Why has the City of Massillon been a model of economic development?

There are four essential factors that are necessary for economic development to occur. These same factors must remain in place so that development that takes root, grows to bear quality results. What are these four factors?

They are Resources, Character, Attitude, and Drive. The lack of any one of these elements dramatically decreases the chances for any substantial or sustained economic development. Together they foster a synergy that takes a critical mass to a level far beyond the combination of the separate elements.

Resources, in many forms are economic development keys. Power, land, transportation, water, and community are all important elements.

Power from the times of the earliest settlers derived from the abundant streams in the area. Grist mills, woolen mills and early industries sited and thrived at locations where streams could be impounded, mill races built and the power of falling water harnessed to drive machines. Flowing water is no longer a power source worth a mention in Stark County, but the need for power for industry has promoted vitally strong public utilities.

Stark County has a powerful electrical distribution grid in place. Municipal electric power communities, Ohio Edison (First Energy) and Ohio Power (American Electric Power) are backbones that power the communities of the County. The ability to take on additional demand makes the electrical power supply a real power advantage.

The Stark County area remains a rich natural gas field. It both produces and stores vast quantities of this desirable natural resource. Various transmission and consumer supplier companies have a strong Stark presence. East Ohio Gas and Columbia Gas are but two.

An extensive transportation network means that the specialized need for other fuels is easily met. Coal and fuel oil are readily available.

Land is essential for economic growth. But just any land is not what we are discussing. Land, to be useful must, itself, have a number of attributes.

First, location is primary. Stark County is ideally suited being an extension of the greater Cleveland metropolitan region. The vast Cleveland-Akron-Canton-Massillon market provides raw materials and markets for goods produced. And it absorbs a dedicated, skilled and motivated labor force. Additionally, it adds to the already rich quality of life available within the county. Not to forget, Stark county is not only a southern extension of metropolitan area, it lies comfortably north of Columbus and well placed between Mansfield and Pittsburgh. The extensive transportation network of highways, rail and air facilities makes our location enviable.

Second, land is not useful to economic development unless it is available. The cost of land throughout the county in developed and undeveloped areas remains reasonable. And the range of sizes of available tracts offers attractive options to developers and firms wishing to relocate to remain. Further land must be acquirable. Stark County is blessed with much land that is available for development, raw and previously developed (and available for redevelopment).

Third, land must be suitable. Land for economic development must be zoned for the proposed use or readily capable of being rezoned. Stark County is fortunate in that land use planning within the county and within individual communities has long been a priority. The soils and topography have been positives for development. The gentle contours and carefully engineered surface water drainage favor development. Additionally, the proximity to utilities and the transportation network adds much to suitability for development.

Fourth, land must be developable, even if it is providently located, available and suitable. Overall community support for growth and development must be present. While some areas of the county are substantially developed much land remains developable. Much virgin land remains strategically situated. Brownfield reclamation opportunities are also available. Many industrial sites and structures may be recycled as homes for new industries. In fact, Civil war area factory buildings are home to diverse industries. Urban sprawl has been present in the County since at least the 1950's, while efforts to preserve greenspace and farmland have surfaced more recently. One interesting development is the land use plan model promoted by Madison County, Ohio, whereby further industrial growth is concentrated in and adjacent to already industrial areas (read primarily cities.) This is a model that Stark County can and should adopt.

Transportation has been referred to several times so far in this discussion. This fact highlights the importance of transportation. Stark County and Western Stark County in particular have grown and prospered. The Ohio-Erie Canal was a solution to an early 19th century lack of ability to get abundant local production to market. It served as an early development enticement. Massillon provided the vital industrial, financial and community leadership to extend what became the Pennsylvania (and later PennCentral and Conrail) railroads into Stark County. In fact, Massillon was the western terminus during the 1850's. While the Tuscarawas River has never been commercially navigable, it is an important recreational transportation resource. The highway system in Stark County is enormously important, I-77, US 30, State Routes 21 and 62 provide ease of transport. They tie together our communities, the Canton-Akron airport, various rail links (including the Neomodal Intermodal facility) and the greater metropolitan area.

Water, clean, abundant and affordable, is a development resource that is in want in many hot development areas of the country. Stark County is especially blessed by abundance of water that is clean, abundant and affordable. Private water (primarily though Consumers Ohio Water Service Company) and municipal water systems provide available treated water. Private wells are also abundant. The area's wealth of groundwater resources is a real draw for development. And our steams in the Tuscarawas River watershed make the cost-effective treatment of sewage and industrial waste feasible. Sophisticated waste water treatment facilities offer treatment for much of the County.

