City and county officials excited by direction of Coshocton
COSHOCTON – Mayor Steve Mercer gave most of his time at the podium during the Jan. 24, Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Meeting to Cliff Biggers.
“City government has gone through a few changes of faces,” Mercer said. “Kirby Hasseman and Debbie Wallace both resigned off of council and we are happy that Cliff Biggers accepted the invitation to join us as president of council.”
Biggers has served as the pastor at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for 23 years and retired from the Newark Police Department after 25 years of service.
“I’m excited by all the possibilities of this position,” he said. “I divided my time between here and Newark before retiring in 2010 and I now plan to spend the bulk of my time here. Coshocton has a competitive spirit and I think great things are going to happen for the city. I look forward to working with you all.”
The council position that was previously held by Debbie Wallace will be filled by Glenn Mishler.
Mercer also informed attendees that the city’s big project this year will be repaving Chestnut Street from around Third Street up toward West Lafayette and the edge of town. He also shared that the general fund finished in the black and that he too is excited for the future of the city.
“I like what I’ve heard here today,” Mercer said. “Coshocton is alive and well. It is growing and moving.”
Also reporting at the meeting was Amy Stockdale, executive director of the Coshocton Chamber of Commerce.
“These updates are exciting for me because I don’t know where to start and where to end because there is so much new going on,” she said.
Since the last quarterly meeting in October 2012, the chamber has added 17 new members and experienced great success with its Cash Mobs.
“We got a phone calling asking us how we put these together,” Stockdale said. “Muskingum County would like to put one together and I think that speaks volumes for how important shopping local is.”
The chamber also sponsored its first Health, Safety, and Wellness Expo Jan. 19, at Lake Park Pavilion. Around 200 people participated and there were 38 vendors.
“We are looking for different ways to highlight our members and this seemed like a good way to highlight those involved with health and safety,” Stockdale said. “We thank everyone who came out and participated.”
The chamber also is currently making plans for its annual dinner which is scheduled for April 19. During the dinner the Coshotonian, Small Business of the Year, Young Leader of the Year and Employee of the Year awards will be handed out.
“I encourage each and every one of you to nominate someone for the awards,” Stockdale said.
To find out more about the awards, visit www.coshoctonchamber.com.
Jan Myers also shared news about some of the many events planned for Coshocton in 2013. Taste for Summer, a wine and barbecue fest, is set for May 18, the Indian Mud Run is scheduled for June 22, Ohio Chautauqua will be back July 23-27, an Arts & Antiques Street Fair is set for Aug. 9-10, and the Wings Over Coshocton Air Show will be back on Sept. 21. More details about these events and others can be found by visiting www.visitcoshocton.com.
She also reminded attendees that tourism has brought millions of dollars in revenue to Coshocton County and that we all need to remember to be kind and friendly to our visitors.
“We want to keep these guests coming back,” Myers said.
The Coshocton Port Authority also has been busy trying to bring economic development and jobs to Coshocton. Executive Director Dorothy Skowrunski said her office has been busy trying to get the General Electric property ready for development, making plans to get the Ethanol Plant up and running and preparing for the economic boom the oil and gas industry is suppose to bring.
“Things (with oil and gas) are slow right now but all indicators point to us sitting on a bullseye of Utica Shale,” she said. “It might not happen next year, but we need to plan for sustainability.”
Commissioner Curtis Lee also shared that his office is in the process of finalizing its $9.8 million 2013 budget. The budget is usually around nine or $9.4 million, but is up thanks to profit the commissioners made from signing a lease with Anadarko and harvesting timber on county owned property.
The increase in funds already has enabled the commissioners to make renovations to the county services building, updates to the courthouse and its grounds, small additions to the funds it provides various offices and help the sheriff’s office add a road deputy.
The meeting also included the presentation of a community improvement award to Roscoe Village Suites & Extended Stay Resident Apartments. The suites are located on level two and three of Medbery Marketplace and the apartments are on level two and three of Shaker House South Antiques.
“I think they are a great asset to Roscoe,” said Teri Misener. “We’ve already had people come back for their third stay and we haven’t really publicized.”
The public was invited to tour the Roscoe Village Suites & Extended Stay Resident Apartments Jan. 18.
“When you walk through them you feel the history and coolness of the buildings and fall in love with them,” Misener said.
It also was announced that Sandy Jones was selected to join the chamber’s executive committee.
Jesse Fischer from the executive committee closed the meeting by encouraging attendees to share their thoughts and suggestions about the meeting and the chamber by contacting the office. It is located at 401 Main St. and the phone number is 622-5411.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Business, Government
