Battle lines forming over GreaterFindlay - Saturday, September 20, 2008 | Courier Electronic Edition

Local News

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Battle lines forming over GreaterFindlay

By LOU WILIN

STAFF WRITER

The area's road toward further economic development is proving to be longer than expected, with stops and starts, splintering, and unexpected bumps — and that just covers the last week.

The latest came when Findlay Mayor Pete Sehnert committed what would have been heresy for previous mayors, publicly calling GreaterFindlayInc.'s economic development program a failure.

He wants to bring back the Community Development Foundation, which focused solely on economic development before it merged 10 years ago with the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, forming what is now GreaterFindlayInc.

Meanwhile, Findlay, Hancock County and GreaterFindlayInc. officials seem to have dug in their heels on how to proceed with economic development, says a Community Development Foundation leader from the late 1990s.

"At this time in our community, we are at a critical time. It is polarized. (GreaterFindlay) and the county and the city want to do their own things," said the leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

GreaterFindlay leaders want the city to keep using tax money to pay them to attract and retain businesses. They say the $1.7 million spent during the past 10 years helped create 1,687 jobs, and bring $453.4 million in business investment from 2001 through 2007.

City Council, too, showed divisions this week.

At-Large City Council members Randy Ward, James Slough and John Urbanski have confidence in GreaterFindlay.

And while First Ward Councilman J. Michael Slough expressed reservations about GreaterFindlay, he showed an irreverence to the community foundation that 10 years ago would have made him a pariah.

"To go back to the good old boys era, I do not think, is the direction we need to go," he said.

Sixth Ward Councilman William Schedel Jr. questioned the accuracy of what he called GreaterFindlay's "statistical gobbledygook."

"They are claiming some victories when they were not even close to the battlefield," Schedel said.

Agency in disarray

GreaterFindlay has looked like an agency in disarray. It has been without a president since Doug Peters left three months ago for a job in North Carolina. Its vice president for economic development, Russell Rogerson, left a few weeks after Peters, also for a North Carolina job. Neither person has been replaced.

That is not to say there weren't attempts. GreaterFindlay's first choice to replace Peters bowed out only days before he was to start. He was dissuaded by newspaper reports that he and others might have issues with conflicts of interest because GreaterFindlay had arranged to finance a second, public job for him: vice president of the Blanchard Valley Port Authority.

A jobs creation program Rogerson oversaw is far behind original jobs creation targets and debt payments to Findlay. The North Central Campus for Emerging Technologies, started in 2005, was to create 40 jobs by October by helping AciOhio commercialize new technology. At last count, AciOhio had only one employee.

The technology campus also has fallen behind on debt payments to Findlay for its purchase of the former Intersil factory, 1700 Fostoria Ave.

So Schedel, like Sehnert, wants a separate economic development agency.

Downtown neglected?

GreaterFindlay has faltered in its chamber of commerce duties, Schedel says. It seems aloof to vacant downtown storefronts and business owners' efforts to pool together money to improve downtown.

"(GreaterFindlay) missed the boat of recognizing the anemic nature of the downtown central business district and nothing was done about it," Schedel said.

Some downtown business owners say GreaterFindlay does not help them like it once did. "I do not think they (GreaterFindlay) are the same as they were eight to 10 years ago," said Tom Day, owner of Streicher's Quickprint & Copy Center.

"Before, it was for businesses downtown. Now it seems like they are more after big businesses than for the little guy," he said.

Day is still a member of GreaterFindlay. Niswander's Jewelers owner Barry Niswander has not belonged since 2003.

"I thought the leadership cost (the salary of former President Doug Peters) was too high in relationship to (GreaterFindlay's) focus on small business," Niswander said.

Jim Knott, owner of Downtown Antiques & Lighting, said tighter times have kept him from membership since 2005. But Knott also said GreaterFindlay does not seem to help the "Mom and Pop" businesses as it once did.

The merger

Both the Community Development Foundation and Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce were going strong when they were merged.

Led by then-President John Kovach, the foundation developed Tall Timbers Industrial Center on Findlay's east side.

"We had a good run there," Kovach said.

Of course, the economy was stronger from the late 1980s through much of the 1990s than it has been in recent years.

"It is hard to draw a comparison," said Kovach, now president of Comprehensive Development Solutions, Findlay. "Times were different, the economy was different. The people were different."

Some development foundation leaders wanted to merge it with the chamber. They saw it as a way to increase revenue for economic development and make one efficient, unified agency.

