Volume 4, Issue 30                                                                                                                Friday, March 30, 2007

Chamber calendar

Saturday, March 31: Leadership Chillicothe Ross class building handicapped ramp to Railroad Museum on Water Street, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday, April 5: Coffee and doughnuts with the Chairman and CEO; members are invited to talk with Board Chairman Ed Behanna and CEO Marvin Jones about issues affecting their business and how the chamber can help; call for reservations as space is limited, 702-2722.

Friday, April 6: Office closed in observance of Good Friday.

Tuesday, April 10: Membership and Events Committee, 11:30 a.m., meet at chamber for trip to Milestone Lodge.

Wednesday, April 11: Leadership Chillicothe Ross session, Community Service Day, starting site to be determined, 7:45 a.m.

Thursday, April 12: Ross County Safety Council, Annual Awards Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Chillicothe Country Club, Safety Luncheon reservation

Thursday, April 12: Community Development and Advocacy Committee, chamber, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 17: Leadership Chillicothe Ross Steering Committee, chamber, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 18: Business After Business at Herrnstein Hyundai, River Road at Ohio 207 Connector and U.S. 23 north, 5-7 p.m., BAB registration.

Thursday, April 19: Executive Committee, chamber, 8:30 a.m.

Thursday, April 19: Ross County Safety Council, tour of Ohio University-Chillicothe law enforcement/fire academy facilities, Pohlman Road, 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 21: Leadership Chillicothe Ross “Shred It Day”, Yoctangee Park, across from Diamond One, public and businesses invited to bring records to be destroyed in front of your eyes as a preventative to identity theft, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

What's happening this weekend? Check out the community events calendar.

Click above to go to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce site for small business

Check out photos from chamber events at any time by going to www.chillicothe-chamber.smugmug.com.

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Copyright 2007

Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce

Downtown initiative

going full steam ahead

Members of the Process Committee for the HyettPalma Economic Enhancement Strategic Plan have been hard at work for four weeks compiling all of the information and data required before the duo comes to town.

In the past two weeks, “street captains” have recorded the number of businesses and offices downtown, their square footage and passed out surveys to gather the opinions of property owners and business managers. More than 75 surveys have been returned. This week, a phone survey of residents in Ross County, Greenfield and parts of Pike County will provide more information.

Many of the issues and concerns about downtown (Carlisle, Design Review Board, cleanliness, etc.) were raised again at the League of Women Voters Town Meeting this week. Many of those issues, if not all, should be addressed in the final HyettPalma plan.

The entire community is invited to the Community Vision Session to be conducted by Dolores Palma and Doyle Hyett. It is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at the Trinity United Methodist Church at Main and Mulberry streets.

At the 1.5-hour session, participants will be asked:

• If the citizens, the business community and the government were to work together over the next five years to make downtown Chillicothe the very best it could be, what would you like to see result from that effort?
• For you to consider those efforts a success, what would downtown look like in five years?
• What would be the mix of uses found in downtown?
• Who would the customers and users of our successful downtown be in five years?
• What kinds of goods and services would you be able to find there?
• What would you like downtown's image to be five years from now?

Immediately following the session, there is a special meeting of Chillicothe City Council on the downtown initiative.

Lots of data being compiled

In addition to the surveys, other information being compiled includes:

• All former studies of the downtown, such as the 1990s Streetscape program and 2002 parking analysis.
• All legislation and regulations specific to the downtown, such as the Design Review Board rules.
• Number of employees and residents downtown.
• A parcel map of the downtown showing the types of businesses, vacant lots and public parking areas.
• The number and type of businesses downtown and their square footage.
• Copies of all promotional materials specific to downtown.
• A listing of all special events held in the downtown, such as the Feast and Gus Macker.

Duo to be extremely busy during visit

Hyett and Palma, who have more than 20 years experience helping downtowns in America, will be in town from the evening of Monday, April 23 until noon Friday, April 27 to conduct their on-site research that will yield the five-year economic enhancement strategic plan for the downtown.

In addition to the community vision session the evening of April 24, they will conduct focus groups with college students, customers who regularly shop downtown and non-retail downtown employees. They will be given a quick driving tour to show them other areas of commerce, residential areas and main tourist attractions.

They will have had all the data and materials reviewed before the visit in addition to acquiring other demographic information on the area. Within a month after they leave Chillicothe, they will return to present their recommendations and plan to the entire community in another public session to be scheduled. They also will be available for advice and guidance as the plan is implemented.

