Cincinnati: General Business & Economic News

March 26, 200718 yr

From the 3/23/07 Enquirer:

Board can't decide on zone change

All commission members will meet on U.S. 25 industrial park

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

Boone County Planning Commission's zone change committee couldn't decide Wednesday whether Duke Realty should be allowed to build a massive industrial park on U.S. 25.

The vote was 2-2, with the fifth member absent.

From the 3/25/07 Enquirer:

Homebuilders may face fee

Per-lot rate to help widen roads

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

BURLINGTON - Boone County officials are considering charging homebuilders a per-lot fee to help pay to widen county roads.

In the last 16 years, Boone's population has nearly doubled, but its roads haven't kept up with the growth.

The idea to charge developers for road improvements came from Louisville, which last year enacted a $1,000 fee for each new single-family lot in outlying areas.

"If additional revenue is going to be needed, I think our existing residents would much rather see an assessment on new development," said Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore.

March 29, 200718 yr

Toyota might invest $413M in Georgetown plant

BY AMANDA WEBB & ED GREEN | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

March 29, 2007

GEORGETOWN - Toyota Motor Corp. is considering a $413 million investment in Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc., its manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky., to build a new vehicle model.

The board of directors for the Japanese automotive manufacturer will make a decision soon about where it will make the new model, which has not yet been announced, according to Jim Kersteiner, assistant general manager in the accounting and finance group for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., Toyota's North American manufacturing headquarters, located in Erlanger.

Kersteiner added that the project would begin by late 2008.

March 29, 200718 yr

From the 3/28/07 Enquirer:

Kingsgate 'town square' plan OK'd

BY BRENNA KELLY | [email protected]

A "town square-type development" will be built on 6 acres on Burlington Pike near Kingsgate Drive.

Kingsgate Square will include shops, a restaurant and offices next to and behind the Gold Star Chili on First Financial Drive.

March 31, 200718 yr

Toyota offered a $25M incentive

Auto maker may retool at Georgetown

BY GREG PAETH | CINCINNATI POST

March 30, 2007

GEORGETOWN - The state of Kentucky has offered Toyota $25 million worth of incentives toward the purchase of about $400 million worth of equipment that would allow the Japanese automaker to build a new model at its Georgetown, Ky., plant.

Spokesmen for Toyota in Northern Kentucky and Georgetown both said Thursday that the decision on building a new model in Georgetown would be made in Japan.

"Toyota is considering plans to build a vehicle at one of the plants in North America and we wanted to get this (the incentive) on the table so that the people who make that decision would be aware of the incentive," said Jim Kersteiner, assistant general manager in accounting and finance at Toyota's North American headquarters in Erlanger, Ky.

April 2, 200718 yr

From the 3/28/07 Boone County Recorder:

Burlington retail, office space approved

BY PAUL MCKIBBEN | COMMUNITY RECORDER STAFF WRITER

BURLINGTON - More retail and office space is coming to Burlington.

The Boone County Fiscal Court on March 27 unanimously approved plans and zoning for Kingsgate Square, an office and retail development that will be built near Burlington Pike, Veterans Way and Kingsgate Drive.

Commissioner Cathy Flaig said she had reviewed the project enough and quickly made a motion to approve it. No one spoke in opposition against the development.

From the 3/30/07 Enquirer:

Tech company expands in N. Ky.

BY MIKE BOYER | [email protected]

Psion Teklogix, a Canadian-based supplier of mobile computing technology, has announced plans to expand its presence in Northern Kentucky.

Psion is leasing a new 60,000-square-foot building in Al Neyer Inc.’s Riverview Business Park on Arbor Tech Drive.

The new office will serve as the company’s U.S. headquarters with sales, accounting, marketing and U.S. government sales.

April 2, 200718 yr

From the 4/1/07 Enquirer:

Boone Co. facing cash crunch

As county grows, expenses closing in on its tax intake

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

BURLINGTON - Boone County officials are looking for ways to cut costs and raise revenue to avoid a budget shortfall by 2009.

Although the county has experienced phenomenal growth and has an almost $40 million budget, it isn't swimming in money, County Administrator Jeff Earlywine said.

