Economic development officials say they are busy.
Stanford told the commissioners that the most recent numbers showed Union County with an unemployment rate at 3.4 percent.
“That is the second lowest in Central Ohio with Delaware being 3.2 percent,” Stanford said.
He then explained that Union County is poised for continued economic growth.
Stanford said the economic development office had 17 “active development leads.” He said the leads, businesses interested in coming to Marysville, are mostly commercial and industrial. Stanford explained that “a little more than half” of the leads are inside Marysville. He said that is “typical.”
“For the county portion of the leads, it is much more industrial based versus commercial, so that’s good for the county too,” Stanford said.
He said the fiber optic line instillation is going well. He said the lines are expected to be operational in mid-August.
Stanford said the fiber lines along U.S. 33 and inside the city are signs of progress.
“It is kind of frustrating at times, when you are sitting in traffic somewhere, but you realize that is great work going on there,” Stanford said.
He said all of the development leads are in Marysville or south of the city, “most of, if not all” in the U.S. 33 corridor.
He said the leads inside Marysville are, “a lot more commercial, a lot of hotel projects, things like that,” though he added there are, “a few industrial type projects.”
Stanford said members of Team Marysville and representatives from the City of Marysville will meet soon for a “strategic visioning plan.”
“It is to kind of plan how the organization adopts the Uptown plan and moves forward with that so that plan doesn’t just sit on the shelf,” Stanford said. “We want to actually get involved with it and kind of figure out what their relationship is going to be.”
Stanford said he anticipates, “there will be some exciting kind of changes to our organization as a result of that.”
He said he was pleased with Marysville’s recent moratorium on demolition of buildings in the Business Residential District on East Fifth Street.
“I think it is a great thing so they can take their time and figure out the zoning issues there and what that district needs to look like in the future,” Stanford said.
Stanford said he understands the intention of the district, to create a transition area with small professional offices inside houses.
“I don’t think they ever intended them to be demoed and big boxes built in the uptown,” Stanford said.
He said economic development officials have similar concerns on West Fifth as well. Stanford said that area has the same zoning and is where some of the city’s “larger, more impressive houses” are located.
“We have got to kind of look at that and see if there’s maybe some changes that need put in place there too,” Stanford said. “It is good we are getting growth and good we are interest, but we can’t lose the reason people are interested in it, in the Uptown anyway.”