LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - The Allen Economic Development Group hosted a community meeting to gather public insight on the region’s economy as part of its efforts to develop a regional plan.
AEDG joined Hancock, Hardin, Putnam, and Van Wert counties in applying for a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) plan. To assist with that process, several Allen County organizations participated in an exercise identifying the region’s economic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Following that activity, several talking points about the local economy were brought to the table for discussion.
“Knowing what our population is, as well as recognizing that we have some type of housing issue. Determining what that housing issue is probably something that we need to dive a little deeper into. I think that some of the other avenues that we're looking into is understanding who are our companies and what is the living wage around here so that we can try and encourage more people to come in,” says Tim Fitzpatrick, Business Development/Regional Workforce Development, AEDG.
Fitzpatrick said the regional planning approach could open the door to funding opportunities at the national level. He also noted the importance of regional collaboration, saying the plan reflects how people often live in one county and commute to another for work.
“This opens the door to certain types of funding mechanisms through the Department of Economic Development at the national level, as well as giving us a good strategy for us to coalesce around in the region. We're all in this together. A border is very blurry when it comes to driving down the road. You may see the road sign on the side, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you've just changed everything,” Fitzpatrick adds.
All of the counties’ input will be compiled into a final report, with an estimated return to AEDG by September.