April 3, 200718 yr

^ This is what urban planners have been discussing for decades. As outlined greatly in articles such as "Cary, North Carolina" in National Geographic, and about the sprawling mess outside of Cincinnati (Warren County), sprawling development requires more room. Streets are wider, are more expensive to construct, and are more expensive to maintain. You need to extend sewers, water lines, fiber optics, etc. to these subdivisions, office parks, etc. Then you need to pay expenses for these over their expected lifespans, and at a lower population density, you are getting a much lower return.

April 4, 200718 yr

From the 4/2/07 Cincinnati Business Courier:

Hemmer plans Florence mixed-use project

Cincinnati Business Courier - 11:27 AM EDT Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Paul Hemmer Cos. announced plans Tuesday for a $7 million mixed-use development at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and U.S. 42 in Florence.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/04/02/daily17.html?from_rss=1

From the 4/3/07 Kentucky Post:

Psion deal saves 65 jobs

By Luke E. Saladin

Post staff reporter

A mobile computing and data technology company is expanding its U.S. headquarters in Boone County.

Psion Teklogix, a global provider of mobile computing and data processing, was considering moving out of the area until Boone County officials and Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed put together an incentive package to not only keep its operations in Boone County, but to expand them.

April 5, 200718 yr

From the 4/4/07 Enquirer:

* RENDERING: Pleasant Valley Commons in Florence would include 9,000 square feet of retail space, a restaurant and about 25,000 square feet of office space on 3 acres at U.S. 42 and Pleasant Valley Road. PROVIDED

Hemmer plans new building for U.S. 42 corridor

BY MIKE BOYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

FLORENCE - A $7 million office-retail development is planned by Paul Hemmer Cos. in the fast-growing area along U.S. 42 south of the Florence Mall.

Called Pleasant Valley Commons, the project would include 9,000 square feet of retail space, a restaurant out lot and about 25,000 square feet of office space.

The 3-acre site at U.S. 42 and Pleasant Valley Road is near Hemmer's Florence Promenade retail center, which opened last year.

Initial marketing is under way with groundbreaking slated early next year.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070404/BIZ01/704040328/1076/rss01

April 5, 200718 yr

I find this news VERY surprising...in a bad way!

Uptown site out for NIOSH facility

April 5, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

UPTOWN - A proposed site for a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health facility near the University of Cincinnati is out of the running, the U.S. General Services Administration said Thursday.

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/04/02/daily47.html

April 5, 200718 yr

Clifton out as NIOSH lab site

BY BARRETT J. BRUNSMAN | [email protected]

A Clifton site that had appeared to be a front runner in the competition for a $70 million headquarters for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has been eliminated from consideration.

Modifications to the proposal for that site by the Uptown Consortium Inc. prompted the federal government to strike it from the list of seven possible locations, a spokesman for the U.S. General Services Administration said Thursday.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/NEWS01/304050024

April 6, 200718 yr

Toyota supplier moving to NKy.

BY CLIFF PEALE | [email protected]

April 5, 2007

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher will be in Covington Monday morning to announce that a Toyota Motor Corp. supplier will move its North American headquarters to Northern Kentucky, bringing about 100 jobs.

Toyota Boshoku America Inc. will move to either Dolwick Drive in Erlanger or another area location from Michigan.

Last week, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave preliminary approval for $2 million in state tax credits for the company.

April 8, 200718 yr

From the 4/6/07 Enquirer:

Dilcrest lawsuit stays the same

Judge won't allow class-action status

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

FLORENCE - Dilcrest residents' lawsuit seeking to stop an office building from being built near the subdivision's entrance won't include all homeowners.

Boone Circuit Judge Tony Frohlich denied class-action status for the suit filed by 28 residents of the 143-lot subdivision.

April 9, 200718 yr

Toyota to open office in 3rd Q

BY KEVIN EIGELBACH | CINCINNATI POST

April 9, 2007

GEORGETOWN - Toyota Boshoku America plans to hit the ground running at its new North American home office in Northern Kentucky, hiring new employees this month and opening the office sometime in the third quarter of the year.

More details about the new office in Erlanger were expected at a news conference today in Covington that Gov. Ernie Fletcher was expected to attend.

