1/6/2011 edition of ThisWeek Grove City by The Columbus Dispatch/Dispatch Magazines

January 6, 2011

Company interested in town center By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers A Central Ohio biotechnology company may soon relocate to Grove City’s town center. The company sent a letter of intent to the Grove City Town Center group indicating its interest in a 20,000-squarefoot building, said Karen Dover, a member of the Grove City Town Center board of directors. She declined to identify the company. “We’re very excited,” Dover said. “They’re an expanding business and

they’re very excited to look at the possibility of locating here in the town center.” Dover said the company hopes to take advantage of the Town Center Loan Program. “We’ve had several visits with them and we’ve been able to see first-hand what they do, and this would just be a tremendous addition to Grove City,” she said. The Grove City Town Center organization aims to assist the company however it can as part of its ongoing efforts to draw businesses to the area, Dover

said. “As part of what we’re doing, we’re marketing the incentives that are available in this area,” she said. “We have to try and bring new businesses down here.” The company is just one of many the town center group has worked with in the past year. City council gave its support to the town center organization in 2010 by offering it a $75,000 grant through March 2011. Dover attended the Dec. 20 city council meeting and reported on the group’s

As of Nov. 30, the group had spent $7,500, 10 percent of the appropriaAs part of what we’re tion, she said. doing, we’re marketing the “It is our intention to ask for an exincentives that are available tension,” on the March 22, 2011 grant end date because the group has used in this area. the funds sparingly, Dover said. The money has been used to pay a KAREN DOVER part-time marketing coordinator who —Grove City Town Center creates print materials and manages the group’s website and weekly e-mail use of the money and progress thus far, newsletter. securing the funding for the remainder The newsletter contains information of the grant term as part of 2011 city appropriations. See COMPANY, page A2

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Business volunteers to build wheelchair ramp By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers

the first indication of any problem to upper level administration, the city has said. Previous notices sent to Kincade, who handles the payroll taxes, were not passed on to finance director Mike Turner or other city officials, mayor Richard “Ike” Stage said at a special council meeting held Dec. 30 to discuss the matter. City finance director Mike Turner told council all incoming tax-related documents either from the IRS or from the state department of taxation now will be sent directly to him. Council members directed Smith to have the auditor’s report sent directly to council, rather than the city administration.

The efforts of some co-workers and a local business will result in a ramp at the home of a local teen who uses a wheelchair. Jake Riley has spina bifida and attends Jackson Middle School. When he was younger, the lack of a wheelchair ramp posed no problem because his mother, Debbie We started Riley, could thinking, well, maybe carry him into the house. Now we could do somethat he’s 13 and thing, so everyone in much larger, our office said we’ll all the need for a ramp has bepitch in and we’ll do come pressing. this for Jake. “I carry him out of the back TAMI MALKOWSKI of the house —Office manager, and I have a South West Pediatrics, Inc. couple steps down, and then I have to walk around the back of the house to the driveway,” his mother said. A few months ago, she fell and tore her meniscus, which required surgery to repair. Riley is a medical technician at South West Pediatrics Inc. on Gantz Road, and Jake is a patient there. Debbie Riley’s co-workers decided to see what could be done to get a ramp built. “We started thinking, well, maybe we could do something, so everyone in our office said we’ll all pitch in and we’ll do this for Jake,” said Tami Malkowski, office manager. Malkowski and Dr. Bradley Dixon visited the Grove City Home Depot to learn what type of supplies they would need and to see if the store would give them perhaps discount on the materials. They were astonished when store manager Joe Cruz offered to not only donate all the materials, but have his employees build the ramp free of charge. “We walked in hoping that maybe they would give us 10 percent off the lumber and walked out with they’re going to do it all,” Malkowski said. Cruz said the ramp isn’t the type of project that Home Depot usually takes on, but with approval from district manager Stephanie Ours and the agreement of the staff, he was happy to help. “Part of our core values as a company is giving back to the community,” Cruz said. “We have a ‘Team Depot’ program that each store runs for their own individual community.” Home Depot is finishing its plans for the ramp and securing discounts on materials from its vendors. After those steps are complete, it will take the plans before Grove City to get the necessary

See CITY, page A2

See BUSINESS, page A2

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By Lisa Aurand/ThisWeek

(Above) Grove City administrator Phil Honsey, from left, mayor Richard “Ike” Stage and city council members Greg Grinch, Maria KlemackMcGraw and Ted Berry listen as law director Stephen Smith gives an update on the status of the taxes the city owes the Internal Revenue Service. (Below) Harvey Dunn, senior consultant for Schottenstein Zox & Dunn and a tax law expert, talks to city council during a special meeting Dec. 30.

City’s tax debt exceeds $1M By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The discovery of unpaid state taxes, added to a growing list of unpaid federal taxes, has pushed Grove City’s total tax debt to more than $1-million. City council discussed its taxdebt problem in detail during a special meeting Dec. 30. The Internal Revenue Service last month told the city it owed about $685,905 in unpaid taxes. During the Dec. 30 meeting, city officials said unpaid quarterly tax returns have been identified, adding about $370,000 to the federal debt. In addition, the city has learned it missed state tax payments totaling about $150,000. City council and most city administrators said they were unaware of the city’s tax debt until IRS officials visited the city with a 28-page document showing payments had been missed since at least 2007. City officials said previous IRS notices had been sent to assistant finance director Jackie Kincade, who handles the payroll taxes. She has been placed on paid administrative leave while city police conduct an investigation. Being placed on leave is standard procedure in these types of cases and does not indicate guilt, city law director Stephen Smith Jr. said. Kincade has denied any wrongdoing.

A closer look The city has paid $187,000 to the IRS for the fourth quarter of 2010 and $300,000 in initial payments toward previous quarters, finance director Mike Turner said. The $187,000 came out of the payroll account, but the $300,000 came out of the city’s unexpended 2010 general fund, which was projected to have a carryover of nearly $19-million.

Grove City is in talks with GBQ Consulting to perform an independent audit of the city’s books. The city also is taking steps to appeal the penalties and interest charged by the IRS. In the course of the city’s investigation into the matter, three of the five unfiled returns were found.

They’d been prepared, but never submitted. These were filed to the IRS last week. The two additional returns are being finalized and will be submitted later this week, city officials said. A Dec. 9 visit from the IRS was