Man-Sea Metal Inc. from Kentucky will also take over the vacant building of the former Wolohan Lumber company for wholesale and fabrication operations, according to McDonald.
“I am pleased to tell you that since we came into office, the city of Trotwood has recognized over 300 new, living wage jobs, retrofitted over 1.25 million square feet of commercial space, and generated $3.5 million in capital improvements,” she said.
Many of the city’s development projects were scheduled to break ground in spring this year but put on hold until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With new developments underway, the city was awarded $60,000 to it Façade Program to prepare for overall streetscape updates for the area. “In the mainstream we’re trying to come up with the façade program to encourage property owners to improve the façade to make it an attraction,” said director of planning and development Jung-Han Chen.
The Gordon Food Services on Salem Avenue is working to expand the store to include fresh produce, vegetables, baked goods and meats to address the need in the area for better food options.
“As a result of having poor access to super markets and healthy foods, we are forced to depend on convenience stores that offer high calorie and sodium processed foods that directly correlate to high obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes,” said McDonald.
In addition to commercial development, the city has seen progress in rebuilding from the Memorial Day tornado. Areas including Wolfe Creek Run, Westbrook Village and Shiloh Gardens have been renovated by owners. The city offered property owners a four-year tax abatement reducing the amount they pay in taxes to rebuild their homes.
“In order to incentivize and galvanize the rebuilding process in our community, I am proud to announce that the city has initiated a tax abatement incentive. This package is to help individuals with the rebuilding, renovating and the construction of new structures,” said McDonald.
In the first year residents pay the baseline property taxes equal to what the auditor lowered their property value to due to tornado damage. In the second year they will pay 25% of the new value of the property. The third and fourth years they’ll pay property taxes for half of the new value of their property. By the fifth year residents will pay 100% of their property taxes. McDonald said the incentive is only on improvements made to properties and won’t eliminate all tax liabilities.
Trotwood saw a loss in tax revenue in the last fiscal year due to unforeseen misfortunes.
“As a result of the 2019 Memorial Day tornado and the Coivd-19 pandemic our local economy now faces significant financial challenges because of unemployment, income tax losses, and decreased property tax revenues,” McDonald said.
City finances were cut short by about $400,00 as the state made cuts to its bi-annual budget, but the city still maintained a “balanced budget” with $2.4 million in their general fund, according to McDonald.
Another priority for the city was the repair of roads and waterlines. “We know that we have 50-year-old waterlines and deteriorating roadways and streets. Therefore, we have taken an aggressive approach to making improvements,” McDonald said. The city upgraded 1,685 feet of sewer lines for $975,000 and 3,730 feet of waterline for $566,000 in 2019.
“This year, we are investing almost $1 million in resurfacing neighborhood streets and we’re ecstatic about improving our roadways,” she said. The city is repaving 2.1 miles of Shiloh Springs Road between Olive and Oaks roads. McDonald said in the future, Trotwood will host community forums for residents' input on city changes.
Lastly, McDonald acknowledged the work of the Trotwood Police Department for responding to 33,000 calls last year, receiving the Accreditation with Excellence Award for three years as well as the Meritorious Award for 15 consecutive years.
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