Richland County is hoping to capitalize on the Intel development nearby in Licking County. And now, it has a new economic development tool: the Richland County Port Authority.
In Ohio, port authorities are independent organizations established by a local government to promote economic development, according to the Ohio Revised Code. And officials in Richland County are hoping their new organization will do just that: attract new development to the area.
“There’s always a financing gap," said Tom Vanderhorst, financial specialist with the Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development, "and this is just something that provides a little bit of benefit to projects.”
The port authority will be helpful during negotiations with developers, County Commissioner Tony Vero said. He foresees the port authority utilizing sales tax exemptions to help with these deals.
“We have some very significant developers and national chains and companies starting to reach out to us about possibilities of starting in Richland County, partially along those corridors – the [Interstate] 71 and [U.S. Route] 30 corridors," he said.
Vero hopes the incentives the port authority can offer will be the selling point to developers to call Richland County home, he said.
"These deals are always so challenging to try to make them work because these developers that we work with they just have choices," Vanderhorst said. "They can go to any part of the state that they want to, and this just makes Richland County a little but more competitive than it was before."
The port authority's impact will be felt widely across the county, Vero said.
"Any time you have growth in a community, that helps your schools, it helps your local communities. It also attracts businesses that our residents may like to go, and they may not have to go to Columbus or Cleveland to do it," he said. "So it keeps our money local, and it may also entice people to start more businesses here locally."
The port authority board, which was seated earlier this month, is ready to hit the ground running, he said.
"There's just a unique time," Vero said, "and Richland County just seems to have some momentum going with it, where people are taking advantage of our geographic location, our excellent cost of living and what we always call a great place to live."
