LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The mayor of Lima joined the mayors of Findlay, Toledo and Columbus on stage Wednesday to discuss the future of urban leadership in Ohio, touching on key issues such as housing, data centers and immigration.
Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith emphasized the importance of investing in her community, saying, "If we don't bet on Lima, who will?" She said the forum allowed city leaders to exchange ideas and compare successful strategies across municipalities.
“Collaboration” was the theme repeated most often by all four mayors. Smith noted that her administration’s recent focus on streamlining city departments is now producing results.
Mayor Sharetta Smith highlighted Lima’s growing development interest. “We have developers that are calling our Department of Housing and neighborhoods every day. We have a 80 plus senior housing unit that's going to come into our community next year. And we've also been able to attract $25 million opportunity zone investment that is specifically going to be focused on housing. But it is because we did that early work in the beginning to be prepared to attract those investments.”
Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn also used her time on the panel to emphasize global connections within Ohio communities. She shared a lesser-known international tie between Findlay and Japan.
“If you're ever in Japan, our brewing is actually a company, a brewery over in Japan that was started based off of Finley Brewing Company. When those students came on an exchange, they experienced Finley brewing, and they decided that they wanted to open a place like that of their own, and started a micro brewery that is now a restaurant and a community spot.”
The four mayors on the panel collectively represented more than 1 million Ohioans as they discussed their challenges, successes and plans to shape the state’s urban future.
