and identify models of revenue sharing between townships and the cities to create a less competitive environment and promote sustainable development for all county townships and residents.

GOAL 2: Prioritized Sector Development

The county should identify and prioritize specific economic sectors that would be most likely to thrive in AthensCounty.

Policies:

ABuild consensus among partners on specific sector development for the county to be included in regional and state plans and applications including specialty food, environmental technology, interactive digital technology, reuse and recycling from the waste stream, and life sciences.

BDevelop new mechanisms for accessing capital.

GOAL 3: Brand Identity

Create an Athens “brand identity” that serves many sectors to support existing firms and organizations as well as attract new businesses, entrepreneurs, residents and visitors to AthensCounty

Policies:

AWork with various partners such as the Chambers, ACCVB, Economic Development Council, educational institutions, merchant associations, arts districts, and heritage tourism organizations to share and align the regional branding, marketing campaigns, tourism programs and business attraction efforts.

BMarket that message to specific audiences.

CShare and link resources to centralize information such as web portals, print materials, and national advertising campaigns.

DLeverage state and regional funding to utilize new media and technology tools to reach wider target audiences

GOAL 4: Site Planning for Economic Development

During the site development process, the countyshall applyappropriate planning techniques.

Policies:

A Consider workforce needs of affordable housing and transportation options when

siting businesses.

B Use appropriate planning techniques for commercial and industrial siting. These

include:

  • Whenever possible use existing and underutilized infrastructure including

buildings and rail transportation.

  • Avoid sensitive and hazardous locations.
  • Apply access management principles to maintain the viability of access from existing public highways.

[1] Ohio Department of Development, Office of Policy, Research and Strategic Planning.

[2] US Census Bureau, Athens County, Ohio Economic Characteristics, Individuals Below Poverty Level.(The presence of a large student population skews the statistic to a certain degree because students do not have as high an income level as non-students.)

[3]Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, Office of Workforce Development, Bureau of Labor Market Information, 2007.

[PHM1]should probably have a date with this figure

[PHM2]This should be reviewed and approved by task force

[KMB3]I think Bob may have mentioned that a retirement facility had tried to locate here, but it didn’t happen. Is this right? If so, maybe this isn’t feasible.