July 21, 2011
City still waiting on audit in IRS case By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers Grove City officials are still awaiting a special state auditor’s report that could shed light on $235,311 in unaccounted for city funds linked to debt to the Internal Revenue Service incurred by the city. City safety director Mike Wasylik said he conservatively estimates the report
will be ready in another month. “We do have some indication that it’s not too far away,” he said. Grove City will pay a maximum of $54,000 for the audit. In mid-May, Wasylik said he expected the state auditor’s report in a month or two. In December, the IRS told the city it owed about $685,905 in unpaid payroll withholding taxes. City officials on Feb.
7 said the city had made a payment of $752,179 to the IRS. An initial investigation by the city revealed discrepancies in the city’s books beginning in 1999. Grove City officials have determined that $235,311 in city funds remains unaccounted for. The funds are the focus of a police investigation. No charges have been filed. City police in January called in a spe-
cial forensic team from the state auditor’s office to shore up a potential criminal case against anyone who might have stolen from Grove City. Mailed notices of the late and unpaid returns were found among files in City Hall. City administrators said they have since changed the way mail is handled, passing it directly to department heads. The auditor’s report definitely would
be used to support any potential criminal charge, Wasylik said. City Police Chief Steve Robinette said he hopes to see the audit results from the state auditor’s office soon. “It’s still an ongoing process. We’re moving forward on it,” he said. GBQ Consulting, hired by the city in See IRS, page A10
New electronics repair company gets five-year incentive deal By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Eric George/ThisWeek
VETS AND PETS (Above) From left, veterinarian Katie Heckel immunizes Wayne Mayes’ dog, Buckeye, that Lindsey Hoehn holds at the Grove City Rabies Immunization Clinic sponsored by Franklin County Public Health and the Columbus Academy of Veterinary Medicine at Windsor Park July 15. (Right) Julia Lopez, 14, holds Gypsy, 10, while waiting in line at the clinic. (Below) From left, veterinarian Katie Heckel immunizes David Boyd’s dog, Rocky, that Lindsey Hoehn holds.
ExpressPoint Repairs, a logistics and repair facility that refurbishes electronic equipment, will open a facility in Grove City. Grove City Council on July 18 approved a five-year incentive agreement with ExpressPoint. If ExpressPoint has an annual payroll of at least $1 million, it will receive rebates from the city, taken from income taxes paid by ExpressPoint employees. In the first year, ExpressPoint would get a 50 percent rebate, receiving an estimated $10,000 in employee income taxes. The rebate would decrease by 10 percent for each of the next four years. A closer look Justin Bickle, senior project manager at Columbus 2020, spoke on behalf of ExpressPoint ExpressPoint’s arrival would at the council meeting. He said bring 30 new jobs to the ExpressPoint plans to lease a city, with an average wage 78,000-square-foot facility at of $17.50 per hour. 5701 North Meadows Drive. The company will enter into a sevenyear lease agreement with building owner Crossroads Ohio LLC, of Torrance, Calif. The building currently is vacant. Bickle said ExpressPoint’s arrival would bring 30 new jobs to the city, with an average wage of $17.50 per hour. ExpressPoint, which has its headquarters in Minneapolis, decided to move to the Columbus area after a logistics study showed that central Ohio would be a better location to serve its customers, Bickle said. ExpressPoint also looked at two other Columbus-area locations, and in both cases, the landlords didn’t commit to an agreement, he said. See ELECTRONICS, page A6
Council lauds Art Concern curator Kline By SARAH SOLE
ThisWeek Grove City Record
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Account executive Karl Durst to retire
Ray Kline was honored July 18 by Grove City Council for serving 20 years as curator of the Grove City Art Concern, which regularly showcases art exhibits at City Hall. At the meeting, Mayor Richard “Ike” Stage said Kline is special. “He adds a little culture” in City Hall, Stage said. The Grove City Art Concern was started by then-council president Earl Nicholson in 1991, who selected Kline as curator. Kline, a retired professor and graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design, selects exhibits, which usually are shown six weeks at council chambers at 4035 Broadway. Some of the exhibits also have appeared at commercial Columbus galleries. While he emphasizes local and regional art, Kline told The Record he has shown exhibits by artists from as far away as South Carolina. “It’s really a great thing the city
By SARAH SOLE
Recorder in
ThisWeek Community Newspapers 1976. In 1981
After 35 years of greeting his clients with a smile, Grove City resident Karl Durst is retiring. An account executive at The Grove City Record for five years, Durst also worked for The Columbus Dispatch. Throughout his career in the print newspaper advertising industry, Durst has had a wide variety of clients, working with everyone from funeral directors to clothing stores, cultivating long-term business relationships. “It’s been a wonderful 35-year career,” Durst said. Durst knew in high school and college that he was a people person. “I could never sit at a desk and be happy in life,” he said. At age 21, he started his career at the Zanesville Times
he moved to the Worthington News, and in 1985 he started at The Dispatch, his Karl Durst goal since college. He worked on the Neighbor News, a tabloid precursor to ThisWeek Community Newspapers, and in 1987, he was elevated to a regular position on the retail floor at the Dispatch. “That was my goal and I got it,” Durst said. From 1976 to 2002, ads were developed on a glossy piece of paper. Durst communicated with customers face-to-face and via mail and phone. “That was the only way to do it. There was no other way,” he
said. In 2002, Durst started learning to send emails to clients. Eventually, ads started to be generated in PDF format and were sent electronically. “I feel really good about how I’ve been able to master this,” Durst said. Despite technological advances, some things remained the same, such as daily interaction with clients. “I think that’s been a part of my success,” Durst said, emphasizing the need to be sincere and enthusiastic. “You have to go in with a smile,” he said. Durst rearranged his priorities after having a mild heart attack in May 2010. Since then, he has lost 40 pounds and has been able to keep it off through diet and exercise. While for many years he focused on work, he’s now devoting time to family and volunteerism. “I’m
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“I hope to be able to do that (volunteer) for as long as I have breath in my life.”
KARL DURST
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— Grove City Record
account exectuive
very blessed spiritually, financially and physically,” he said. Despite his retirement, Durst plans to volunteer every weekday. He said he will volunteer for Meals On Wheels and for the American Red Cross as a “blood donor courier,” transporting donated blood to the Red Cross headquarters in downtown See DURST, page A6
does. And it’s not to be taken for granted,” Kline said. While some may think of art in terms of landscapes or flowers, Kline said he tries to overcome those stereotypes. “I’m always interested in new concepts,” he said. Two-dimensional visual arts exhibits include drawing, oil painting, acrylic, water color, assemblage, collage, quilting, weaving, silk screening and photography. Kline said he tries to be contemporary by identifying emerging artists, choosing “anything that would be educational and interesting.” “It’s brought, really, a wealth of culture available at your fingertips,” Kline said of the Art Concern. The current exhibit, up until Aug. 19 at council chambers, features a jazz exhibit that includes Kline’s own painting and photography by Dr. Tennyson Williams. All exhibits are open 9 a.m. to See COUNCIL, page A10
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