"Toyota has a strong presence and has made significant investments in Kentucky with Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. in Erlanger and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in Georgetown," Fletcher said in remarks released in advance.

April 10, 200718 yr

From the 4/9/07 Enquirer:

City rethinks lifting tax cap

Payments could soar if county also taxes all income

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

FLORENCE - Just a month after deciding to tax the entire income of people who work in Florence, City Council is considering putting a cap back on its payroll tax.

That's because Boone County officials have mentioned removing the cap on the county's payroll tax as a way to raise revenue in order to prevent a budget shortfall by 2009.

If both Florence and Boone County did not have caps on payroll taxes, at the current tax rates, someone who works in Florence and makes $150,000 would pay $4,200 a year in local income taxes.

April 14, 200718 yr

From the 1/25/07 Cincinnati Business Courier:

Northern Cincinnati hotels saw growth in '06

Cincinnati Business Courier - January 25, 2007

Hotels in Cincinnati's northern suburbs saw room reservations outpace the region as a whole during 2006, the Northern Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau said Thursday.

The number of rooms sold grew 6.4 percent over the year, compared to a 2 percent growth rate in the region, the CVB said in a news release. The occupancy rate was 56.4 percent, and revenues increased 11.2 percent, compared to 7.3 percent for the Cincinnati region. The average room rate rose to $69.62, versus $66.57 in 2005.

...

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/01/22/daily44.html

April 14, 200718 yr

From the 2/7/07 Dayton Business Journal:

Warren County hotel occupancy up in 2006

Dayton Business Journal - February 7, 2007

Hotels in Warren County were busy in 2006. The county saw hotel-occupancy rates jump 4.6 percent last year compared with 2005, according to Smith Travel Research. The Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau reported the findings from Wednesday.

Bureau officials attribute the gains to a stronger sports-marketing program; the launch of a meetings and conference department at the bureau; and year-round leisure marketing campaigns designed to draw visitors.

...

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2007/02/05/daily16.html

April 19, 200718 yr

From the 4/18/07 Enquirer:

Grant given for greenway link

State gives $300,000 for land along Gunpowder Creek

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

Boone County has received nearly $300,000 in a state grant money to buy land that will become a major link in the county's plan for a greenway along Gunpowder Creek.

Teresa J. Hill, secretary of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, presented the check to Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore at the land off Camp Ernst Road on Tuesday afternoon.

April 19, 200718 yr

Link contains a photo. From the 4/19/07 Enquirer:

Industrial park gets rejected

Board: Roads can't handle it

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

Widen narrow, overburdened roads before sending thousands of tractor-trailers down them, Boone County Planning Commissioners said Wednesday, while rejecting a proposed industrial park.

It will now be up to Boone Fiscal Court whether to allow the park with 3.4 million square feet of industrial warehouse space to be built on U.S. 25 in Richwood.

Planning Commissioners voted 8-2 to recommend denial of a zone change Duke Realty needs for the park, called Commonwealth Logistics Center.

April 20, 200718 yr

From the 4/18/07 Boone County Recorder:

Richwood homes get OK

BY PAUL MCKIBBEN | COMMUNITY RECORDER STAFF WRITER

BURLINGTON - The Boone County Fiscal Court has given unanimous approval for an 11-home subdivision in Richwood.

The homes will be built on an 11.27-acre site on Richwood Road north of the intersection of Richwood and Chambers roads.

Developers were able to get back one of the lots in a subdivision that was eliminated when the Boone County Planning Commission reviewed the project. In another change from when the commission considered the project, the subdivision's road will be a county street instead of a private road.

April 22, 200718 yr

Where are the hot new jobs?

Advanced manufacturing, branding among growth areas

BY CLIFF PEALE | April 22, 2007

Steve Weddle doesn't appear to be worried about his professional future. The programmer and technician has worked for 13 years at a growing supplier for the auto industry, Advics Manufacturing Ohio Inc. He's fluent in five software programs and experienced in translating blueprints into the brake calipers that Advics makes.

Even though he's been laid off once, from GE Aircraft Engines more than a decade ago, he knows his job skills are marketable. "I consider myself a machinist," says Weddle, 45, of Morrow. "I've been fortunate in that once I established myself they invested a lot of time and money in me."

