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ANNUAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & BUSINESS FORECAST BREAKFAST
A Message from Chamber President/
CEO Joe Kleinknecht
I wanted to start by extending my gratitude and appreciation to all those involved in making our 2017 forecast breakfast one of our most successful events of the year. If it wasn't for our sponsors, speakers, volunteers and those in attendance, we could not have pulled it off. It was refreshing to hear of all the positive reports from the area business community.
140 people attended this year’s annual event that was held on March 7th at the Galion Grace Point Church, Christian Life Center on Portland Way N. in Galion.
Those in attendance enjoyed a great breakfast that was catered by the Avita Food Services.
Speakers for the event included; Toni Ridge, ADM Benefit Plans Agency; Tom O’Leary, Mayor, City of Galion; Sean Longstreth, President, Longstreth Memorials; Gary Frankhouse, Crawford County Partnership; Jerry Morasko, President, Avita Health System; Jim Grubbs, Superintendent, Galion City Schools; Don Stone, President, United Bank; Eric Pittman, General Manager, Sleep Inn & Suites;
Speakers spoke about their accomplishments from the previous year, new construction/products or services in 2016, expectations and changes for 2017 and the challenges they face.
Sponsors for the event were A-1 Printing Inc.; ADM Benefit Plans Agency; Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Alternative Energy Source; Avita Health System; Craig Miley Realty & Auction; Crawford County Partnership; CrawfordCountyNow.com; Dostal & Kirk Inc.; Firelands Federal Credit Union; First Federal Bank of Ohio; Flick Packaging; Galion Building & Loan Bank; Geyer's Super Value; Huntington Bank; J&F Construction & Development Inc.; Longstreth Memorials; Mill Creek Nursing & Rehab; Ohio State University – Mansfield; Pioneer Career & Technology Center - Adult Education, Pittsburgh Glass Works; Ralphies Sports Eatery; Schilling Graphics; Sleep Inn & Suites; Spreng Capital Management Inc., Tramec Sloan and United Bank.
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Community Service Day
April 21, 2017
On Friday, April 21st Pioneer Career and Technology Center will be hosting it’s 8th Annual Community Service Day. Pioneer will send approximately 1000 staff and students into 16 separate school districts to complete various projects. Students are split into groups of 12-15 students, then paired with a staff member and sent back into the students’ home community to complete the project. Among the past projects are washing police and fire vehicles, painting various buildings and fixtures around community parks and ball fields, various landscaping duties, building handicapped accessible ramps and assisting and volunteering at local agencies. We are currently looking for projects in and around the community that could be accomplished on this day. Students are on site from 9 AM until 2 PM. It is preferred that the site have reasonable restroom access and be a safe environment. A group as large as this can get a lot of work accomplished in 5 hours, so please plan accordingly. If you have a project or if you have any questions, please contact Dan Burtscher at 419-347-7744 x42209 or email
burtscher.dan@pctc.k12.oh.us
Help make this annual event a success again in 2017!
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CRA HELPS BRING $4.3 MILLION IN INVESTMENTS TO GALION
The City of Galion continues to focus on economic growth in 2017. One tool implemented last year was the Community Reinvestment Area, which provides temporary tax abatement on any increased property value resulting from construction projects. Abatement are determined on a case-by-case basis by the Housing Council.
The CRA provided abatement to three commercial projects in 2016:
- Tim Horton’s received a 50% abatement for 15 years.
- Arby’s received a 50% abatement for 12 years.
- Longstreth Memorials received a 50% abatement for 12 years to consolidate its operations and move to the Galion Industrial Park.
- Total new investment was $4,339,097 with 78 new jobs created.
A fourth commercial project is already under consideration this year, to assist the BP gas station with an expansion project.
The city administration’s main goal for the CRA in 2017 is to encourage new residential housing. The maximum term for this type of project is 50% abatement for 15 years.
If you would like to learn more about CRA incentives and how they can help you, please call the Mayor’s Office at 419-468-1857. The application form is available online at
http://galion.city/311/Economic-Development
.
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Galion Safety Council Holds Health & Wellness Fair
On February 16th, the Galion Safety Council held a Health & Wellness Fair at the Polk Township Hall at 7680 State Route 309 in Galion, with over 125 people attending the event that included a blood draw, flu shots, blood pressure checks, chair massages, smoking cessation, an exercise program, breast cancer awareness, diabetic education, chiropractic care, audiology, BMI checks, car seat safety, children with medical handicaps program info, DEXI scan, grip strength tests, immunization info, stroke support info and reflexology awareness.
Signature Health Care, Tripart Health, Inc., Kindred Nursing & Rehab and United Way of Crawford County had booths set up and distribution information on their services at the event.
Safety Council, Manager, Janelle Benner was very pleased with the event and said the Safety Council plans to continue doing these on an annual basis.
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Did you hear what happened on January 19th … the day before the inauguration?
Not many people did, but a new Obama administration OSHA regulation took effect.
This particularly troublesome regulation poses serious separation of powers concerns, as
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration decided to unilaterally bypass Congress AND overrule the courts to grant themselves increased enforcement power
beyond what the existing statute permits. It’s known as the “OSHA Volks Rule”, named after a company OSHA attacked through their interpretation of an expanded window for issuing citations.
