Jobs and Technology
Focus Area Members:
| Member | Organization |
| Council President Mentel (Chair) | Columbus City Council |
| Ty Marsh (Chair) | Columbus Chamber of Commerce |
| Bob Massie | Chemical Abstracts |
| Ben Ritchey | Battelle |
| Darrell Gammell | Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 189 |
| Dwight Smith | Sophisticated Systems |
| Elaine Roberts | Columbus Regional Airport Authority |
| Franz Geiger | The Robert Weiler Company |
| Jack Patridge | Columbia Gas |
| Janis Mitchell | Precise Resource |
| Jim Hendrickson | Sterling Commerce |
| Joe Alutto | OSU |
| John Ness | ODW Logistics |
| Katherine Kelley | OhioSuperComputer Center |
| Mark Corna | Corna Kokosing |
| Matt McCollister | Columbus Chamber of Commerce |
| Melissa Ingwersen | Chase Bank |
| Representative Ted Celeste | State of Ohio |
| State Senator Steve Stivers | State of Ohio |
| Suzzanne Coleman-Tolbert | Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp |
| Ted Ford | Tech Columbus |
| Meetings: | Work Session 1 - Notes |
| Work Session 2 - Notes | |
| Work Session 3 - Notes |
Focus Area Description: Economic development in the 21st century is much
different than the previous century. These issues and the facilities necessary
to facilitate such change will be of interest to this focus group, including the
movement away from manufacturing to high-tech, broadband and WiFi, attracting
the creative class, and related issues. Workforce development, redevelopment and
infill, and green industry may be considered.
Key Question: How can Columbus remain competitive in a changing economic environment?
Public Input about the Focus Area: This focus group challenged citizens to think about how to grow and develop Columbus’ economy so that it remains competitive throughout the 21st century. Numerous respondents tied economic success back to human capital investment. They believed that if our city could create and retain the talented workforce businesses need then businesses would grow organically as well as choose to relocate here. In addition, many respondents commented on business recruitment incentives. Some respondents felt that Columbus should aggressively recruit businesses from out of town whereas others felt that effort was a waste of money and Columbus should work to develop homegrown businesses. Still others felt that investing in emerging industries and businesses was a way to improve the local economy. Some respondents also emphasized focusing city investments on small businesses already in Columbus. Finally, many respondents had specific business development ideas for downtown and other neighborhoods.
Public Input Themes for the Focus Area:
1. Create a 21st century workforce through innovative educational
strategies. Respondents link the importance of education and workforce
training to economic success. Many want to see better re-training programs for
workers while others talk about retaining the young and talented workforce who
has studied at Ohio State or other institutions in Central Ohio. All responses in
this category are based on the idea that businesses will locate where talented
workers are.
2. Evaluate economic incentives needed to recruit new businesses
to Columbus. Contributors suggest different strategies for attracting new
businesses to the City. Some see value in creating a great business environment
with low taxes, available business resources, and a talented workforce that
would encourage businesses to locate here while allowing local businesses to
flourish. Others discuss the need to use tax incentives to attract businesses to the
City. Finally, several respondents indicate that they want to see tax incentives
tied to performance so the city gets the results it was looking for when it
initially attracted these businesses.
3. Invest in a range of emerging new industries. The contributors
who discuss investing in emerging businesses share the desire to find and
support emerging industries that will be the future feeders of our economic
growth. Many see green industries and clean energy as an important for the
city’s economy while others emphasized the need to have technology based
companies at the heart of our new economy.
4. Pursue strategic business opportunities for neighborhoods and
downtown. This category features respondents’ comments and suggestions
for boosting economic impacts downtown or in specific neighborhoods. Many
share the desire to build more walkable communities where small retail and
commercial buildings are within walking distance of residential areas.
5. Support and promote small businesses in Columbus. Many respondents
wanted to see support for local small businesses as the key to economic growth.
Supporting local businesses and helping to open up local markets for them were
important principles discussed in several responses. Also, respondents in this
category wanted to see help in developing local entrepreneurial pursuits from
residents.