Owens To Village: Thanks But No Thanks
Owens to Southwest Licking: Thanks. At least that's how it seems. According to a story in the Sentinel, James Eckert, Director, Corporate Real Estate & Facility Management for Owens Corning, said, "While we are committed to continuing the dialog with the village on this matter, we believe that it is premature at this stage of the JRS funding review to be committing to any specific solution."
Nevertheless, Granville Township's grant application to the Ohio Jobs Ready Site Program (JRS) does commit to a "specific solution" to providing sewers: Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District, at a cost of nearly $1,000,000, will extend sewers to the site. The grant application's preliminary cost estimate details how the money will be spent. (Click here to view that part of the grant request.)
The first line is the most important: $950,000 for "Connection to SWLCWD Sanitary Sewer System." The estimate also includes $298,500 for running the sewer line inside the property and paying for a lift station and manholes.
Furthermore, Donald Rector, Director of Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District, in a July 25, 2008 email obtained by The Granville Press through a public records request, wrote to the the JRS program: "We believe that this site should be funded and should be considered a great site for a JRS development."
"Water and sewer services should be brought to this site without condition and without political issues attached," he added.
Presumably Rector was referring to development restrictions historically imposed by the Village of Granville when extending sewer and water services. The Village does impose restricted development conditions on its current offer of sewer service, but will provide the sewer extension at about half the cost - $528,520.
Click here to view the Village's estimate for providing sewer service to the Owens site.
In a recent commentary on The Granville Press, a contributor wrote:
"The dispute about supplying sewer and water utilities to the Owens Corning property is really about the terms of development, not over who will supply sewer service. Both Granville and SWL have the technical capability and the willingness. The terms of the deal are complex - use, density, tax rates, tax abatements, infrastructure improvements, etc. The deal cannot be worked out until Owens has a firm plan.
"Even then, it will be difficult because Owens isn't the whole story. A sewer line on Columbus Road opens that entire area up for massive development. Those residents need to be consulted. Even without development, many of those could be forced to hook into the sewer line - at a big tap-in fee - by Ohio EPA. In addition, SWL at the border has huge implications for development all along the Village entrances. The current development proposals require a whole range of things - filling in flood zones, adding businesses that require new roads, new lanes on Main Street, etc. Not to mention broader environmental and aesthetic considerations, as well as the schools.
"These issues are all interconnected. Granville's bargaining power rests, to a large extent, on its authority to grant sewer service. The effort by Trustees' and developers to get sewer service to the site and THEN negotiate is a shrewd move from their standpoint. Strip Granville of the bulk of its negotiating power, then say, 'Let's negotiate.'"
Some Granville residents have suggested making an alternative presentation to the reviewers who will decide to award the grant or not. The Township, along with Jim Eckert and the Poggemeyer group, will present on September 12 at 10:25 AM in Room 2 on the 31st Floor, East B, of the Riffe Building in Columbus.
Click here to view a list of the members of the official JRS Program Review Team. Click here to view the official schedule for the morning of September 12.
The Granville Press asked Eileen Turner of the Communications & Marketing Office of the Ohio Department of Development if citizens could attend and make presentations. She replied:
"only the presentations are open to the public. There is no opportunity for public comments at any of the presentations. Site visits and hearings are not open to the public."
However, below The Granville Press provides an email form for you to let the Ohio Job Ready Sites Program know what you think about the idea.
After you click the submit button, you will be taken to the website of the program. A day or two later, you will receive an email from Nathan Harber, Administrator of the Ohio Job Ready Sites (JRS) Program, with the following or a similar message:
"Thank you for your e-mail. Your concern is important to the Ohio Department of Development. I have printed your e-mail and included it in the Granville JRS application. Your comments will be considered during our review of the Granville Science & Technology Complex project this summer."
You can use the form whether you are in favor of the application or against it.
Note: Your comments will go directly to the State. The Granville Press will have no record of who you are or what you send.
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See previous stories about the Township - Owens Corning grant:
Owens turns its back on Granville
Shouldn't your story note that the Village of Granville has offered to provide sewer to Owens Corning for its proposed research park?
Southwest Licking Sewer District director Don Rector is remarkably candid about what his district offers that Granville does not: sewer without controls -- as in zoning controls.
It speaks poorly of Owens that it would seek to waste $1 million in state funds to get a redundant sewer line whose only advantage is that it strips Granville citizens of zoning authority.
Owens wins the poor citizenship award here.
It's understandable that the corporation wants to make money, even if that means damaging Granville and its schools. But the company cannot expect Granville residents to sit idly by while it maneuvers to get a sewer system that allows development with no controls on the largest piece of property (547 acres) in Granville.
Owens success in gaining sewer without controls would permit the company to develop hundreds of homes in our school district, as well as Big Box retail that would devastate downtown.
Owens doesn't say it necessarily wants to do this. It merely wants to "keep its options open."
