March 10, 2011
Council plans to purchase herb center City to pay $345K; facility’s expenses outpaced revenues in 2009, 2010 By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
After an executive session March 7, Gahanna City Council introduced legislation to purchase the Ohio Herb Education Center, 110 Mill Street, for $345,000 from Mill St. Development LLC. Parks & Recreation director Tony Collins told ThisWeek the city entered into a lease option contract with the op-
tion to purchase the property in 2009. If the purchase is approved, monies would be appropriated from the unencumbered balance of the general fund to Parks Capital. “I’m recommending we exercise our option to close on the building,” Collins said. “We’re working on options with the owner.” Discussion will be held concerning the purchase during council’s next committee meeting on Monday, March 14.
Collins said the original agreement for the building was $340,000, with the owner repairing the roof. The other $5,000 is to pay closing costs. The option agreement ends in May with the closing by June. “The owner has offered a lower price if we close earlier,” Collins said. He provided council with an operational summary for the herb center that shows $53,904 in revenue in 2010 and $80,782 in expenses. In 2009, the cen-
ter generated $50,323 and showed $83,410 in expenses. Among the special events held there in 2010 and the estimated participation included: Herb Day, 500 people; Cultural Arts Festival, 200; and Fall Harvest Day, 250. In 2010, an estimated 1,600 people visited the center, reflecting an increase of 600 from 2009. There were 24 tour groups that visited, leaving an estimated economic im-
See COUNCIL, page A6
Tax agency finds many who failed to report taxes
Survey:
City’s services good but tax hike unwanted
City pleased with results of switch By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna’s switch to collect income taxes through the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) has helped identify more than 2,500 individuals who failed to report taxes in 2009 or earlier, with a liability of more than $167,000. Finance director Angel Mumma told council last week that RITA found 2,583 individuals who didn’t file local income tax returns. Letters were sent to those residents Dec. 7 and hundreds responded in person at city hall, via phone or mail to the city or RITA directly. The remainder were subpoenaed to appear in person the week of Jan. 24 at city hall, Mumma said. Of those who received subpoena’s, 548 individuals appeared for a 22.2-percent response rate. The liability for those who responded is $167,122. Of that amount, $29, 818 has been paid, $31,736 was put on payment plans and $105,568 will be billed. Those residents who didn’t ap-
By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Most Gahanna residents oppose raising the city’s income tax, but they like the direction the city is heading, its leaders and economic development efforts, according to a survey released last week. Dr. Hugh Clark, of CJI Research Corporation, provided a 126-page report on Feb. 28 that is the result of a 400 resident telephone survey that was conducted after the November election. The interviews were done by trained interviewers from Foresight Research of Rochester, Mich. The community survey sought feedback on quality of life in Gahanna, the job performance of city officials, satisfaction with city services, major city initiatives including Creekside, the possibility of a city income tax hike, and where residents find their local news. The 2010 survey cost $18,500 and was a follow-up to a benchmark survey taken in October 2008 that involved 920 registered voters. The cost of the original survey was $34,000. Assistant city administrator Brandi Braun said it’s critical to engage residents so Gahanna can be the city its residents want over the next five years. “We believe it is imperative to gauge our performance levels as well as ensure we are providing
pact of $92,556, according to the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We think the return on investment is there,” Collins told ThisWeek. “We think we can continue to push for sustainability.” The center featured programs including 44 classes, in addition to a monthly Tea Guild with eight members, Herb Society with 20 members and Plant Con-
Closer look Revenue from Gahanna’s 1.5-percent income tax made up 58.3 percent, or $12,662,058, of the city’s $23.5-million general-fund revenue in 2010. Other revenue sources include real estate taxes, 8.4 percent ($1.8-million); recreational income, 4.8 percent ($1.4-million); and fines and fees, 4.7 percent ($1-million).
pear will have returns generated based on federal tax information and sent a bill. “We’re pleased with results from RITA,” Mumma said. The cost of RITA collecting the funds for Gahanna, based on a percentage of the collection, is currently being determined, according to Mumma. Representatives of RITA will be at Gahanna’s City Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 14-15 to help residents in preparing their See RITA, page A2
City names Stacy police officer of year By Andrea Kjerrumgaard/ThisWeek
‘Falling for Rapunzel’
Tom Sheehan and Monica Baker play the prince and the maid while performing scenes from the book, “Falling for Rapunzel,” during High Point Elementary School’s annual reading night March 3.
See SURVEY, page A6
Projected $4-million payroll
Council mulls incentives for Momentive By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna City Council is considering legislation for an office-and-industrial incentive for Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc., 630 Morrison Road. The goal is to retain 27 jobs currently in the city and to expand the company’s workforce to 40 full-time employees over three years, with a payroll of $4-million annually. Leah Evans, Gahanna economic development manager, said Hexion Specialty Chemicals established an office at 630 Morrison Road in 2007. As an incentive to Hexion to move into Gahanna, the city had approved a three-year, 50-percent office-industrial incentive for the creation of 42 new
jobs at an average wage of $47,000, or about $2-million in total annual payroll. The total estimated value of the incentive over three years was $45,000. The incentive was approved to start in 2011 after the tax abatement for the property at 630 Morrison Road expired. In October 2010, Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Momentive Performance Materials merged to create Momentive Specialty Chemicals (MSC). The Gahanna office of Hexion, established in 2007, is responsible for back-office functions and currently overlaps other units within Momentive. As a result of this merger, there is an opportunity to eliminate redundancy elsewhere and consolidate these functions in Gahanna. Evans said Momentive also is consider-
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ing its offices in Columbus and in Albany, N.Y., the headquarters of Momentive, for this project. Momentive Specialty, a global leader in thermoset resins, is proposing to lease an additional 12,000 to 20,000 square feet of office space in its current facility at 630 Morrison Road. Emily Ludgate, global director of tax at MSC, told council members recently that the company is looking to move additional people to Gahanna. “Many of the products you touch everyday,” Ludgate said. “We make chemicals that go into fiber boards. We’re looking at technology because we have to make our products better. A long-term goal is to take See INCENTIVES, page A2
By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
“This job would be impossible to do alone,” he added. “There are so many fellow officers who are dePhillip Stacy serving. There hasn’t been one arrest when I didn’t have another officer there by my side. I couldn’t have done it without fellow brothers and sisters. My successes are their successes and their successes are my successes.” In choosing the yearly recipient from among 55 sworn officers, Williams said the command staff solicits input from fellow officers. “We look at the overall performance of the officers, their attitude, approach to the job, professionalism and integrity,” he said. “The job can wear on you and it’s tough to keep positive every day. “We are pleased to have him
Gahanna police officer Phillip Stacy has been named officer of the year. During a March 1 ceremony, operations bureau commander Lt. Dan Williams said Stacy embodies what the city seeks in a proactive professional police officer. “He performs his duties with enthusiasm, integrity and a maturity well beyond his actual years of service,” Williams said. Stacy, a member of the department since 2007, told ThisWeek he grew up in a family of law enforcement. His father, James Stacy, retired as chief of the Whitehall Police Department after almost 40 years of service. “He gave me the positives and negatives of law enforcement,” Stacy said. “He made me understand. He wanted to make sure I was 100 percent sure about going into it.” Stacy said he’s honored by the award. See OFFICER STACY, page A2
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