JOINING BY VIDEO … Lauren Falcone led a video conference on how to begin developing a community. (PHOTO BY DANIEL COOLEY, STAFF)
By: Daniel Cooley
The February 23 Williams County Port Authority meeting began with roll call. All seven members of the port authority, David Newcomer, Dawn Fitzcharles, Bart Westfall, John Drinnon, Richard Reed, Sean Rupp and Tyson Stuckey, were present.
The meeting kicked off with a video conference from Lauren Falcone of the Kleinfelder Group, on land development.
The Williams County Port Authority has been discussing how to go about developing and growing the Williams County communities.
“You want to outline what (you perceive) the next steps are and make sure you have all the tools you need,” Falcone said.
One of the keys seems to be putting together maps of the area you are looking to develop. Falcone talked about the success surrounding the communities of Wadsworth, Lorain County and various townships in Cuyahoga County.
“We’ve done a lot of work in Lorain County, with mapping and helping businesses build their buildings,” Falcone said. “In Cuyahoga County, we used mapping and things that a developer would want to know about.”
“In Wadsworth, we used mapping and data of the community. The idea is to get everything down on paper ahead of time that you need, so then, you’re ready to go.”
With the conclusion of the video conference, the port authority board then approved of the minutes from the previous meeting, from January 26.
In the first step of development, chairman Newcomer stated that he had talked to the county engineer and some others, about maps. Bill Martin of the Bryan Area Foundation, then spoke.
“There are eight of us and we are trying to keep an open mind about the area communities and setting up funds with the port authority,” Martin said.
“We need growth at all levels and have to be open for development. We’re ready to help, but we don’t know exactly what that is, yet.
In talking about the area communities, Westfall said he has made contact with Edon. Drinnon said that Stryker “is positive about having us as a tool” and Fitzcharles stated that Pioneer wanted to know what kind of tools that the port authority could offer them.
The port authority board then moved into executive session.
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com