NEWS

County's future unclear to some officials

Anna Rumer
arumer@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
  • The Port Authority is deciding whether or not to construct a new industrial park.
  • Job creation relies partly on increased post-secondary education.
  • County commissioners hope to invest in water and sewer infrastructure.

ZANESVILLE — Every time county officials step foot in their office, they take upon them the burden of the future of the county and its residents.

For many Muskingum County officials, however, planning for what lies ahead is not a top priority.

County Commissioner Todd Sands laid out his general plans for the future of the county's economy and infrastructure, but Commissioners Jim Porter and Jerry Lavy said they see their roles as more reactive than proactive and that they are focusing on the county's present rather than its future.

Making concrete goals for the future is a difficult task, Lavy and Porter said, because of the ever-changing nature of the county's $30 million general fund.

"It's fine to have goals, but you have to finance those goals and you only have a certain pile of money to work with," Porter said.

Their jobs, they agreed, have more of an administrative flavor.

"You never know what the future is going to bring," Lavy said. "You can't dictate if they're going to cut here or cut there. ... You manage the best you can."

Sands agreed that overseeing county operations is a position that lends itself to focusing mostly on the here and now, but he said he believes that working even with goals of a fluid nature is important to lead the county in the right direction.

Regardless of specific plans, the commissioners agree that the top priorities for the county have to be developing the local economy and bringing new jobs to the area.

Since the creation of the Zanesville Muskingum County Port Authority, the commissioners have been much less involved in the day-to-day marketing of the county, Sands said. Now, commissioners focus on funding the port authority and providing a sounding board for Executive Director Mike Jacoby.

Bringing business to Muskingum County

Planning for the future, Jacoby said, includes continuing the growth of companies that are already in the area as well as attracting businesses that fit into the industries with which the county has seen success — distribution and agribusiness, among others.

Although Muskingum County might not be the central location for many companies, acting as a satellite community to the ever-growing Columbus could put the economy in a better position.

"I think, based on their momentum alone, we'll probably pick up some good things," Jacoby said. "I think we're pretty well-suited to compete in that area."

Whereas Jacoby's main focus is bringing in well-paying jobs in a sustainable industry, Porter is less discriminating.

"We'll take anything we can get," he said. "We went from manufacturing to distribution to anything we can get. One job is better than none. I don't care what it is. ... I hate to say this, but you're at those companies' mercy."

Sands said he thinks capitalizing on the county's art community through events such as Pottery Week will make businesses more likely to invest in the community.

"We need to work on our image and beautifying our community," he said. "That's how you grow business and improve quality of life."

As well as the community is marketed, two practical challenges face the port authority in its efforts to bring in new businesses — location and education.

Eastpointe Business Park, home to Dollar General, Avon Products and other large distribution companies, is the only county-owned land with real potential for expansion, Jacoby said, but the available land is unusable because of strip mining and wetlands.

Purchasing and developing a new business park would be a way to avoid the cost of reclaiming the land but also would bring additional demands on the budget, including the cost of running water and sewer lines to the new area.

"We're not sure which is more expensive yet per usable acre, but we're looking at both options," Jacoby said. "We want to leave ourselves enough flexibility to go either way, depending on what we find out."

Jacoby hopes to decide on the next course of action by January.

However, providing a business with a location is useless if there are no workers skilled enough to staff it.

"We need to transition to industries that have a little higher wage, but that also means higher skill," he said. "So then it's a Catch-22. Do we train people for jobs that don't really exist in our community? How do we try to grow those businesses or bring those businesses in if we don't have the workforce?"

The efforts of Zane State College, Muskingum University, the Mid-East Career and Technology Centers and Ohio University Zanesville to offer increased technical training will help with that, Jacoby said, but to take advantage of possible revenue from higher-tech industries, there has to be an increase in post-secondary educational plans generated by the general population.

