Chamber calendar
Wednesday, March 12: Leadership Chillicothe Ross, Jobs One-Step, 150 E. Second St., 7:45 a.m.
Thursday, March 13: Ross County Safety Council; 11:30 a.m., Chillicothe Country Club; Safety registration
Thursday, March 13: March Madness by the Chillicothe YPN, Back Stage, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19: Business After Business at Pump House Center for the Arts, co-sponsored by Price Real Estate an dAuction Service, Price Insurance and Transitions Unlimited!; 5-7 p.m.; BAB registration
Thursday, March 20: Executive Committee, 8:30 a.m., chamber.
Chamber-related links
Economic Development
www.edaso.org
Downtown Chillicothe
www.downtownchillicothe.com
Chillicothe YPN
www.chillicotheypn.com
Visitors Bureau
www.visitchillicotheohio.com
Chamber event photos
www.chillicothe-chamber.smugmug.com
Click above to go to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce site for small business
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Copyright 2008
Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
45 E. Main St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-702-2722
Two area major employers
continue to add to their payrolls
By Marvin Jones
President and CEO
The VA Medical Center and those companies involved with USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant project in Piketon are adding workers on an almost daily basis. Employment opportunities will get stronger as the year progresses, according to the CEOs of the operations.
At the INsider OUTlook Breakfast Thursday of the Economic Development Alliance of Southern Ohio, Jeffrey Gering of the VA and Dan Rogers of USEC detailed the progress at their respective operations while Alliance CEO Chris Manegold updated the crowd of about 50 on his activities.
Gering said the VA has added about 60 more employees in the last six months, bringing to about 1,140 the total number of workers at the complex north of Chillicothe on Ohio 104. He said the Chillicothe center is the number one priority in this VA district as it looks to provide more mental health services to veterans, including those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That means one building on the campus is being gutted and remodeled to the tune of $16 million as a nursing home, making it the largest capital project here since 1999. Another $12 million in upgrades also are planned, including a new entrance and elevators.
Gering noted that recruiting some of those 60 new employees to the area, including nurses, physicians and technicians, wasn’t difficult. He said it has been a matter of selling not only the VA complex, but also the attributes of the Chillicothe area community. Having the right people handling the recruiting has been a key, he said.
The VA is partnering with Adena Health System to provide veterans with medical services it doesn’t provide and which allow the veterans not to travel to other VAs. Another partnership that is blossoming is with Ohio University to provide students in psychiatry for their clinical experience. Gering hopes to build that into a residency program which currently doesn’t exist with any Ohio osteopathic schools.
USEC’s Rogers said that with major construction on the centrifuge project starting in August, one contractor, Fluor, expects to hire up to 700 more craft and other workers while Honeywell will have a total of 125 to assemble the machines. USEC itself will go from the slightly fewer than 200 employees it has now to about 400 when the plant becomes operational in late 2009. He said the average salary for USEC employees is $65,300.
The projected cost of the plant is now at $3.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion, Rogers said. There will be 11,500 machines in the 1.7 million square foot building, producing 3.8 million production units. Demand in the U.S. now for the enriched uranium is now 12 million units. The Piketon plant is modular, meaning that it can be expanded in coming years.
City making progress on its part of downtown plan
With the prime downtown shopping season approaching (other than the holidays), changes in the parking situation could mean for a more inviting business district and more people downtown. Two committees of City Council recently approved measures that could get before the entire council in April.
A week ago, the Finance Committee, chaired by Cindy Henderson, approved recommending the city purchase a hand-held computer for the parking enforcer. This will allow the enforcer to use the license numbers of vehicles, rather than chalk tires, to keep track of violators. At the end of the day, he can download the information into the Municipal Court system to process fines. The enforcer also will have the ability to issue “grace” tickets to out-of-town visitors, thanking them for coming to downtown Chillicothe, but reminding them of the parking limits. The cost of the equipment and software is estimated at up to $20,000.
Once the enforcer begins using the computer, the council can consider changing the two-hour limit to three hours and institute an escalating fine structure ($10 first offense, $50 second, $100 third, etc.). All of these are recommendations in the HyettPalma Economic Enhancement Strategic Plan for the downtown.
