Aces of Trades: Lucas Haire works with two counties as CW economic development director
CANAL WINCHESTER − Lucas Haire has a lot going on with his job as Canal Winchester's economic development director.
While that position is by nature a busy one, Haire is even busier because Canal Winchester is in both Franklin and Fairfield counties. Therefore, instead of working with one set of county commissioners, he works with two sets. He must also work with the Canal Winchester, Pickerington and Groveport-Madison school districts along with three different fire districts.
"It does provide some challenges in terms of how all the different functions of government work," Haire said. "You have two different counties, you have two different auditors, two different sets of commissioners, two different tax rates. You've got all those different entities to work with. But it just allows you to work with more people and have different relationships with all those different entities and trying to all work toward the same goal."
Haire, a Mount Vernon native, has held his position for 12 years now.
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"My background is in planning and economic development," he said. "I previously was in another role in the city of Reynoldsburg in a very similar position for five years. And just the opportunity for growth and development and what was happening in Canal Winchester brought me over here."
Haire has a degree in urban geography from Ohio State and said he's always had an interest in maps and how and why things develop. He said his job now consists largely of trying to attract new business and industry and to act as a government liaison to existing businesses and industries.
"I also oversee the planning and zoning department, the building department here and our code enforcement operation," Haire said.
He also works with other economic leaders in central Ohio through the Fairfield 33 Alliance, One Columbus and the Mid-Ohio Development Exchange. Haire said some people think of economic development of just giving incentives to entice a business to come to a particular area.
"But it's much more than just incentives," he said. "In this role, I'm working on economic development and community development. So I'm trying to focus on what is the best thing for the community. People only know what they read about, and it's a lot more than that. I'm kind of a matchmaker. I work at connecting a lot of dots in terms of businesses and trying to connect them to different resources that might be available."
Away from work, Haire has three elementary-age children he said take up a lot of his time. He also enjoys boating and coaching youth sports.
jbarron@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Aces of Trades: Lucas Haire's job entails working with two counties