Community is the primary development element that is distinct from the other resources. Land, water and transportation (to the extent that transportation routes follow topography) were all in place before the settlement of the County. But it is community that makes development possible. And it is community where Character, Attitude, and Drive all reside.

Community is more than the existence of a governmental structure. It is the heart, soul, guts, and spirit, that make a City an organic being -- its character, attitude and drive.

The character of a community is how its various components work together. A true community has a majority vision that takes into account the wants, needs, desires and even vision of those not represented in the community. It represents the collective efforts of the business, industrial, governmental, social, service, and neighborhood elements. It is composed of the physical layout and the "personality" attributes of the community as a whole. Both size and cohesiveness of a community help develop its ability to foster development.

The attitude of a community, in relation to economic development, determines whether development in general is encouraged or discouraged. We all can cite examples of communities that have embraced a "No Growth" attitude. An attitude that favors development may, however encourage only selective kinds of development.

A community that has a character and an attitude that favors development will seldom succeed without drive. Drive is a combination of desire and a willingness to succeed. In some cases the drive of a community is pervasive, in others the drive is resident in a select few "cheerleaders' and "promoters" within the community. But without the enormous efforts of the organizations and individuals who exhibit this drive for economic development, the spark never catches flame.

You may notice that I have mentioned the City of Massillon little in this presentation. While Massillon is favored with all of the elements necessary for economic development, the message is that any community within Stark County can use these "secrets". And I encourage responsible, balanced development. I am a firm believer in the Keynesian notion that "a rising tide raises all boats". What is best for Massillon is a strong development mindset throughout the county. And what is good for the county raises Massillon's boat too.

Let's talk a little more about Massillon....

Massillon is a center and anchor of the economy of Stark County. In total square miles, Massillon is the second largest City at over 18 square miles. My estimate is that the 2000 census will show Massillon with a population of over 32,000. Massillon is an industrial and commercial center. More than half of the jobs located in Massillon are held by people who live outside of the City. Massillon is growing and growing and growing. Requests to annex are frequent. And from all sides of the City. Massillon with a strong history of annexation has more than doubled in size in less than thirty years. And Massillon will continue to grow.

Historically, Massillon came into being because of the canal. It forced a change in the development pattern of Western Stark County. Small nearby population centers were absorbed. The fringe growth that occurred around the Massillon limits are progressively being incorporated through annexation. With the natural gifts that Massillon possesses and with the great sense of community, it will certainly grow more.

Massillon is an innovator in transportation. After luring the canal, it lured the railroads. Capitalizing on its natural advantages, the city became a railroad center. When the Lincoln Highway route was selected, Massillon was a natural location. In the days before the interstate, the prime north-south state highway was Route 21, again through the city. Massillon has always been the home of economic promoters. Massillon is the home of U.S. Presidential candidate Jacob S. Coxey, whose primary economic development tool was the government financed construction of "good roads". Local machinery manufacture Charles M. Russell pitched Massillon and secured the railroad. The turn of the Twentieth Century Board of Trade (now the Chamber of Commerce) invited (and aggressively lured) industry to Massillon. The current Chamber of Commerce and its associated Massillon Development Foundation have been strong supporters and promoters of Massillon. The Stark Development Board, private investors, owners of businesses and even multinational conglomerates have worked closely with the City to make Massillon "home" to business and industry. Massillon prospers today by building on this strong cooperation , historically and currently, that assists business.

It is not to be said that Massillon has had only boom times throughout its history. The decline of the downtown from the late 1950's through the early 1960's and the weakening of the City's strong steel-centered industrial base in the 1970's are examples where the City and the business community sat on their laurels and failed to be as aggressive as required.

The 1970's decline spurred efforts to "revitalize" and "grow" the City of Massillon's economic base through industrial development across a more diverse base than primarily steel. The City embarked on an aggressive annexation plan in the late 1970's.

It is a fact that industries factor development incentives into their decision on where to locate, expand, remain or relocate. A strong concerted effort of the business community and the City government has aggressively constructed packages of inducements for industries. It is no secret that the City of Massillon offers generous financial and tax incentives to retain and expand established businesses and lure new businesses. The assistance offered by the city has been varied in kind and amount. It has always sought to carefully target the needs of the business seeking the assistance while fostering self-help and strengthening of business enterprises. Has all of the assistance been successful. Most has! Yes, it has been expensive! Yes, it has paid big dividends! But the city has retained, grown and diversified its industrial base.

What is the City's secret? It has many elements. It has been able to capitalize on resources (power, land, transportation, water and community) and harnesses the character, attitude and drive of the community to promote and support economic development. Massillon has worked closely with other governments, organizations, businesses and organizations to promote industrial development. It is this joint approach that has been most successful.

