Wood County now qualifies for Fed aid

WOOD COUNTY, Ohio - The good news is Wood County finally qualifies for federal funds from the Economic Development Administration. The bad news is the county only qualifies now because local unemployment recently reached new heights.

But in hopes of turning lemons into lemonade, county leaders met Wednesday to discuss the creation of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. That document could potentially be used to snare millions of federal dollars for infrastructure needed to create new jobs.

"We haven't had to use this before," said Paul Jones, of Poggemeyer Design Group, which has helped create the strategies for other counties in the region.

"All your neighbors have a document," Jones said, noting they range from Van Wert County's nine-page plan to Lucas County's 50-page strategy.

And unlike before, the federal fund is now bursting with money, and hungry for worthy projects.

"They've got more money than they've ever had," Jones told the Wood County commissioners.

And the county has more need than before, with unemployment numbers passing the national average this year and hitting 12.8 percent this summer.

But the county must act quickly, Jones warned, since the local jobless rate is dropping - and may soon be so low to disqualify the county from getting the economic development funds. To meet the federal criteria, the county's unemployment rate must average 1 percent higher than the national average for 24 months, or suffer a loss of 500 jobs in one industry sector.

"It's something now we can offer that we couldn't offer a year ago," Jones said. But the window of opportunity is closing, he added.

Jones explained to the commissioners that the county strategy document would be one more tool to secure funding for infrastructure to bring in new jobs. For example, the plan could potentially help the county put in infrastructure for the CSX hub near North Baltimore.

Wood County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Tom Blaha said he supports bringing in external money to help build Wood County. "We're all in agreement with that," he said.

"All it is, is a door opening for the big money coming down the line," Blaha said of the strategy document.

The county commissioners agreed that the county should not miss the opportunity to get federal funding.

"I think we would be amiss if we didn't create the document," Commissioner Jim Carter said.

"We're willing to look at any and all possibilities," Commissioner Tim Brown said.

"We're helping to put people to work," Carter said. "Let's get it going."

Helping to put the document together will be the Bowling Green State University Center for Regional Development, the county economic development office, county planning commission and the local OSU extension office.

It will then be up to the county commissioners or an appointed board to prioritize local projects for funding.
"You're creating an opportunity to get money, not a guarantee," Jones said.

(Information from the Sentinel-Tribune, a FOX Toledo News media partner)