The company should not take offense if Granville does everything imaginable to tie up ALL use of the company's property. Why? Without zoning control on land that has sewer and water, Granville has no options. Let's start the conversation about environmental issues on the property that may leave it suitable little development at all.
Granville has offered to provide sewer service to Owens -- at half the price of Southwest Licking! -- for what the company claims to want. The corporation's refusal confirms that this isn't about a 70-acre research park. It's about cashing in on 400+ acres of prime Granville school district real estate. The fact that Owens lacks the honor to say so -- preferring to hide behind "keep our options open" euphemisms -- shows how this company isn't the model corporate citizen of old.
It's a developer -- a developer who wants to dump a bunch of homes and retail on its land without zoning control. With all due respect to Owens' fiduciary duty to its shareholders, Granvile residents have obligations too -- to ourselves, to our children and to our future. That's why I say...
Shame on Owens Corning.
Shame on Granville Township Trustees for favoring development interests over the community.
Frogs, swarms of flies, locusts, slain firstborn of man & beast?
Are there any other plagues that will undoubtedly occur if a postage stamp sized parcel of land is ever developed in or near Granville? Until we get past the hysteria and deal with real issues, the Owens Corning deal or any other development will proceed without meaningful discussion. Thankfully the real impact of the GP and bloggers registers near zero in real impact. The suggestions by YesMan are nearly textbook hysteria or perhaps the ramblings of someone suffering from a delusional disorder. To suggest that "big box retail would devastate downtown" could only have validity of there were if fact any retail business in downtown Granville.
You might ask the owner of the Aladdin
You might ask the owner of the Aladdin how much Bob Evans, which he opposed, has reduced his business. The last thing the Aladdin needs is yet another similar family restaurant. Personally I would prefer that Aladdins stay alive rather than have some chain restaurant that looks like it could be in Gahanna or Pickerington.
You might think about how the drugstore downtown would be negatively impacted by another drugstore on Weaver Drive.
You might think about how the locally owned coffee shops would be negatively impacted by, say, a Starbucks on Main Street.
You are right in a way about one thing. The risks of careless commercial development to a community's downtown are so well accepted that textbooks today include coverage of this phenomenon.
By the way, I understand that the area where your cottage is has great fall colors. ;-)
Good to have you back.
Or you might consider the positive impacts
As you might recall from prior posts, I consider the positive impacts. When Starbucks opened directly across the street from Cup O Joe on Third Street in German Village (a true preservation community instead of the Granville version), everyone cried wolf about the forthcoming demise of a great coffee shop. In fact I still have the "No Corporate Coffee" bumper sticker I picked up at Cup O Joe years ago. The result today is that Cup O Joe is a bigger and much improved coffee shop operating from the same location. Starbucks also operates quite profitably some 50 feet away.
The Aladdin needs competition. The cleanliness and quality of the food at Aladdin speaks for why Bob Evans is filled to capacity every day. Around the corner from Aladdin some terrible out of towners from Columbus (horrors) opened up DelMar. Consider the threat to Brews! The result: DelMar is filled nightly and Brews continues to offer the best beer selection in the county.
In case you hadn't noticed the corner drugstore is now CVS.
The awful big corporate companies you fear so much force local companies to improve or die. Fortunately it isn't that difficult to compete against corporate food and retail. Anytime corporate food and retail chooses to operate in Granville they can. All it takes is a willing seller to offer their Alladin operations to Panera, Victorias to Baskin Robbins and The Village Coffee Shop to Starbucks or the Ream family to sell out to CVS.
Let's start with a Barnes and Noble in Granville. As for now, serious readers take our business and our dollars out of the county.
Please explain how sending profit out of the community helps
the community? Local owners are more likely to invest in the community than large corporations.
"DelMar is filled nightly and Brews continues to offer the best beer selection in the county." Both statements are true and completely unrelated. The two establishments offer dramatically different experiences.
We agree regarding the food quality at Aladdin's. However, he has been in business a long time so he must be doing something right. Bob Evans isn't very good either. The cleanliness is poor and $2 for a soft drink is ridiculous.
Why not improve the existing bookstore vs. bringing in another cookie cutter B&N?
Welcome back bucknut!
It's been calm around here. I guess you were on vacation.
The discussion has been sane and reasoned, not right-wing, off-the-wall, bigoted rantings.
But, now you're back.
I, for one, am glad to see you - you make the rest of us seem sensible and you illustrate just how crazy and un-American your point of view is.
Keep posting on GP...
Summer Vacation
Alicia,
So kind of you to notice my absence. I posted my reflections on a blog titled "Summer Vacation." Enjoy!
The Nut is back!!!
Dude, you're back! We've been wondering where did the Nutman go? Granville Press is not the same without the cukoo clock going off several times a day. Let the rampage begin again. Do gooders beware. The Nutman is back!