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/BIZ01/704220315/1076/BIZ

April 23, 200718 yr

From the 4/23/07 Boone County Recorder:

Attorney plans to take project to fiscal court

BY PAUL MCKIBBEN | COMMUNITY RECORDER STAFF WRITER

BURLINGTON - The attorney representing Duke Realty said he "absolutely" plans to proceed with the company's plans for an industrial park in Richwood to the Boone County Fiscal Court after the Boone County Planning Commission voted 8-2 to reject the project April 18.

Attorney Gerry Dusing said he was disappointed by the commission's decision because the project meets all the criteria in the county's comprehensive plan.

May 2, 200718 yr

From the 5/2/07 Enquirer:

County gets high marks

Survey finds residents satisfied, worried

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

People who live in Boone County are pretty pleased with the county government, but they aren't as happy with the county's growth.

That, among other things, is what the more than 1,100 people who responded to a mail survey told county officials.

Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine asked Northern Kentucky University students to conduct the survey in hopes of improving customer service.

May 3, 200718 yr

German factory coming to Boone Co.

100 new jobs part of its first U.S. plant

BY CLIFF PEALE | [email protected]

May 3, 2007

HEBRON - Mauer USA, a German maker of plastic injection molding, will open its first U.S. location in Boone County later this year, bringing 100 new jobs.

Kentucky officials announced Wednesday that Mauer would invest $10.8 million to build a 40,000-square-foot building in the Riverview Business Park in Hebron.

About 85 of the jobs will be filled with Kentucky residents, and the jobs will pay an average of $46,000 a year, said officials at the Tri-County Economic Development Corp., the agency that recruits companies to Northern Kentucky.

Click hyperlink above for full story.

May 3, 200718 yr

This will also be posted in the Wal-Mart thread. From the 5/3/07 Enquirer:

Wal-Mart wants 2nd locale

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

FLORENCE - How many Wal-Mart Supercenters does one city need?

Two, according to the discount retailer.

Wal-Mart wants to build a new Supercenter in Florence, less than 2½ miles from the one it opened last May on Houston Road.

May 5, 200718 yr

From the 4/26/07 Boone County Recorder:

Town square, festivals proposed for Union

BY PAUL MCKIBBEN | COMMUNITY RECORDER STAFF WRITER

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - Union could have a town square with an amphitheater and events that draw people, according to some Northern Kentucky University students.

The students' ideas were produced as part of a marketing class taught by Melinda Gardt, a member of the Union Visioning Committee.

May 6, 200718 yr

From the 5/6/07 Enquirer:

Locals not sold on Wal-Mart

Some fear traffic trouble caused by nearby stores

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

FLORENCE - When Dawn Arsenault heard that Wal-Mart wants to build a new Supercenter at the intersection of U.S. 42 and Weaver Road, she had one thought.

"You couldn't pick a worse location," said Arsenault, who has lived in Plantation Pointe for eight years. So she e-mailed Florence city leaders to voice her opposition.

Wal-Mart officials announced this week that they want to build a second Florence Supercenter about 2½ miles from the store on Houston Road.

May 8, 200718 yr

Cincinnati Bell boosts profits 60 percent

May 8, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

CINCINNATI - Gains in its wireless data and technology services offset a decline in traditional phone service to boost Cincinnati Bell's first-quarter profits. The telecom company posted net income of $22.6 million, or 8 cents per share, matching analysts' expectations and beating first-quarter 2006 net income of $14.1 million, or 5 cents per share, by 60 percent. Revenues rose 6 percent to $315.3 million from $298.2 million a year ago, and just missed analysts' forecast of $316.3 million.

Results by segment:

* The Local segment boosted revenue by $1 million, to $187.3 million, but operating income fell to $66 million, compared to $69.5 million in first-quarter 2006. Increased data services revenue was offset by lower voice revenues and fewer consumer access lines.

* The Wireless Services segment grew its revenue to $68.5 million from $61.8 million, while operating income doubled over the same period last year to $7.5 million from $3.8 million, thanks to a 12 percent jump in service revenue.

