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Township uses JEDD money to continue to expand services
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: January 17, 2013
Founded in 1817, Twinsburg Township has seen its borders change over the years and while it may be smaller in area today, the services it provides to its 2,800 residents continue to be expanded.
“A lot of the land in the township was part of the great Western Reserve,” said Twinsburg Township trustee Jim Balogh, who was raised in the township.
“Until 1955, Twinsburg Township and the village of Reminderville were one and the same. Reminderville was incorporated as a village because it was physically separated from the rest of the township, with Glenwood Boulevard not connecting the two until the 1970s.”
In the late 1950s the village (now city) of Twinsburg was incorporated in another part of the township, due to a large assembly plant that was then proposed by the Chrysler Corporation. Today all three communities – township, village and city – are part of the same school district, and Balogh said that the township benefits greatly from the joint economic development district (JEDD) that it shares with the village of Reminderville.
The JEDD contract was approved in 2002 and took effect in 2003, levying a 1.5 percent tax on employee wages and business net profits on those in the JEDD area, which covers all the land in the township’s industrial district on Bavaria Road, Boyle Parkway, North Boyle Parkway, Chamberlin Road, Enterprise Parkway, Hadden Road, Highland Road and Tower Park Drive. Under the agreement the township receives 70 percent of the revenue, and the village gets 30 percent.
Businesses are attracted to the JEDD because of the tax abatements and grant opportunities, and Balogh said as a result the JEDD area has more than a 90 percent occupancy rate.
“The industrial park is a mix of light and heavy industrial companies like Contractors Steel Company and ANS Wholesale Petroleum Equipment,” Balogh said. “Coca-Cola Bottling is located there as well.”
Balogh said the revenue from the JEDD has allowed the township to create programs that have benefited residents.
“We purchased a 110-acre parcel of land that runs from Twinsburg Road to Bavaria Road in the last decade that we have used to create a large community garden. Our residents can pay $10 a year to grow their own vegetables in one of the garden plots, which are fenced in to keep deer out.”
He said the township also used the funding to create a recreational fitness program for residents in 2008, paying half of the membership fee at 10 area recreation centers it has agreements with. In 2013, a household will be eligible to receive up to $250 annually toward the cost. Each year the program is reviewed for reauthorization.
“We do not have our own recreational center, so this was an elegant solution to encourage our residents to be healthier. We have agreements with the city of Twinsburg, the Powerhouse Gym in Twinsburg, Macedonia Recreation Center, Snap Fitness in Reminderville and LaTuchie Tennis Center in Stow to name a few,” he said. “All facilities are generally within a ten-minute drive of the township.
“It gives people who are interested in joining a gym an incentive to do so, and it is paid for without taxing our residents.”
Balogh said the township has also used JEDD money to offer scholarships to residents who want to take classes at Kent State University Geauga’s Regional Academic Center, which opened its new facility in 2012 on Creekside Drive, behind the post office.
Although the downturn caused property values and other sources of revenue to plummet, Balogh said the JEDD money did fill in some of the gaps, helping to avoid layoffs and cuts to services.
“This year we expect to receive over $2 million from the JEDD, which will help with the recovery.
“We have also made it a point to have 10 to 15 percent in contingency funding just in case we need something. The money remains in the budget and is not allocated toward anything.”
The township did have quite a few foreclosures. “The Twinsburg Heights area of the township was the neighborhood that was hardest hit,” said Balogh. The township will be receiving Moving Ohio Forward demolition grant funding from the state of Ohio to help address the problem.
He said the township has grown a lot since he was a child and now includes new housing developments that have increased the population and given it a more “cosmopolitan feel,” but he said it still maintains a “family-friendly atmosphere.”
There are three parks, including Erwin Geis and A.W. Robertson, and the Township Square, which is located in the city of Twinsburg.
“In the warmer months, the square is filled with shared community events from Memorial Day observances to Twins Days celebrations,” said Balogh. “In between it hosts concerts, weddings, olde tyme faires, school picnic and political rallies. The square is also a place of honor to recognize all who have served from the Twinsburg area in the many wars throughout our history. Each holiday season, the square is decorated with lights, which provides an inviting glow for a winter stroll through the square.
“Near the center stands a monument that was erected shortly after the Civil War. About 20 years ago it was refurbished to make legible the names of residents who served or died in the Civil War,” said Balogh.
“Another 900 acres from Liberty Road leading north from Cannon Road to Reminderville was annexed by the city of Twinsburg in 1999 and was used to create Liberty Park,” said Township Manager Robert Kagler.
The bulk of the area’s restaurants are located in the City of Twinsburg, but the township’s Mexican restaurant (Marcelita’s) has been around for years.
There have also been a number of large-scale projects designed to improve the roads and eliminate flooding problems.
Kagler said the township began its largest reconstruction project in the Heights neighborhood, including Buchtel, Cambridge, Case, Eton, Harvard, Oxford, Rugby, Stanford, and Yale streets and Hadden Road, in 2003 to shore up the old roadway and help eliminate flooding.
The 20-year project is expected to be complete in 2025 and will cost $10 to $15 million upon completion of all phases.
“There are 20 phases, and so far six have been completed,” said Kagler, who became township manager in 2008 after serving as a consultant to the township for eight years.
“The work so far has cost about $3 million, and about $1.7 million has come from grants. The next four phases will cost about $5.6 million, and the township has grant money in place to help cover the costs.
“Another township neighborhood that has been plagued by flooding is the Marwell Estates area,” said Kagler. “It is about 50 years old, and when it was constructed there were no provisions to handle stormwater.”
Kagler said the township started studying the area five years ago and has been working with engineers who recommended reconstruction of all the roads and creation of stormwater ponds to keep the water from getting into people’s yards. There are three phases to the project; the first involves the construction of three large stormwater ponds.
“The township has entered into a partnership with Speedway, which will construct a station near the location of the first pond, and Speedway is contributing $20,000 toward the $180,000 cost of that pond.
“We’ve also been successful getting a traffic signal installed at the intersection of Ravenna and Old Mill roads in 2012. This is a location where there had been a lot of deaths over the years.”
Kagler said in 2010 the township entered into agreements with three municipalities (Aurora, Solon and Twinsburg) to allow seniors to use their senior centers.
The following year, the township began a senior transportation program, partnering with the METRO Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to provide senior residents free trips for certain essential purposes.
“Over the past four or five years, the township purchased the township hall,” said Kagler. “The township plans to renovate the service department in 2013 and look at other township services like fire, EMS and police, to make sure we are providing the best service at the lowest cost. For almost 15 years, the township has contracted with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office to provide police services, and fire and EMS are currently provided by the city of Twinsburg.”
Kagler said the last township property tax levy was passed in 2011. “It was a $1.75 million continuing levy to cover police services. The last property tax levies approved before that were in 2001, to cover fire and EMS services.”
He said officials are looking at ways to expand the JEDD by finding additional developable land, since the industrial park is almost full.
The most recent addition to the JEDD was ESSCO (Electric Sweeper Service Company), which moved its headquarters to the park in December 2009.
“Several other companies have expanded and others are contemplating expansion,” said Kagler.
“Twinsburg Township’s future remains bright,” said Balogh. “Our ability to attract and retain businesses along with the growth of our neighborhoods identifies Twinsburg Township as a good place to work and live.
“While we continuously strive to improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses in the township, we do so with a careful eye toward the budget. This financial stewardship, coupled with the township’s regional relationship with neighboring communities to purchase and share common services, allows the township to wisely plan and deliver the best solutions for all of our futures.”