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Economic Development
www.edaso.org

Chillicothe Job Bank
www.chillicothejobbank.net

Downtown Chillicothe
www.downtownchillicothe.com

Chillicothe YPN
www.chillicotheypn.com

Visitors Bureau
www.visitchillicotheohio.com

Chamber event photos
www.chillicothe-chamber.smugmug.com

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Copyright 2008

Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
45 E. Main St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-702-2722

Pressure on Carlisle owners

only part of ongoing downtown efforts

By Marvin Jones

President and CEO

Appearances can be deceiving. While there have been just a few visible changes lately, downtown Chillicothe continues to make progress on achieving some of the objectives outlined in the HyettPalma Economic Enhancement Strategic Plan.

It was encouraging to hear Mayor Joe Sulzer this week talk openly about the city’s so far unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the owners of the Carlisle Building as a new home for administration offices while at the same time holding the owners’ feet to the fire to make minimal repairs so that the fence can be removed from the sidewalk. Up until now, the city cooperated and encouraged the Columbus-based owners in their efforts to restore the building only to have the owners make no good-faith efforts to make even minimal exterior repairs.

While the five-year-old Carlisle saga continues, progress is being made on other fronts:

• The brackets to go on 40 decorative lamp posts on Main and Paint streets are on order and should arrive by late October. That allows for the hanging flower baskets to go up next spring.
• Work should begin Monday to renovate the public parking lot at Paint and Fourth streets. A low-level brick wall and access only from Fourth Street are part of the plan along with a landscaped median.
• More than 40 applicants hope to receive matching funds for repairs and renovations if a state grant for the city is approved later this year. A meeting on the grant is set for noon Friday at 17 East restaurant.
• The Downtown Associates continue to add activities for the annual Christmas Open House weekend Nov. 21-23. The merchants’ group also changed meeting times to the evening to accommodate more members.
• City Council and the administration are being asked again to consider designating the downtown as a tax increment financing district, or TIF. The designation does not increase taxes, but channels any new tax revenue that results from improvements, new construction or new appraisals be placed in a separate fund. Those funds then could be used for items such as repaving parking lots, repairing curbs and gutters, improving walkways and other physical improvements. Schools would not lose tax revenue and the funds could free money for other citywide purposes.

800 more jobs could result from new USEC contract

A new $1 billion contract USEC awarded to the Fluor Corporation is expected to create 800 new jobs at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon. The contract was announced Thursday and calls for Fluor to provide engineering, procurement, construction and construction management services to USEC for the facility. It runs through 2012. Fluor was awarded an initial contract in 2004 for similar services and the new one allows for a more advanced stage of construction.

Newest members of the chamber:

• Anna Villarreal Jenkins, Attorney at Law, 2 W. Main St., 772-4466.

Vendor licenses issued recently by the Ross County Auditor:

• Quiznos, 1270 N. Bridge St., by Timothy Page.

Workshops, seminars, etc.

•  “Money for Small Business,” by OSU Small Business Development Center, 8:30-2, Thursday, Oct. 2, Scioto County Welcome Center, Portsmouth, free of charge, call Joy Bauman at 800-297-2071 Ext. 111 or register online: www.southcenters.osu.edu/benet/events.htm
• “Pitch Your Plan Training Workshop,” 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8, Ross County Service Center, for entrepreneurs thinking about starting a business or businesses planning to expand; top prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 plus regional awards; required to enter competition, www.pitchyourplan.osu.edu

Bill Lieb wields the scissors to cut the ribbon to officially open his office of EXIT First Capital Realty at 44 E. Water St. Thursday afternoon.

The next Weekly Update will be published on October 10