Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the September 18, 1998 print edition
Trotwood lures Lucking from city of Dayton
John Niehaus
News Staff Reporter
When Frank Myers became Trotwood city manager in March, there was not a person on staff who had the expertise or responsibility for the city's economic development.


But that changed Sept. 14 when Mike Lucking, former acting development manager for the city of Dayton, stepped into his new role as planning and development director for the city of Trotwood. As such, Lucking will be responsible for managing the city's planning and zoning regulations, building and code enforcement and pursuing grant monies.
''I wanted a whole department dedicated to bring business and development to Trotwood,'' said Myers, who was town manager of West Warwick, R.I., for three years before coming to Trotwood. ''When you are working on economic development, you have to take a holistic approach. We wanted to have all of those pieces working in unison in a forward-thinking, positive direction.''
Lucking and Myers have major tasks ahead of them. Lucking's first task, he said, will be to establish a business retention and expansion program.
Another major task ahead for Lucking is to expand city roads near the Trotwood Connector, which links U.S. 35 to Salem Avenue almost up to Interstate 70. ''That's important for this community because before, you had to work to get here,'' Lucking said. ''It's going to make Trotwood and the rest of the county accessible.''
The connector also should open up several acres of property for light industrial development. ''It's like investing,'' Lucking said. ''You diversify your base, and this community needs more of a light industrial base.''
Housing development -- like Moss Creek, a 631-acre, 1,377-lot golf course community under development between Westbrook and Shiloh Springs roads near Oakes Road -- also is important for the city because it will help support the existing commercial and retail base, Lucking said.
With the Salem Mall and the substantial number of shopping centers along Salem Avenue, Trotwood already is a retailer's heaven. And despite the number of retailers already in the area, it's still growing. Several new stores have opened in Trotwood in recent months, including a massive Target store that opened in July.
This kind of development is not something all local communities are enjoying.
''When I was with the city of Dayton, I would have drooled to have a new Target store,'' Lucking said.
To help encourage growth, Myers and Lucking have a Community Reinvestment Act zone and an Ohio enterprise zone at their disposal. While enterprise zone abatements offer tax cuts for personal and real property, the CRA zone abatement is limited to property tax exemption of a new commercial or industrial development or rehabilitating a commercial or residential property.


By Mike Springs

Frank Myers Cont.

But the city will be cautious about how the tax incentives will be used, Myers said. ''We feel it should be focused and channeled and properly directed,'' he said. ''We don't want to give a tax abatement when a business or industry is going to come here anyway.''
With the connector, new development will come, and it will be a focus for Lucking and his department, Myers said. But the city also hopes to rebuild some existing retail areas, including stretches along Salem Avenue.
''Communities have to aggressively engage in economic development. The revenue of municipalities is tied to jobs, and Trotwood has never in the past had that kind of focus,'' Myers said. ''It's something new for us and it's necessary for us to be competitive and offer the types of amenities our residents deserve.''


?¿½ 1998 American City Business Journals Inc.




http://www.trotwood.org/CCMinutes113001special.htm

http://www.jeffersontwp.org/improv.htm

https://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/userreg/ursignup/login_signup_init.jsp?UrUsecase=800100&SendBackURL=%2Flocalnews%2Fcontent%2Flocalnews%2Fdaily%2F0424mall.html

http://www.wright.edu/cupa/NEP/acknowledgements.htm



PLEASE CHECK OUT THE ABOVE WEB SITES. MR. MYERS HAS NOT ONLY HIRED A DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BUT ACTUALLY FORGED PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SURROUNDING


By Mike Springs

Sounds reasonable

Sounds like this guy has a plan. If he were applying for this spot under the past administration, he probably would not have gotten this far in the process. Let's hope there is no dirt under his rug, and that he gets hired.