Former chamber President Lee Luff recalls companies questioning why they paid to belong to two groups.

Neither Luff nor Kovach liked the merger idea, and both headed for other jobs when the die was cast.

However good the intentions, such mergers inevitably lead to arguments over who does what and who is on top, said Luff, now president of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, Anderson, S.C.

One group or the other, or both, suffer, he said.

Luff also said whether economic development and the chamber should be separate depends on the community. It is easy to find other communities in which the two are joined and the leaders say they are successful.

However, some say combining the two can cause problems.

"Every time I have put them together, it failed, and every time I tell myself I will never do it again," said Dennis Roedemeier, president of the Missouri Research Corp. at Southeast Missouri State University. He also is the former director of business development for Missouri.

"I just never have been able to pull it off."

Economic development agencies and chambers of commerce are different, he said.

"They require different resources. They answer to different people," Roedemeier said. "They have to be separate if economic development is going to do its job."

While chambers pursue a business agenda and support members, economic development is supposed to have a broader agenda, said Timothy Bartik, senior economist for W.E. Upjohn Institute, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Economic development is pursued for the good of the entire community, to add jobs, increase wages and increase tax revenue to government, Bartik said.

Marathon takeover scare

The Community Development Foundation was formed in 1983 in the wake of Marathon Oil's brush with a takeover attempt by Mobil.

Government and business feared that Mobil would have transferred all of Marathon's employees elsewhere, devastating Findlay's economy.

Leaders decided to broaden Findlay's economic base and recruit additional companies. The foundation developed Tall Timbers Industrial Center.

"We had a very well-equipped board," said Bill Fitzgerald, 82, the foundation's first president and then an executive with Cooper Tire.

He rattled off names of the top corporate executives from Marathon, First National Bank, Citizen's Savings & Loan, Dow Chemical, Findlay Publishing Co., and former mayors W. Bentley Burr and Keith Romick.

"It was a powerful little group," said former foundation board member Carleton Palmer, president of National Lime & Stone Co. "What really got it going was the powerful leadership."

"These were people whose motives were selfless," Palmer said. "They were trying to do what was best for the community."

"The prime movers in Findlay loved Findlay," Fitzgerald said. "They wanted to develop it and the chamber was not getting the job done."

Fitzgerald laid down the law that it was not important who got the credit, Palmer said. What mattered was that the job got done.

After a few years, some of the foundation leaders passed the baton. When the foundation became successful, it became obvious economic development benefited some more than others, Palmer said.

"I saw envy," Palmer said. "People wanted a piece of the action. That was the start of the wedge."

Perhaps the biggest enemy is the one within.

"There is always going to be a little bit of inherent conflict with the businesses that are here versus what businesses you might be looking at to attract in," Hancock County Commissioner Ed Ingold said.

"There is obviously a little bit of hesitancy: 'Are you going to bring in a competitor to me or are you going to bring in someone that is going to take away my third shift.' That is a delicate tightrope that economic development has to walk," Ingold said.

"I would encourage that as we go down that, you all keep a sharp eye on that issue," Ingold said to city and GreaterFindlay leaders Thursday. "That has to be separated and made an independent thought process at least that the economic development people do."

Fitzgerald, too, has advice for the community: "Get some leadership."

Wilin: 419-427-8413,

Send an e-mail to Lou Wilin

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15 Comments (2 pages)

Latest comments listed first.

marvinthemartian wrote:

Sehnert

OK. I wonder who I was thinking of, then? I know for a fact I read an article - and I think Joy Brown wrote the article - but there was an article I read about a parking valet at BVH whose previous career was as a state patrolman who had over 60,000 contacts.

Maybe it wasn't a guy running for office - maybe it's a guy who's still there.

Maybe we're both right. Who knows? Maybe the moderator can ask Joy Brown - if it was Joy Brown who wrote the article.

Now, I'm curious.

Maybe Sehnert could post a bio somewhere - like here.

I know you didn't mean anything bad by saying "city pig," vs. "highway hog," because they're common expressions of irreverence.

But the thing that cracks me up, is that people think if you have a blue-collar background, everything you do or say is dismissed and marginalized.

Let's look at it this way: the so-called conservatives talk about the "entitlement mentality" of middle-class and lower middle and poor people.

While I'd agree there are people in that demographic who fit that profile, the door swings both ways on that.

The people who want to think they're part of some "elite" class, have an entitlement mentality themselves.

This country is headed for what people have coined, "The South American Model."

