07.21.09
Columbus will provide utilities for expansion of Dublin
By RACHEL BUCCICONE - www.snponline.com
Following more than two years of work and opposition continuing up to the moment of passage, Columbus City Council approved an Economic Development Agreement and a modification of utilities contracts with the city of Dublin.

At their July 13 meeting, council members heard public comment primarily in opposition to the two pieces of legislation that entails the city's consent for the annexation of property into Dublin.

The land in question is 277 acres north of the intersection of U.S. Route 33 and Post Road. Dublin is poised to spend close to $50 million to implement major infrastructure improvements to the property, the largest capital improvement project Dublin has ever executed, said Terry Foegler, Dublin city manager.

The 277 acres would make an appropriate home for high-density office, retail and research buildings, Columbus City Councilman Andrew Ginther said. Under the development agreement, that would mean about $35 million in new income tax revenue for Columbus, in exchange for Columbus utilities.

"The Economic Development Agreement represents new revenue without further extending city services," Ginther said.

As the individual parcels in the area are annexed into Dublin, Columbus also could see an additional payment of up to $1 million, as part of the development pact.

"It's not a given that it's (going to be) a million dollars," Councilwoman Charleta Tavares said. Columbus will receive money as each parcel is annexed, but only if all annex will the city get the full $1 million.

Mike Stevens, deputy development director for Columbus, said Columbus will receive 50 percent of the new revenue generated by new jobs on that land.

Development Director Boyce Safford said the goal of the 35-year Economic Development Agreement and allowing Dublin to provide sewer and water is threefold:

* To share new revenue with Dublin through the new jobs created by developing the land;

* To acquire the up to $1 million as parcels are annexed into Dublin; and

* To protect existing revenue with jobs already in Columbus through a noncompete agreement with Dublin.

The noncompete agreement will protect existing jobs in Columbus by guaranteeing Columbus will continue to receive 100 percent of the revenue it currently receives and would continue to receive that revenue even if jobs moved out of Columbus and into this area, Stevens said.

Tavares expressed concerns.

"It moves the center of our job growth up to Dublin," she said. She also took issue with the argument, "If we don't enter into this agreement, Dublin will pick up those jobs anyway," with which Tavares said she disagrees.

A Joint Economic Development District will also be a possibility for the surrounding 4,000 acres, which would allow regional partners to collectively profit from the area, Ginther said. The Economic Development Agreement indicates Columbus and Dublin will put forth "best efforts" to form the JEDD within two years, but no JEDD at all also is a possibility, Tavares said.

Kathleen Crowley, development director for Jerome Township, speaking on behalf of Jerome Township trustees, said the township would also rather have a JEDD for the 277 acres, which lie in Jerome Township.

Crowley said no annexation would be required with a JEDD in place, and only one property owner has so far expressed desire to annex into Dublin.

Marysville Mayor Christiane Schmenk said two property owners have requested utilities from Marysville, which is about 10 miles west of the land in question. She also said the Franklin County commissioners in April designated Marysville as the utilities provider for the land.

"Several of the landowners in this area do not want to annex," she said.

Columbus Council President Michael Mentel said the bottom line for the legislation is, the city will not stand in the way of property owners wanting to annex into Dublin.

"This is not Columbus conceding its land to Dublin," he said.

Ultimately council members voted 5-1 on both pieces with Tavares dissenting. Councilman Hearcel Craig was absent.

"I don't want Columbus to become a Cleveland, Ohio," Tavares said, noting she also would like to enact a JEDD on the 277 acres.

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