Tell Congress:
Protect the rule of law
. Don’t let bureaucrats rewrite laws and overrule our courts.
Here’s the background: OSHA has the important duty of enforcing workplace safety regulations but, in the law Congress passed in 1970 creating the agency, Congress specifically allowed 6 months from the violation for OSHA to cite employers for record keeping infractions.
OSHA, however, decided 6 months wasn’t good enough, and despite the specific limit passed by Congress, moved to expand that window to 5 years, a 10 times increase!
In a case where a construction company named Volks challenged their citation for being outside the 6 months statute of limitation, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, including Merrick Garland, unanimously said that OSHA’s power grab was “
neither natural nor consistent with […] precedents
”, has “
absurd consequences
”, and that “
There is truly no end to such madness
”. They sided with employers and strongly rebuked OSHA.
But Congress can end the madness of this regulation by disapproving of the rule through the Congressional Review Act.
OSHA’s Volks Rule will improperly subject millions of American businesses to citations for paperwork violations, while doing nothing to improve worker health and safety. It simultaneously represents a usurpation of Congress’ power to write the laws and a direct rejection of the judicial branch’s authority to rein in an agency when it exceeds its authority.
The House could vote within the week on this issue.
Tell your Member of Congress
to support the resolution of disapproval and block OSHA’s power grab, H.J. Res. 83.
Rob Engstrom
SVP and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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February 7th a Ribbon Cutting was held at Cori Kreger's State Farm Agency to celebrate the opening of her new office at 416 Portland Way North, Galion.
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February 10th a Ribbon Cutting was held at the grand opening of CA Artspace inside the Lincoln Professional Building, 102 Harding Way West, Galion.
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February 17th a Ribbon Cutting was held at the grand opening of the new Sleep Inn & Suites, located at 6698 Brandt Road, Galion.
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February 21st a Ribbon Cutting was held at Huntington Bank, 260 Portland Way North, Galion after their successful transition from First Merit.
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HEMPY WATER: is celebrating their 65th year in business this year. Congratulations. www.HempyWater.com
Do you have an anniversary, new associate or employee, sign, or business update? Contact Joe or Miranda at the Chamber Office, 419-468-7737 or email mjones@galion-crestlinechamber.org so we can add your business to the Member Spotlight in our next Newsletter.
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U.S. Chamber Praises Presidential Action to Reform Dodd-Frank Act, Delay Fiduciary Rule
Executive Order Calls for Reforms Needed to Spur Economic Growth, Protects American Access to Retirement Advice and Choice
WASHINGTON, D.C.
- U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue responded to news that President Donald Trump will issue an executive order enacting sweeping reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act and delaying the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule:
"Today marks the first step towards mending the dysfunctional regulation of the past and helping Main Street with the financing needed for growth and job creation. Last year the Chamber recommended over 100 ideas for smart, forward-looking financial reforms that promote stability and encourage growth. This executive order stops Washington from picking winners and losers and helps put America's entrepreneurs back to work. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress in achieving these goals.
"We are also pleased that President Trump took action to halt the harmful impact of the Department of Labor fiduciary rule, which would have made it more difficult for Americans to save for their futures. The flawed fiduciary rule's rushed implementation would have jeopardized access to retirement advice and choice while its severe consequences and compliance burdens would have made it harder for small businesses to offer retirement plans.
"At the outset, the Department of Labor put forth an accelerated implementation deadline that was driven by political motives rather than practical reality. Now, we look forward to swift action from the Department of Labor in putting this delay into effect and reevaluating matters of policy and law, and we stand ready to help create meaningful policy that will actually meet the retirement needs of small business owners, employees, and retirement savers."
The Chamber has long been vocal in calling for reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act. Last year the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) released
Restarting the Growth Engine: A Plan to Reform America's Capital Markets
, an action plan the new administration and Congress can follow to enhance financial stability and spur Main Street economic growth. Additionally, in 2013 CCMC released the
Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Agenda
, which offers specific recommendation in a number of areas to reform the systemic risk designation process by establishing clear rules of due process.
In regards to the fiduciary rule, in June 2016 the Chamber launched a legal challenge against DOL over the fiduciary rule and the case is still pending. You can find that complaint
here
and a statement regarding the lawsuit
here
.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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Sleep Inn & Suites: 6698 E. Brandt Rd, Galion, Ohio 44833
Fox Winery LLC: 227 Harding Way E., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-468-9463
Huntsman Trucking Inc: 6825 Crawford-Morrow Co. Ln. Rd, Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-462-5225
Domino’s: 144 S. Riblet St., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-462-9999
Domino’s: 420 N. Seltzer St., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-683-4909
Wade Law Office LLC: 632 E. Church St., Galion, Ohio, 419-462-0707
The Citadel RPG & Gaming: 343 Harding Way E., Galion, Ohio 44833,740-751-3881
Community Creations: Joe Genco, 5199 Wolf Run Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43230, 614-327-6201
Doug Court: 272 N. Union St. (associate member)
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