In South America, 3% of the population is uber-wealthy and the rest of the population is dirt-poor; there is no middle class - or at least, not in the same numbers and percentages as America has seen in her recent past.

So in South America, the uber-wealthy live in walled fortresses with their iron gates and armed gaurds and tasteful, mason walls surrounding the outer perimeter - and the rambling, sprawling mansions on the inside. And in close proximity? Ususally, a golf course!

And so it's becoming right here in this country.

I'm not saying that rich people should be looked down on - but they owe us people in the middle class the same courtesy.

We're being brainwashed into believing that money is a measure of your worth as a human being. So from "their" point of view, if you didn't inherit a huge trust - or if you were lucky enough to make your hard work and dedication pay off (and luck is the operative word, because we all know tons of people who work hard and are dedicated - who could probably run their boss' business better than the boss - but what the wealthy don't understand, is that luck played a bigger role in their ability to make money than their narcissm allows them to admit) but here's the deal: we're being brainswashed into believing that if you don't have a ton of money - your opinion doesn't count.

And that's the essence of the arguments of those who make fun of Sehnert, because what they're really saying is this: since you're not a millionaire you don't deserve to be in a position of authority - and your opinions don't count.

What they're saying is, is if you don't have a ton of money, you must not be smart. Like I said, with those who do have a ton of money, they don't realize that "Lady Luck" played a bigger role in their wealth than their narcissism allows them to admit.

Sure: they may have worked hard. Sure, they may be smart. Sure, they did everything right. But look at all the people who fit the same criteria - who are still middle class, or worse. What's the difference? Luck - plain and simple.

So by them having this attitude that if you're not rich, you're not smart, they're not recognizing the role luck played in their lives - and they don't realize that they have less to do with luck than they realize.

What's this have to do with a middle-class guy in the mayor's office?

Well, look at the $1 bill. The guy on that bill had to borrow money from friends to get enough money to take the trip from his home in Virginia, to his first inaugeration.

Washington was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy.

So: how do you reconcile the idea that money is a measure of a human being, with the fact the guy who is credited with being the founding father of this nation, was broke?

Ben Franklin was rich; so was Thomas Jefferson - but Washington wasn't.

Friday, September 26, 2008 9:14:23 PM

city worker wrote:

pete

pete was a court officer in his last
years

Friday, September 26, 2008 4:30:15 PM

Azrael wrote:

Almost right

Marvin,

You're almost right; Pete did park cars at BVH before being elected. And before that he was in the Marines...but he was a city pig, not a highway hog.

Friday, September 26, 2008 2:38:53 PM

city worker wrote:

barbric

Whats wrong barbaric dont like the truth and there will be lay offs
mabye you

Friday, September 26, 2008 7:17:45 AM

marvinthemartian wrote:

the mayor

I could have swore I read that someone who was running for public office was a parking valet, and prior to that, this guy was a state patrolman - and before that, he was a Marine. Maybe I got Sehnert mixed up with someone else, but I could have swore I read that article.

Thursday, September 25, 2008 5:21:16 PM

Azrael wrote:

Marvin!!!!!!!!!

Marvin, just wanted to clarify something for you. Our current mayor wasn't a state patrolman....he was a Findlay police officer. And I know for a fact that for his last few years on the force, all he did was deliver subponeas (sp?). Not sure what you mean by "making 60,000 contacts" though. Could you clarify that?

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 8:57:39 AM

Barbaric wrote:

Are you serious?

City worker - not surprised by your name. You're an absolute idiot. You make all city workers look bad with your paranoid attitude. If you don't like it, why don't you pack it up?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 1:23:21 PM

city worker wrote:

time

Look show me what they have produced then show me ////what they have fought not
To let come in.. who are they protecting and who should they be looking out for.
Guys take your gloves off;;;;;; now and lets fight these guys out of town,
No more funding.. No more lies, and there cheap shots of discrediting people. its just business where just going to have to lay you off due to lack. Of work
Pack up and get out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008 6:35:33 AM

marvinthemartian wrote:

the parking valet

Besides your elitist attitude toward parking valets, allow me to remind you of what this former parking valet did prior to his job as a parking valet. If I recall reading the newspaper article about Mr. Sehnert correctly wasn't he a state highway patrolman with over 60,000 career contacts prior to his retirement? Wasn't he also a former Marine?

Are you trying to imply that anyone who served in a branch of the military that is highly regarded as this nation's "tip of the spear" isn't smart enough? If so, is it that he isn't smart, because he put himself in a position to lay his life on the line for his country, while guys like you lived a life of relative luxury instead?

