Grove City Messenger - March 26th, 2023

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Government Focus
Council OKs White Road development plan
By Andrea Cordle
Grove City Editor
A new development got the green light
at the March 6 city council meeting.
With a 3-1 vote, council members
approved the development plan for
Courtyards at Mulberry Run, located to the
north and south of White Road.
The plan is for Epcon Communities to
build 74 single-family residential units.
This development is broken into two sections.
The northern section would consist of
40 units and the section to the south would
include 34 housing units. This proposal
also includes four acres of open space, a
multi-purpose trail, and amenities like a
clubhouse, pool, and pickleball court. The
community would cater to empty nesters.
In October 2022, the council approved
the preliminary development plan for this
community but a few council members had
concerns about the plan, citing density,
traffic, and pedestrian safety issues.
Councilwoman Christine Houk was one of
the members who shared her reservations
about the plan. For the final development
By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
The Franklin County Engineer’s Office
recently unveiled its list of road resurfacing
repairs that are planned for 2023. Among
the road resurfacing projects that made the
cut include several residential streets and
thoroughfares in Jackson Township.
According to Administrator Shane
Farnsworth, these are the six township
roads that are scheduled to be resurfaced
during the upcoming paving season:
•Anglebrook
•Borror Road from Patzer Ditch to State
Route 104
•Deer Path Drive
•Edwards Drive
•Hyde Road east of State Route 62
•Hyde Road west of State Route 62
Farnsworth said the county originally
earmarked these roads for resurfacing
repairs last year, but the contractor was
unable to complete the township project
due to low staffing levels and supply chain
issues.
He added that the township is confident
the resurfacing project will be completed
this year.
“We are not entirely sure when they will
be able to get around to doing this project,
but we are confident that they will be able
to get it done sometime in the spring, summer,
or even the fall.”
Due to the smaller scope of the project,
Farnsworth said he does not believe the
roadways will have to be closed when they
are resurfaced.
plan, Houk was excused from action or discussion
on the topic. Councilman Mark
Sigrist, who also voiced concerns, voted
against the final development plan.
Several residents shared their concerns
about the plan when the preliminary proposal
was discussed.
“The last remaining bit of green space
along White Road is going to disappear
because it wasn’t valuable enough to the
city to preserve,” said Jason Wolfe.
Wolfe said that property would be an
ideal addition to an already-existing park
and a terrible location for further development.
Kelly Wolfe said White Road is already
overburdened with traffic from the
Buckeye Parkway development.
“We are going to have a nightmare,” she
said.
Residents said drivers use White Road
to avoid the more travelled Stringtown
Road. They also said during peak driving
times, Stringtown Road, Hoover Road, and
White Road are usually backed up.
Another concern was a proposed pedestrian
crossing. Now, instead of the pedestrian
crossing, the developers plan to
“It will likely be used as a one-way road
for a short duration of time,” he said.
He also said that the conditions of the
roadway are still safe for travelers.
“The roads have a lot of wear and tear
on them but obviously they are still in
working order,” he said. “But I have to say,
it will be nice to have them resurfaced so
they can be safer for decades to come.”
The cost of the road resurfacing project
is estimated at $378,000. The township
extend the sidewalk and use the existing
traffic signal on White Road.
The final plan was approved with a few
stipulations. One was that the developer
remove the rural fencing around the property
and replace it with decorative fencing.
Another stipulation was to change the
alignment of the road in the development
to add curvature.
In other news, the council approved legislation
to construct sidewalks on Addison
Drive, Angela Drive, Eleanor Avenue,
Haughn Road, Kingston Avenue, Parlin
Drive, and Reaver Avenue as part of the
city’s sidewalk program. This program constructs
or repairs sidewalks with the city
paying half the cost and the property owner
paying the other half.
According to Houk, who is the service
chair, affected property owners will receive
notice of the improvements and the cost
involved. She said residents can choose to
make the improvements themselves, wait
until the city makes the improvements and
share in the cost, or have the cost of the
improvements placed on their property
estate tax to be paid over time.
Road repairs planned in Jackson Township
board of trustees approved the road resurfacing
repair work order at its meeting on
March 14.
In related news, Farnsworth said the
state public works commission is still processing
its grant application to repair and
resurface Brown Road and Dyer Road. He
said the township will likely hear whether
they have received funding for the project
in May.
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March 26, 2023 - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - PAGE 5
House District Companies
Eye Expansion;
Funds Approved for
Westland Shopping Center
Demolition
Three Grove City companies here in our Ohio
House District are emerging as worldwide leaders
in their respective industries. Collectively raising
over $500 million in venture financing, the
combined companies intend to add well over
1000 jobs to our community over the next couple
years.
Forge Biologics, started in 2020, is establishing itself
as the leader in gene therapy development.
It manufactures therapeutics and pharmaceuticals
to treat rare diseases and conditions. It currently
is installing equipment that will allow it to
manufacture at a capacity unmatched anywhere
in the word. It will triple its employment levels
over the next three years.
Tosoh Ohio, a division of the Japanese parent
company Tosoh, manufacturers the specialty
metals wafers that comprise the computer chips
made by Intel and Samsung. Its manufacturing
process includes precision machining and superpure
common and rare metals like aluminum
(common) and titanium and scandium (both
relatively rare). Because of the success of the
current enterprise and the anticipated Intel facility
in Licking County, the parent company recently
committed the resources to triple its
manufacturing capacity. Local management
already is hiring machinists capable of training to
work with state-of-the-art equipment.
American Nitrile has just opened four additional
lines to manufacture PPE gloves for medical,
research, and industrial applications. Soon it will
open six more lines to bring its capacity to
approximately 3.5 billion gloves annually. With
its modern equipment and cutting-edge
processes, the company is bringing back highpaying
manufacturing jobs to the US—and, most
importantly, here to our community.
All three companies are characterized by forward-thinking,
action-oriented senior managers
who work to create growth opportunities for
their businesses as well as their associates.
The Ohio Department of Development (ODD) has
approved the allocation of $7.2 million for the
demolition of the Westland Shopping Center site.
ODD is assisting communities throughout the
state to prepare sites for future business development.
The 77-acre Westland site is considered
an ideal location for commercial and/or manufacturing
development because of its proximity to
I-270, city utility infrastructure, mass transit lines,
and residential areas with a ready and able workforce.
A fence already has begun to be erected
around the perimeter of the former shopping
center buildings.
(Dave Dobos represents the 10th District in the
Ohio House of Representatives, which consists of
parts of West, Southwest, and South Columbus,
Grove City, and Urbancrest. He reports regularly
on his activities in this position and his campaign
has paid for this communication with you.)
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