Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. The economic heartbeat of the city is the corporate community. Every day over 65,000 people travel to and within Dublin to go to work delivering all sorts of interesting products and services. And every night, 41,000 people come home to live and raise their families. That change in population turns out to be a huge benefit to Dublin. Companies that are based in Dublin drive more than tax revenue, they also spur economic growth like a locomotive. Restaurants, service businesses, hotels and motels, entertainment venues and shopping all benefit from the very high daytime population. And in the evenings, when live in Dublin slows down, we all enjoy the infrastructure in place to support those businesses. This focus on high quality, corporate citizens has allowed Dublin to become the special city she is. However, the tide is turning.
Every day, we read about other locations within Central Ohio that successfully land new businesses. Over the last five years, cities like Hilliard and New Albany and increasingly the Tech Corridor of Columbus are attracting new and vibrant businesses. Dublin is not keeping pace. Reliance on several large corporations can leave Dublin complacent and vulnerable to the changing demands of the market. As in any business, diversification is the name of the game. Dublin needs to create an active climate to attract, support and maintain job growth within the city. Ensuring favorable corporate tax policy, consistent development processes and creating conditions that spur development are key roles for Dublin City Council.
Kevin Walter is committed to ensuring that Dublin has opportunities to win new and exciting development opportunities. City resources need to be focused more closely on Economic Development activities.
In 2010, the city budgeted $405,000 for external consultants to help develop a long-term plan for the Bridge Street Corridor. That’s more money than they budgeted for the entire staff in Economic Development! Priorities are upside down and backwards. Kevin Walter believes that if Dublin focuses on economic development initiatives by funding an aggressive and robust team, the future of the city is secure.
We don’t live on an island, the idea of a walkable community with shops and restaurants built as a planned community will ultimately fail. Look at Columbus over the last 20 years, Eastland, Northland, and Westland are gone replaced by the City Center, Tuttle, Polaris, and Easton. The Continent was the original concept of a shopping and living development closed as consumers went to Easton and Tuttle. Looking at Dublin’s retail, the Dublin Village Center lost tenants and shoppers as they moved to the Whole Foods Center, and other locations on Sawmill. Shoppers preferred Tuttle’s convenient one stop shop. What happens to Dublin’s walkable community retail if Marysville or Hilliard build’s the next “Easton”
I can’t believe that we are spending so much money and gambling on the future.