* The Technology Solutions segment saw revenues climb 25 percent to $48.5 million from $38.8 million a year ago, while operating income inched up to $2.5 million from $2.3 million. Telecom and IT equipment revenue grew 22 percent, and data center and managed services revenue grew 36 percent.

* The Other Communications Services segment, which includes long distance, security monitoring and pay-phone operations, had revenue of $20.4 million, versus $19.7 million a year ago, and operating income dropped to $6.2 million from $6.6 million.

May 9, 200718 yr

From the 5/9/07 Enquirer:

Wal-Mart: Traffic fix a must

Rethink U.S. 42 site, residents urge

BY BRENNA KELLY | [email protected]

FLORENCE - If Wal-Mart cannot figure out how to make a new Supercenter improve the traffic flow on U.S. 42, it won't build a store there.

That's what the discount retailer's representative said Tuesday as Florence City Council unanimously voted to annex the proposed site at U.S. 42 and Weaver Road.

"We want to help the traffic," David Gose, Wal-Mart market manager, said. "It would not make any sense for us to build a building, spend the millions dollars we are going spend for a site that wouldn't be accessible by our customers.

May 10, 200718 yr

Moving NIOSH labs could cost city $1.1M

BY BARRETT J. BRUNSMAN | [email protected]

May 10, 2007

UNION TWP. - If Cincinnati loses out to Clermont County on a planned $70 million headquarters for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, it will cost the city more than $1.1 million in income taxes annually, federal officials said Wednesday.

May 10, 200718 yr

I would hope they keep this new facility in Cincy.

May 11, 200718 yr

From the 5/10/07 Kentucky Post:

Jobs lost a Boone County anomaly

By Greg Paeth

Post staff reporter

Boone County is expected to lose 750 jobs in the next 18 months as two well-known apparel brands slash their workforces in distribution centers in Hebron.

Adidas, the German company best known for its running and sports shoes, intends to close its national apparel distribution center on Aviation Boulevard in Hebron in October of 2008, costing 650 full-time jobs.

The Gap, the San Francisco-based parent company of Old Navy, said it will be reducing its 700-person workforce by about 100 people in the fall after the company decided to close down a distribution center that was created to handle apparel that was shipped to Old Navy outlet stores.

May 13, 200718 yr

From the 5/13/07 Enquirer:

Plan leaves Wal-Mart out

Vision is for 'walkable downtown'

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

UNION - In the heated debate over whether another Wal-Mart Supercenter should be built in Florence, some residents have suggested that the discount retailer look farther south on U.S. 42.

Wal-Mart wants to build the second store at U.S. 42 and Weaver Road, in hopes of serving customers south and west of Florence.

It will be up to Boone County Planning Commission and Florence City Council whether the store will be built on the land which has been vacant since the Boone-Kenton warehouse burned three years ago.

May 14, 200718 yr

From the 5/14/07 Enquirer:

IMAGE: This portion of a Google satellite map shows the site just north of Ky. 18 across from Saddle Ridge Drive. Provided

Builder tries for subdivision

Developer seeks planning commission's help

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

Maybe the third time will be the charm for developers who want to build homes on 50 acres just west of Burlington.

Twice in the last two years, plans for a subdivision on the land across from Saddle Ridge Drive have been rejected by Boone County officials.

But Tom Flesch, co-owner of Gerdes & Flesch Custom Homes, says the 40-home subdivision he wants to build is not like the other plans, which included nearly 150 homes.

May 18, 200718 yr

From the 5/17/07 Enquirer:

Smaller subdivision gains more favor

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | [email protected]

With about one-quarter the number of houses, opponents conceded the proposed 40-home Vineyard Park subdivision is an improvement over two earlier plans that were rejected.

But some neighbors continue to oppose the development, planned along Ky. 18 on 50.6 acres just west of Burlington, across from Saddle Ridge Drive.

May 20, 200718 yr

Cassidy has a clear vision

In product offerings and value for money, 'We believe the best defense is a good offense,' says Bell CEO

BY MIKE BOYER | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

May 20, 2007

PHOTO: Bell President and CEO Jack Cassidy at the "Riverboat Deck" at Great American Ball Park. Visitors to a ball game can see the new technology business center there.

