August 11, 2011
‘Opportunity to reinvent’
Domine: No rush to fill communications job By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Community Newspapers The New Albany-Plain Local School District will evaluate its communications director position after the July 29 departure of Jeff Warner, who accepted a similar job with Columbus City Schools. Superintendent April Domine said she wants to form a committee to study the position and determine if the job description needs to change.
“Any time you experience a change is an opportunity to reinvent,” Domine said. “That will be the case in this, as well. It’s not a position we will fill at this time. “I’d like to convene a communications advisory committee with community professionals and two board members to gather feedback from the staff and community, assessing the current needs both internally and externally, before identifying a vision for the future and setting goals.”
The district will seek to make an interim hire to keep the communications department operational, she said. Domine said Warner helped the district by leading the strategic planning process and helping to enhance current communication tools, such as the district’s website. “He contributed a great deal to our district in the two-plus years he was able to serve, and we’re grateful for his service and excited for him in his new opportunity,” she said.
Warner was hired at New Albany in 2009. Prior to that, he was a spokesman for Columbus City Schools. He said he is excited to work with Superintendent Gene Harris again. He said she is committed to the district and the communications department. “I really like that job,” Warner said. “It’s closer to home and it’s exciting and challenging.” In his new role, Warner will manage a department of four people and have more direct contact with the media.
“From a functional standpoint, the job is different,” he said. “There are more media relations. But the title is director of communications and media relations, so it’s the same.” Two other administrators have left the district since Domine took over in January. Human-resources director Cara Riddel took a job as superintendent of Westfall Local Schools in Williamsport and elementary 4-5 principal Chris BrigSee VACANCY, page A3
180-acre annexation would add to business park east
ABOUT TO MAKE A SPLASH
By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Eric George/ThisWeek
Pataskala resident Gabriel Pace, 6, and his brother, Luke, 4, jump to join their mother, Trew, in the pool at the Plain Township Aquatic Center in New Albany on Aug. 8. The pool is on pace for a possible record year, according to township officials. See story, page A3.
New Albany is trying to annex another 180 acres from Jersey Township into the city limits for business park east. City council approved an expedited annexation agreement Aug. 2. “We’ve been so successful in that area, we felt it was time to look at annexing more land south of state Route 161,” city manager Joseph Stefanov told city council at the Aug. 2 meeting. In the past two years, eight companies have landed in New Albany’s business park east, also known as the personal care and beauty campus. The business park east campus is north of state Route 161 and east of Beech Road. “We’ve been extremely successful recruiting businesses to central Ohio from all over the world in this new portion of the business park,” said Scott McAfee, the city’s communications director. “This has been good for New Albany and our entire region.” The current annexation request is for 180 acres in Jersey Township east of Beech Road, south of state Route 161 and south of the existing city boundaries. Jersey Township is in Licking County. Jersey Township trustees approved the annexation request at the township’s Aug. 1 meeting, Stefanov said. He said he attended the meeting and the vote was 2-0, with trustee Roy Bailey abstaining. The request will be filed as a Type 1 Expedited See ANNEXATION, page A4
Market Street at Johnstown Road
Key leaders mull ideas for health-focused ‘magnet’ Market Street Festival will replace annual FallFest event By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Some New Albany leaders are developing plans to fill the northwest corner of Market Street and Johnstown Road with retail and community space that will focus on health. City officials, the New Albany Co. and Healthy New Albany have all participated in the unnamed group. “Our basic goal was in three years to attract additional retail space there,” said New Albany
Mayor Nancy Ferguson. “To do that, you have to have a core use that acts as a magnet to attract people to that area.” Tom Rubey, development director for the New Albany Co., which owns the land, said the corner has space for a 60,000-square-foot building that could be split between retail and community uses. Because of New Albany’s active nature, with walkers, runners and cyclists flooding Market Square in the mornings and evenings, and the nonprofit group Healthy New Albany working on community health initiatives, Ferguson said, the
focus on health makes sense. Ferguson said the group is working with officials from Mount Carmel, OhioHealth, The Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital to determine how they could be involved and the programming they could provide. “Each has expressed an interest and an excitement for the vision of what it would be,” Rubey said. See LOCAL LEADERS, page A2
Aug. 8
Board holds closed session to review Domine By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Community Newspapers The New Albany-Plain Local school board was expected to review Superintendent April Domine’s performance to date during an executive session Aug. 8. No action was taken after the executive session because the board was in a work session rather than a regular meeting. Domine previ-
ously had referred to the session as a “review.” District officials were on an administrative retreat Aug. 9. Domine and school board members did not return callls and messages by ThisWeek’s press time. April Domine On July 25, Domine had presented the board with a list of goals and ob-
jectives that have been accomplished. Many were set before Domine joined the district in January. She is picking up where interim superintendent Bill Reimer left off, working to implement portions of the district’s strategic plan. Also Aug. 8, the monthly financial review and reporting committee meeting was canceled for the second consecutive month. The FRRC last met in June, when the roles of community members on the committee were redefined.
By LORI WINCE ThisWeek Community Newspapers The New Albany Community Events Board is sponsoring a new event this year. The Market Street Festival is slated for noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 19 and 20, on Market Street. The celebration will replace the annual FallFest, which usually is in October, according to board member Greg Ecleberry. “We moved the date and event in order to have better weather and to serve as a kickoff to the beginning of the school year,” Ecleberry said. “The weather for fall events can be challenging.” In previous years, the fall festival was held in conjunction with the New Albany-Plain Local School District’s homecoming celebration. Ecleberry said the Market Street Festival still includes a schools angle because it will provide local families one last weekend to relax and have fun. See MARKET STREET FESTIVAL, page A2