021011_ThisWeek_Reynoldsburg by The Columbus Dispatch/Dispatch Magazines

February 10, 2011

Olde Reynoldsburg

Meeting set to review strategic plan By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The growth that has made Olde Reynoldsburg the city’s geographic center once again has also left that area underused, but city officials say they have a plan to address the situation. A public meeting to review a preliminary draft of the Olde Reynoldsburg Strategic Plan is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the municipal building.

City planning administrator Matt Hansen, development director Lucas Haire and a steering committee of residents who either live in or have businesses in the district have been working on the plan for the past couple of months. “The plan helps provide a vision where we need to get to make Olde Reynoldsburg a successful business destination,” Hansen said. Haire said as the city has continued

to grow, the Olde Reynoldsburg area has become its geographic center once again but is underused. He said the main focus of the strategic plan is to create a vision for what Olde Reynoldsburg could and should be in the future. The plan focuses on an area along East Main Street from Blacklick Creek east to Waggoner Road, then south from there to the intersections at East Livingston Avenue, Graham Road and Slate Ridge Boulevard.

The plan includes three objectives so far: • To create land use and development recommendations. • To understand how the study areas relates to the rest of the city and to leverage the successful commercial development at Taylor Square shopping center to draw people into Olde Reynoldsburg. • To create a sense of place and a brand for Olde Reynoldsburg.

Mayor lauds marketing and code successes

By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers

See STATE OF THE CITY, page A2

By Tim Norman/ThisWeek

Reynoldsburg Mayor Brad McCloud speaks during his State of the City address to Reynoldsburg Area Chamber of Commerce last week at the Wesley Ridge Retirement Community.

State of the Schools

Dackin’s vision is a ‘destination district’

See STATE OF THE SCHOOLS, page A4

Reynoldsburg police said a man they caught in the act of stealing copper out of a vacant home also admitted to committing a good portion of the recent string of copper thefts throughout the city. Police detective Mike Binder said city resident Timothy Harrington, 30, was caught and arrested around 3 a.m. on Friday, Feb 4, when he was attempting to take copper materials out of a home on Riverton Road just off McNaughton Road. Binder said Harrington was charged with a breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony, and was in the Franklin County jail awaiting a court appearance at ThisWeek’s press time on Tuesday. Timothy He said Harrington could Harrington face multiple charges by the time the investigation is closed, which could result in a prison term of a number of years, if he is convicted. Police Lt. Scott McKinley said 24 copper thefts occurred over the last couple of months. Based on tip information they gathered, officers were able to catch Harrington in the act, he said. “It was an empty house and he had just broken in. We were able to get there and arrest him as he was coming out,” McKinley said. Binder said after Harrington was caught, he was interviewed and admitted to committing 10 to 12 of the copper thefts in the area. He said some of the thefts occurred in Pickerington and Whitehall but most were concentrated in and around Reynoldsburg. McKinley said police executed a search warrant on Harrington’s residence and vehicle and recovered numerous stolen items, including See COPPER, page A2

Most May 3 primary races uncontested

By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Building relationships on behalf of young people and helping Reynoldsburg schools become a destination district were among the goals Superintendent Steve Dackin included in his Feb. 3 State of the Schools speech to the Reynoldsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “How important the chamber is to the plans that we have at Reynoldsburg city schools,” he said. “In a climate of diminishing returns, how important it is for all of us to think about how we share services on behalf of young people, and I look forward to nourishing those kinds of relationships.” Dackin noted that an ad hoc committee of city and school district representatives, established last year, is one way of continuing such relationships. The committee’s purpose is to look at how the schools and city can combine efforts to reduce expenditures and share services.

See STRATEGIC PLAN, page A2

Cops catch suspected copper thief ‘in the act’

State of the City

Mayor Brad McCloud sounded a positive note during his annual State of the City address to the Reynoldsburg Area Chamber of Commerce last week. “It’s hard for me to believe this is my fourth State of the City address. At the same time, I often wonder how we crammed so much stuff into 36 months, but we have a lot of good things going on,” McCloud said at the chamber’s Feb. 3 luncheon. The list includes an electric aggregate program set to begin in March, a continued emphasis on code enforcement, a successful marketing strategy that is bringing new business to Reynoldsburg and a new “adopt-a-spot” program that will be rolled out under the auspices of the city’s BriceLivingston Task Force. The new electric aggregate program the city will kick off next month through First Energy Solutions Corp. will provide a 5-percent discount on the generation of a residential consumer’s electric service and a15- percent discount on the generation of commercial electric service. McCloud recalled how residents authorized the city to act as an electric aggregation community in the general election in November 2001, but he said this is the first time the city had a competitive bid from an outside supplier for electric aggregation. He said the program is an “opt-out” participation program, meaning eligible residents and businesses need to do nothing to participate. “If you really don’t want to save money on your electric bills, you will have to fill out a form and let them know,” McCloud said.

Ideas under review include having more dining options, outdoor displays and patio dining; easier and more convenient parking options; and to enhance access to both Blacklick Creek and French Run. Hansen said the plan also presents considerations for special gateway signage to be placed along U.S. Route 256 and at the Taylor Square shopping cen-

By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers

By Tim Norman/ThisWeek

Superintendent Steve Dackin answers questions from residents attending his State of the Schools speech last week at Wesley Ridge Retirement Community.

Voters in Reynoldsburg will see few contested races on the May 3 primary ballot, but the November general election is likely to be a different story. Candidates had until Feb. 2 to submit nominating petitions to the Franklin County Board of Elections for the May election. The board must still certify those petitions by Feb. 14 in order for their names to appear on the ballot, but based on documents submitted by Feb. 2, the only contested race on May 3 will be beSee PRIMARY RACES, page A2