THE ENQUIRER/CARRIE COCHRAN

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Bell chief Jack Cassidy was on the golf course last fall when Realtor Rob Sibcy tossed one of those "you should try this" ideas at him.

"We were talking about business,'' recalled Sibcy, a Bell shareholder. "I told Jack he needed to give people a reason to keep their local landlines. I said Bell ought to link their landlines to their other services like wireless and DSL so customers can use one number as a point of contact for everything, from faxes to voice mail or to a mobile phone.''

Cassidy, 52, who marks his fourth anniversary as Bell's CEO this summer, liked Sibcy's "brainchild," and this summer "CB One For All" will be born. The service will allow a customer's wire line to be a conduit for voice calls and text messages or forward callers to a mobile phone. CB One For All and a new wireless phone called CB Home Run, which links Bell's mobile and Wireless Internet (WiFi) networks to improve cell phone clarity, are among the products the 134-year-old phone company is rolling out the next few months as it continues to fend off competitors in its Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky service area.

May 21, 200718 yr

^ That's awesome!

May 21, 200718 yr

it is. awesome stuff is in store for the city of cincinnati because of bell.

May 21, 200718 yr

From the 5/21/07 Enquirer:

Wal-Mart decision nearing

Retailer submits traffic proposal

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | [email protected]

There might be big fireworks in Boone County the evening of July 5.

Wal-Mart has made its formal application to build a second Supercenter in Florence, at U.S. 42 and Weaver Road, and the Boone County Planning Commission has set a public hearing for 7:30 p.m. July 5 at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Wal-Mart says improvements it proposes could improve traffic from current levels - which now average D's and E's on a letter scale of A through F (where A is best and F is worst) during peak times.

CESO Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, predicted in an inch-thick traffic-impact study for the discount retailer that:

May 22, 200718 yr

Riverfest fireworks gets new sponsor

BY RICK BIRD | CINCINNATI POST

May 22, 2007

CINCINNATI - The Toyota WEBN Fireworks has become the Cincinnati Bell WEBN fireworks. A new sponsorship agreement announced Monday by the radio station and the telecommunications company ended a 17-year partnership for the event in which Toyota had emblazoned its name on the event that draws up to 500,000 people to the riverfront Labor Day weekend.

"I think Toyota felt the fireworks deal has run its course. But Toyota will still be involved with us as a fireworks sponsor," said Colan Wheat, WEBN general sales manager.

Wheat said the station would soon announce another major sponsorship deal with Toyota - which has its Northern American headquarters in Erlanger, Ky., and an assembly plant in Georgetown, Ky. - that will commemorate the automaker's 50th anniversary of doing business in America.

May 24, 200718 yr

From the 2/16/07 Aurora Journal-Press:

County ‘plan’ could help St. Leon grow

By Denise Freitag Burdette, Assistant News Editor

02/16/2007

Dearborn County headaches may be spilling over town lines into St. Leon where about 50 people from around northwest Jackson Township attended the town board’s Monday, Feb. 5, meeting.

Most of the questions centered on the town’s knowledge of possible county plans to target the township for economic development, which has upset some land owners, possible annexation into the town and zoning buffer zones.

St. Leon Town Board member Andy Bischoff later said by phone that the town board does not know anything about the county’s 10-year capital projects management plan, including possible plans for economic development in northwest Jackson Township.

May 31, 200718 yr

From the 5/30/07 Enquirer:

Florence, Boone get 'in same room'

For first time in six years, officials assemble to talk

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | [email protected]

Residents of the 10th largest city in Kentucky are also residents of the 71st fastest-growing county in the U.S.

Yet it had been more than six years since the governments of Florence and Boone County had met - until Tuesday.

At Florence City Council's request, Boone County Fiscal Court members came to Florence to talk.

May 31, 200718 yr

Link contains a photo. From the 5/31/07 Enquirer:

Union rep opposes Wal-Mart

Residents wary of heavier traffic

BY BRENNA KELLY | [email protected]

Residents who want to stop Wal-Mart from building a second Supercenter in Florence are getting some help from the food workers' union.

"What we would like to do is work with the community to help beat this store," Bill Dudley, a United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1099 member, told more than 100 residents who attended a meeting Wednesday in an American Legion hall.