Or could it be, that he isn't smart enough, because he put himself in a position where he layed his life on the line with each of the 60,000 contacts he made as a state patrolman?

I couldn't imagine how much courage it would take to pull over a vehicle that matches the description of someone who is armed and dangerous, and it's 3 a.m., and it's 10 below zero, and you know for a fact that back-up is at least 15 minutes away - and it's completely dark.

But nooooo! This guy is able to do that - and God only knows out of the 60,000 contacts he made in his career with the Ohio State Highway Patrol - God only knows how many of those 60,000 contacts were EXTREMELY dangerous people.

Who knows how many lives this state highway patrolman saved, by risking his life to pull over someone with an a.p.b. out on them, because of some violent crime they recently committed. Maybe he saved my life by putting that person behind bars - maybe he saved yours - but in the grand scheme of things, we'll never know.

Yes, he's smart enough to go after the craftiest and wiliest of criminals, drug runners, murderers and all-around scum and vilanny, but because he was an hourly worker, God forbid should he put himself in a position where he can ferret out the white-collar hustlers and flim-flam artists who try to make going after their own interests seem like a benefit to everyone - even though it only benefits a chosen few.

As far as I'm concerned, if he's smart enough and brave enough to go after the blue-collar criminals with over 60,000 contacts prior to his retirment with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and if he's smart enough and brave enough to lay his life on the line as a member of the armed forces affectionately referred to as America's "tip of the spear," my guess is, he's emminetly qualified to go after the white-collar hustlers who use flim-flam and industry-specific techno-babble to cover up their many sins - and make them appear as a huge benefit to the community - and I think that's what really bothers you the most about him.

Sunday, September 21, 2008 12:31:43 AM

marvinthemartian wrote:

doug peters

Hmmmm. Interesting point you should bring up about the percentage of income that GFI recieves from tax payer sources. I'm sure your expertise on this fact is what has allowed the CDF and GFI to hide behind loop-holes in the sunshine law to prevent your organization from divulging who you ignored when they came to you for a tax abatement, huh?

If people only knew. Sure, I know for a fact there has to be some secrecy - at least for a while. If you were to divulge who was thinking of locating here - while they were in the selection process - that would make the deal go south - and I think any reasonable person knows this.

But what about 6 months - or a year later? The secrecy is no longer required because the selection has already been made.

At that point, as long as you have tax abatement negotiating authority, you should be required to divulge who you chose to ignore with tax abatement offers. This is the public's money - and your comments about the public working for the private sector are correct - but the door swings both ways, and when you spend (or have the authority to tell people they don't have to spend money that should be going to the public) then you should be accountable to make sure that the public's interests are served, rather than simply the interests of the members who comprise the inner-circle of your organization.

Here's the bottom line: authority to grant tax abatements should come with some common sense accountability.

As far as a former valet being mayor: what you're saying is EXTREMELY elitist.

It doesn't take a Warren Buffet to figure out that stifling wage competition has resulted in minimum wage jobs and more minimum wage jobs, and more minimum wage jobs.

The article recently in the paper about the era of good paying jobs is a thing of the past. How do you explain your organization's handling of the A. Schulman fiasco? They intially wanted to start at $24/hour. Who's biting whose hand, now? Seriously. Your organization bends over backwards for minimum wage providers like Wal-Mart and all the little factories in Tall Timbers, but you won't lift a finger to help A. Schulman get past all the red tape the Regional Planning Commission put them through. Why? Because they pay good, that's why - and that's just what you've made your organization all about: keeping good paying jobs out of this area.

Go ahead: splatter all the right-wing dogma you want - nobody's buying it, except for those who either think they're in "the clique," or those who actually are. For everyone else: no one's buying it.

The only thing you're upset about, is the fact with all the fancy terminology you guys use to confuse, baffle and bore people into ignoring the important work you do, you can't even fool a former parking attendent with all the b.s. your best writers can dream up.

How sad is that?

Sunday, September 21, 2008 12:07:20 AM

VIDEO

LITTLE ROCK NINE: Jefferson Thomas, who was among nine black students initially barred by the Arkansas governor from attending Little Rock Central High School in 1957, spoke to Findlay students as part of Black History Month. The crisis was a pivotal moment in the struggle for civil rights.

VIEW VIDEO

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LOCAL NEWS

LATEST COMMENTS Last 10 comments submitted by our readers...