The funds are there to cover the tab

Thanks to the swift and generous contributions from government, individuals, businesses and organizations, the entire $55,000 was raised to pay for the HP plan with $318 to spare. Contributions are still being accepted and will be used to help implement the strategies. The contributions do not include in-kind donations such as copying, printing, telephone and other related expenses incurred by members of the Process Committee to date. A complete list of contributors is available at www.downtownchillicothe.com.

To learn more about the imitative, go to the special website established to follow the initiative: www.downtownchillicothe.com.

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CITY ON “ATTRACTIVE” LIST: Chillicothe is listed as one of the top “micropolitan” areas for capital investment in Ohio by Site Selection magazine. Ohio itself was ranked tops in the nation for the number of such areas, which are defined by the Census Bureau as communities with population between 10,000 and 50,000. Leading Ohio was Wooster with 21 projects. The rankings were based on new or expanded facilities that created 50 new jobs or added at least 20,000 square feet. Expansions at the Kenworth Truck Company and YSK Corporation helped Chillicothe rise on the list.

HOME AND GARDEN SHOW THIS WEEKEND: Many chamber members will have their displays at the annual Southern Ohio Home and Garden Show Saturday and Sunday at the Ross County Fairgrounds. Presented by the Building Industry Association of South Central Ohio, the show opens at 10 both mornings and goes to 6 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. www.southernohiohomegarden.com

Drive by the cabooses Saturday morning and honk to show your support for the Leadership Chillicothe Ross class which is building a ramp to make the Chillicothe Railroad Museum accessible to the handicapped. The class chose two projects this year and this is the first. The class solicited building material contribution from chamber members to make it a successful venture. On April 21, the class is sponsoring “Shred It Day” in Yoctangee Park.

BREAKFAST PLANNED WITH CONGRESSMAN: Rep. Zack Space, D-New Philadelphia, will talk about issues he’s facing in Congress and take questions from chamber members at a Legislative Breakfast planned for Monday, May 14. More details on the event will be announced later.

COMMENTS SOUGHT ON HIGHWAY PROJECTS: An open house Tuesday from 1-4 gives people the chance to learn more and comment on upcoming projects planned by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The session is at ODOT District 9 Headquarters at 650 Eastern Ave.

CONTRIBUTORS SOUGHT FOR 50^TH HUNT: We Be Clowns will fill about 12,000 plastic eggs with donations from chamber members and others for the approximately 2,000 children who will participate in the city’s 50^th Easter Egg Hunt. If you’d like to participate, give them a call at 773-3789. The hunt is set for Saturday, April 7 in Yoctangee Park and will feature a visit by Peter Rabbit and a petting zoo by Petland.

MARK CALENDAR FOR NEXT YPN MEETING: Getting your website to the top of the list on search engines is the topic for the next gathering of the Young Professionals Network on Thursday, May 10. Opulent Source will discuss ways to maximize your website’s exposure with Google, Yahoo and other search engines. The event runs 5:30-7 p.m. at the Chillicothe Country Club and costs $5.

NEW USEC MANAGER: Brady Barnhart is the new manager of Project Controls at USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon. He has 32 years of experience at the Mound Facility in Miamisburg.

NEWEST MEMBERS: Joining the chamber recently:

• Industrial Fabrication and Contracting Services, 94 Commercial Circle, by Stephen Davis, 773-3700.

BUILDING PERMITS: Here’s who’s received permits recently from the Chillicothe and Ross County Building Departments:

• Wallpaper-N-More, 11986 Pleasant Valley Road, new warehouse, value $200,000.
• Adena Health System, 272 Hospital Road, renovations to imaging and pavilion MRI suites ($12,400) and new building for Information Technology Department (no value given).
• Miles Real Estate Investments, 464 Debord Road, new pole barn, $15,000.
• Bridge Street Church of Christ, 147 N. Bridge St., new roof, $21,000.

VENDORS LICENSES: Here’s who’s received licenses recently from the Ross County Auditor:

• James Schaefer Optometry, 217 Delano Ave., Suite D.
• Gift Baskets by Michelle, 720 Bishop Hill Road, by Michelle and Keith Pollock.
• Subway, 117 E. Main St., Bainbridge, by Good News Ventures.
• Dogwood Hills Golf Course, 1193 Debord Road.
• Recipes, 11747 Main St., Adelphi, by Tammie Speakman.