The same committee also plans to ask council to approve the administration’s plans to upgrade the public parking lot at Fourth and Paint streets. A low brick wall with wrought-iron fencing on top would border the lot which would have an entrance and exit only on Fourth. The cost is estimated at $30,000.
On Wednesday, council’s Safety Services Committee, chaired by Dustin Proehl, recommended “bagging” for six months the parking meters on Fourth Street from Mulberry to Walnut and on Paint Street south of Fourth. This provides more free parking for downtown workers and others, such as jurors and visitors to Municipal Court. After six months, council could seek removal altogether of the meters, another recommendation in the HP plan.
“60 Minutes”, Time put area back into the spotlight
Steve Croft’s interviews with local folks prior to Tuesday’s primary election provided fodder for conversation early in the week as did an article in Time magazine that highlighted the visit of former President Bill Clinton. The chamber received one phone call from a firm that said it was about 150 miles from here and was interested in getting in touch with NewPage to learn more about its skilled workers about ready to lose their jobs in the closing of the facility. In the Time article, it’s too bad the reporter chose to stereotype us with the term “downtrodden burg” when referring to Clinton’s first visit back in 1994. As they say, any publicity is good publicity, … we guess.
Going once, going twice to the BAB at Pump House
The Pump House Center for the Arts provides the venue for the March 19 Business After Business while Price Real Estate and Auction Services, Price Insurance and Transitions Unlimited! provide the sponsorships and entertainment for the event. The four stepped up when the original plans for the BAB fell through in February. The response to our last-minute request for sponsors was so overwhelming, we plan next year to solicit several small businesses in a similar scenario. The Chamber will find the venue and arrange for the food and beverages while the sponsors will each pay a fee and provide door prizes. It’s not too early to sign up for this month’s event: BAB registration.
State still tops for major capital investments
With all the recent talk by some candidates on the effects of NAFTA on the Ohio economy, the fact the state ranked number one in the nation in terms of major investment projects for the second consecutive year shouldn’t be lost. Site Selection magazine presented the Governor’s Cup Award to Ohio as the state’s 399 major investments worth more than $5 billion were the most by any state. Projects of at least $1 million, 50 new jobs or 20,000 square feet were counted. Included in Ohio’s total were the Paccar Medical Education Center at Adena and the Riffle Machine Works building on Ohio 159.
YPN getting into March Madness
YPN’s March 13 meeting is all about March Madness and team building. From 5:30 – 7, The Backstage will play host and the event will feature some ‘hoop shooting’ challenges, team challenges and information about the YPN bracket pool for the NCAA tourney. Be proud and wear your favorite team gear. There is a $5 charge per person for admission covering appetizers and attendees will be responsible for all their beverage purchases. Visit www.chillicotheypn.com for complete information on all the upcoming YPN events.
Is it time to buy that big piece of equipment?
Consult your accountant or advisors first, but the new allowance for expensing $250,000 in equipment was included in the economic stimulus package approved by Congress that also will give individuals and families a rebate in a few months. This year, the deduction was up to $125,000. With interest rates expected to decline further, this could be a great time for you to stimulate the economy and get a nice tax break.
Contracting with the government courses no online
“Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts” is a new free, online course available through the Small Business Administration. It’s a self-paced guide available at www.sba.gov/training.
Monday deadline for Teen Character nominations
The YMCA of Ross County once again is looking for teachers, counselors, neighbors and friends to nominate their favorite young people for the Teen Character Awards. For more information, contact Debi White at ymcaexec@horizonview.net.
Here’s who’s joined the chamber recently:
- Rejuvenate Health Fitness and MedSpa, 79 N. Mulberry St., by Kimberly Boydston-Tuttle, 772-4700.
- AAMCO Transmissions, 982 N. Bridge St., by Ed Dixon.
From the archives of the chamber’s
board meeting minutes:
Twenty-five years ago, in January 1983: “A complete presentation on the Chillicothe-Ross area has been made to a San Francisco, California business and additional information on specs of a building also have been forwarded. The Chamber will now wait to hear from this company.”