The oil and shale industry in particular will require a more educated workforce but is expected to bring about a dynamic shift in the county's economy. Though the shift would provide high-paying jobs to a large portion of the population, Porter said he, as a commissioner, cannot help it along.

"It will be here in 10 to 15 years, so we have to be patient," he said. "They're still exploring, and they'll explore in Muskingum County one of these years."

Contrary to Porter's wait-and-see approach, Jacoby said looking more in-depth into the future is important to prevent problems.

"We're thinking now about immediate project opportunities, and that's important, but if we're not spending some amount of time thinking further down the road, we can get into a position where we've been very successful for the past several years and then could basically be out of business for quite some time."

Improving county infrastructure

Although commissioners defer to Jacoby for the majority of job and business creation decisions, they take more of a direct role in the construction of water and sewer systems.

Sands thinks providing county water lines to areas such as Rix Mills, in which people have access to only low-quality or untreated water in their homes, is a vital goal for the commissioners to pursue in the next five years.

"There are people in Muskingum County who haul water to their homes, and people would be shocked by that," he said. "That's also something that's not acceptable."

Getting the money to provide that infrastructure is a concern, however. The grant money the county does have is tied up, Porter said, which makes setting goals for the potential projects next to useless.

"We get requests every day for water, and when we get the grants to do it, we do that," he said.

"You can't go a mile down the road for two people," Lavy added. "It's not going to pay for itself."

The commissioners do agree that Licking View's sewer issue, in which a system of undocumented and archaic sewer lines is causing raw sewage to periodically flow into the street, is a problem that has to be fixed in the next five years.

Original estimates from the commissioners reported that funds would be available to replace the systems with a county line in 2018, but the studies being conducted by the Muskingum County Engineer's Office and the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department hopefully will pinpoint the problem and would allow a quicker fix, Sands said.

"Certainly, that's a concern of mine, and I'd like to think that, in fewer than five years, we can solve that problem," he said. "But as far as Licking View goes, it's just obtaining information. To say it's $5 million or $10 million, I mean, we don't really know. We don't know what it takes to fix it."

Cooperating with the city

Streamlining government operations in collaboration with other local officials is a goal Sands has taken upon himself.

Moving forward with potential plans to combine the city and county jails and the misdemeanor courts is important to eliminate duplication and save taxpayer money, Sands said, but before such huge steps can even be talked about, there must be improvement in the relationship between the Muskingum County and Zanesville city government.

Although Porter said the relationship between the two entities has never been stronger, Sands believes there's always room for improvement, especially in an issue that has caused tension on both sides.

Three studies have already been commissioned by the Muskingum County Court to look at the feasibility of combining with the Zanesville Municipal Court, but city officials complained they felt strong-armed and were left out of the conversation. For the plan to move forward, Sands said, more communication and trust are needed.

"We have to work this out because, frankly, the citizens of the county are losing because we have duplication," he said. "We need a win-win-win situation with the city to benefit our community without hurting any employees."

Having conversations with city officials is the next step in searching for a solution, Sands said, because, as with many of the commissioners' plans, it will take money, time and a little bit of luck.

"We can work this out, but we haven't had those discussions and we should," he said. "I believe, as a community, we can come together and get this done."

arumer@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6758

Twitter: @AnnaRumerZTR

Meet your commissioners

Todd Sands

• Elected in 2012, no previous political office held

• Experience includes operating numerous businesses, one of which is J.T. Sands Corp.

• Paid $55,524 a year plus benefits by county

Jerry Lavy

• Elected in 2008; re-elected in 2012

• Worked for the Ohio Department of Taxation for 30 years

• Paid $55,524 a year plus benefits by county

Jim Porter

Elected in 2010; up for re-election in November; previously acted as a Perry Township trustee for 19 years

• Operates Porter Farms

• Paid $55,524 a year plus benefits by county

Tell us your thoughts

Do you think county officials should place more importance on planning for the future? Or is their focus on the present the best course of action? Email your thoughts to reporter Anna Rumer at arumer@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com.