Dudley, the union's director of strategic operations, told residents the union would help them organize, hire an attorney, and provide other support in hopes of stopping Wal-Mart from building the store at U.S. 42 and Weaver Road.

June 4, 200718 yr

From the 6/4/07 Kentucky Post:

Boone feeling budget squeeze

By Luke E. Saladin

Post staff reporter

The days of fast-growing revenue streams and sunny budget projections appear to be nearing an end in Boone County.

The county's proposed budget for the 2008 fiscal year, in fact, includes the elimination of five full-time positions from the county golf courses and is absent any new capital projects - once a Boone County hallmark and the envy of surrounding counties - with the exception of $200,000 for a handicapped-accessible playground at Union Park.

Also absent from the proposed budget is a 2.7 percent merit pay increase for county employees, which in past years was given to workers in addition to a 3 percent cost of living increase.

County Administrator Jeff Earlywine noted in a memo to Boone Fiscal Court members that this is likely the last year the county can continue to avoid service cuts without changing its fiscal policy.

June 8, 200718 yr

Western & Southern moves Capital Analysts

BY JON NEWBERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Western & Southern Financial Group Inc. is relocating Capital Analysts Inc. from suburban Philadelphia to the parent company's downtown Cincinnati headquarters complex, bringing 50 jobs to the central business district.

Capital Analysts, a broker/dealer that targets independent financial advisers, said it is redefining its business strategy to focus on the development of wealth management services for firms that serve wealthy clients. Moving to Cincinnati will enable it to take better advantage of Western & Southern's information technology systems and other resources.

The move comes about 10 years after Western & Southern relocated Capital Analysts' parent company, Columbus Life Insurance Co., to Cincinnati, a move that brought more than 300 jobs to the city. Last year it moved Integrity Life here from Louisville, generating about 230 new area jobs. John Barrett, Western & Southern's chairman and chief executive, said he expects Capital Analysts' new strategy to lead to considerably more jobs as it grows the business.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070608/BIZ01/706080350/1076/BIZ

June 8, 200718 yr

Winding my way through this thread, I had the thought that the two counties have really failed to live up to their potential are Clermont and Campbell county. Both have their reasons - 75/71 doesn't go through them and Campbell County had water issues, but considering the degree of sprawl in the region one would think that these two counties would have received a greater degree of the fruits than they have. Considering that Cincy is squeezed into the eastern third of the county, logic would say that there would have been more growth out east, but it just hasn't happened. Random thought.

June 8, 200718 yr

Author

Clermont County is still growing. I just seen new office buildings around the rt 32 and Beechmont area. Once 32 is upgraded to go over the little Miami river. Access will be much much easier. And an extention of Cross county would do wonders, but Indian Hill would block that FOREVER.

June 9, 200718 yr

Well the eventual plan (from what I've heard) is to have I-74 cross through Cincinnati via Norwood Lateral and the beyond to connect to DC one day. I believe that the 32 project is a piece meal part of that plan so to speak. If we continue in the auto-dependent sprawl fest fashion...then this will certainly open the floodgates to Clermont County. Please excuse me while I choke back my dinner.

June 9, 200718 yr

I would recommend that people drive out through Campbell County's backroads in the vicinity of Alexandria. It is truly amazing to see the rolling hills and green pastures filled with galloping horses in a pristine setting.

When you drive through there you will see an army of encroaching subdivisions sprawling in every direction. Wal-marts and vast parking lots spill out over the landscape. Just take I-471 South and continue on U.S. 27 and turn off into the countryside. Go on a sunny day and enjoy what is left of this natural eden.

June 9, 200718 yr

I not saying I think they should have developed. Sprawl is bad, though I actually think that the European/German model of sprawl isn't as bad. Basically you use the little towns near the cities as catch-basins for the population. You increase density in the small towns then provide rail service into the big cities. In between though is a good bit of productive agriculture, park or forest. Grow Batavia and Blanchester or even Mt. Orab but don't let Eastgate or Milford slowly spread out. I was mostly commenting on the fact that fifteen years ago it wasn't as clear that the northern and southwestern 'burbs would grow so much more than the eastern and southeast burbs.

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