Steve wrote in article "Blowing snow stalls traffic":

unknown

That would be a personal responsibility choice. We all know what the winter situation is in NW Ohio and we all should be prepar...

2/9/2010 9:56:48 AM

J wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

Citizen........

Findlay is located in Hancock County..... Therefore, yes. If Hancock Co goes into a level 3 that includes Findlay....

2/9/2010 9:17:27 AM

Debbie wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

Level 3

Weathertech09~ would you like the hospital to be closed because no one is there to care for you or a loved one due to being cite...

2/9/2010 9:04:12 AM

STEVE wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

LEVEL 3

Citizen, Is the City of Findlay in Hancock County? I believe the article ref all the cars stuck in the snow Barker specifically...

2/9/2010 8:55:52 AM

Interested Observer... wrote in article "Blowing snow stalls traffic":

Unknown

In case you've never looked into it, which you obviously haven't. You can buy a used 4WD for the same money as a lot of 2WD veh...

2/9/2010 8:51:30 AM

Yvonne Hendricks wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

Level 3 Snow Emergencies

Maybe if a Level 3 is called "before" the roads are impassable, those of us who's employers refuse to let us go before a level 3...

2/9/2010 7:54:17 AM

llv wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

Level 3

Level 3 emergency: Most roadways are closed and extremely hazardous. Employees should comply with workplace policies or contact...

2/9/2010 7:48:01 AM

SARA wrote in article "Four named Findlay fire captains":

SERIOUSLY?

First off, I think this article has been taken WAY out of context. Cograts to the guys who have received their well deserved pro...

2/9/2010 6:51:20 AM

unknown wrote in article "Blowing snow stalls traffic":

interested observer

hmm do you have any extra money to help us pay for a 4WD if so let me know so i can buy me one.

2/9/2010 6:50:56 AM

Citizen wrote in article "Sheriff reminds motorists of road level advisories":

Road Level Emergencies

If the sheriff issues a level 3 for Hancock County, does that include the city of Findlay?

2/9/2010 6:14:54 AM

U.S. Headlines

World News

Ohio News

News Briefs D.C. trip delayed
A trip to Washington, D.C. that Findlay and Ottawa officials were planning to make this week has been postponed because of the inclement weather.

Findlay Mayor Pete Sehnert said officials have rescheduled the trip for Feb. 23 to meet with a lobbying group and congressional representatives regarding federal spending on flood control projects.

Fostoria requires clearing sidewalks
FOSTORIA -- Fostoria residents are responsible for removing snow and ice from sidewalks within 12 hours of a storm, according to police Capt. Patrick Brooks.

The city code covers residential owners or tenants, and business owners of properties which abut a sidewalk.

An offense is a minor misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $100. Each day constitutes a separate offense.

Library in Forest reschedules event
FOREST -- Because of the expected inclement weather, the Forest-Jackson Public Library has rescheduled its Valentine luncheon planned for Thursday to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.

Reservations are required. Anyone with questions can call the library at 419-273-2400.

Disc golf tourney set for Saturday
The Ray Heverling Charity Ice Bowl Tournament has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Riverbend Recreation Area, off Ohio 568 east of Findlay.

Registration begins at noon.

The tournament was canceled last Saturday because of a snowstorm.

The Disc Golf Community Association, in cooperation with the Hancock Park District, sponsors the event. Proceeds go to the Family Center of Findlay-Hancock County.

For more information contact Nathan Buck at p_nate@thecatalystcc.com or 419-306-7405. Entry fee is $20. Additional donations are accepted.

Housing Authority meeting postponed
Because of an expected winter storm this week, the Hancock Metropolitan Housing Authority has canceled its regular board meeting scheduled for Thursday. It will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 at the Family Center.

Fostoria library to close Monday
FOSTORIA -- Kaubisch Memorial Public Library will be closed Monday, Feb. 15, in observance of Presidents Day.

Crime Of The Week
Findlay/Hancock County Crime Stoppers is looking for information about a break-in at the Arlington Pharmacy, 200 Main St., at 12:51 a.m. Dec. 28.

A glass pane in the front door of the business was shattered, and entry was made. Once inside, the perpetrators took prescription medications and fled on foot.

Two white males were seen running from the business. The males were possibly in their late teens to early 20s, and possibly entered a vehicle.

People with information about this or any other crime that would lead to an arrest or indictment will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Crime Stoppers can be called weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 419-425-TIPS or 419-425-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.

The Web site is www.hancockcrimestoppers.org.

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Local News

Saturday, September 20, 2008

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