Delaware County: Economic development saved, created jobs

Brad Bookout of Augusta Consulting, hired by the county commissioners in mid-2015 in lieu of continued funding the local chamber of commerce's Economic Development Alliance, gave a report during Monday's commissioners meeting.

Projects for which Augusta represents the county's interests include $6 million for new sidewalks in the commercial area northeast of McGalliard and Morrison roads, where hotels and restaurants are located. The Delaware County Redevelopment Commission, which Bookout oversees, has been working on the sidewalk project for several years. Bookout said the project is in the right-of-way acquisition phase. "It's taken longer than I would have liked," he said.

An infrastructure project that has been completed is the rebuilding of Mount Pleasant Boulevard, Delaware Drive and Hamilton Avenue in the Industria Centre industrial park on the city's southwest side. That roads project, budgeted at $2.3 million, was completed this summer. The redevelopment commission also funded other county road paving work.

Bookout said the commissioners wanted to focus on retaining existing businesses, so he contacted 250 local businesses since mid-2015, working on 70 projects with them including property tax abatements for companies like Mid-West Metal Products and Littler Diecast.