Today, Massillon is proud and prosperous! Today, Massillon is predisposed, positioned and prepared!
Allow me to shift focus for a few moments. Your invitation to me included a request to summarize some of the most important current local events.

Before I proceed with those that I consider primary on the local scene, there is one national event that has a huge impact on Stark County -- the 2000 United States Census. The obvious impacts are the effects on proportional representation in federal, Ohio and local legislative bodies. Besides, these legal niceties, numbers bring clout! So every head in Stark County needs to be counted. I am proud to say that the census in Massillon has one of the highest return rates in the County. We now have nearly 75% of the census forms returned.

Now, I turn to the biggest success stories on the local scene, and by local I mean Massillon first, Western Stark County, next and then greater Stark County in general. However, when it comes to Massillon, it is hard to chose an order of importance to impose on local developments.

Certainly, the most anticipated development is the Massillon Marketplace development at US 30 and State Route 21. With Lowe's and a Super Wal-Mart as anchors, the commercial focus in Stark County has been diverted from the "Strip". Not only because of its size and geographic location, Massillon Marketplace is significant. It signals that development is occurring to the South side and West side of Massillon. Also it is a diversification of major commercial development away from the congested Belden Village-Strip areas. Significantly the Massillon Marketplace uses a previously little-used taxation device called Tax Increment Financing (TIF) where the some of the tax revenues generated from the development are dedicated to infrastructure additions and upgrades. This is a 30 Million Dollar commitment.

Massillon's Downtown will continue to thrive. Massillon Marketplace is expected to actually draw shoppers into downtown. Of course, downtown merchants are rethinking their business strategies to become more "specialty" oriented. The Canalview Center downtown is innovative as a City/Federal/SARTA/Signet/private working venture bringing countywide transit, hotel and downtown parking facilities together under one very tall roof. The Canalview Center development is an 8 Million Dollar anchor to Downtown that is already spurring street-level improvements. Of course, no mention of Downtown redevelopment is credible without some discussion of our new Arena, a multipurpose public events center that will be the home of the Massillon Gears Professional Hockey Team. This arena complex will be a $10 Million Dollar investment. Also Downtown is the location of our 11 Million Dollar state of the art Recreation Center. Downtown is further revitalized by the Lincoln Center Phase III project which will renew the areas around the Arena and the Rec Center with hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. Massillon is destined to be a destination to travel to for entertainment. The Legends of Massillon golf facility , with its 4 and a half star rating from Golf Digest and 9 more holes in progress, plus the Massillon Community Park will have and will continue to add to Massillon's reputation as a "sports" town. The Ohio Erie Canal Corridor winding through Downtown, along with the Arena and the Rec Center, Downtown Massillon will become a tourism destination for the 21st Century.

Development is not concentrated only in Downtown and Massillon Marketplace. Our industrial base continues to diversify. The steel industry is still vital to Massillon. Jindahl, the largest stainless steel company in India, is the newest steelmaker to call Massillon home. Other diverse industries of Massillon with rising profiles are Heinz Frozen Foods, Americold Logistics (freezer storage), Harwick (chemicals), Zeigler Tire -- with Michelin (tire retreader plant), Controlled Power, Hercules, ABB, US Chemical and Plastics, A.R.E. (truck caps), Service Steel Aerospace, Freshmark and more. Not only are steel and steel support and manufacturing represented, but the food industry and chemical and plastics sectors are a growing part of the industrial mix. Not only are home grown companies represented, national companies, conglomerates and multi-national corporations are Massillon based.

Development is not only restricted to the commercial and industrial sectors. Residential Development is booming. Massillon is home to 15 active housing developments -- from condo's to affordable housing to the upscale. Already, the year 2000 pace for housing starts is ahead of the record set in 1999 with 47 new single family housing starts year to date and 139 for all of 1999. Compare Toledo, with 84.3 square miles -- just 2 allotments. Massillon's 18.2 square miles (and growing) supports 15 allotments. And the allotments are in three school districts -- 6 in Massillon City School District, 6 in Perry Local School District and 3 in the Tuslaw Local School District. In fact, 34% of the City of Massillon is in four school districts other than Massillon City School District (land in the Fairless Local School District was recently annexed).

What does all of this mean? It means that the assessed valuation for tax purposes is second highest in Stark County among the cities and grew about 23% over four years. An important side effect of the City's growth is the school districts in the City benefit from the City's aggressive development.

Again, Massillon's tide is raising a lot of boats!