New people, partnerships and places that moved the city forward in 2022
COSHOCTON − The keyword for Mayor Mark Mills' State of the City address was "new." The speech highlighted new people, new places and new partnerships for the City of Coshocton in 2022.
Mills delivered the annual address during a recent meeting of Coshocton City Council.
Among new people were Rusty Dreher becoming chief of the Coshocton Fire Department and Andrew Akers becoming a new captain. Mills gave the department kudos for dealing with the Grace United Methodist Church fire last May.
"Chief Dreher and his team fought that fire in such a well-organized and professional manner that they managed to save this structure so that it can, and currently is, being rebuilt. Hopefully, we will never see a fire like this again in our lifetime," Mills said.
New places included a variety of new businesses opening and others expanding. This included McWane Ductile investing $45 million and creating 50 jobs, MFM Building Products adding a new line at $8 million and Standard Power opening at the former WestRock papermill site.
Mills also talked about the renewed atmosphere in Roscoe Village and Downtown Coshocton. Whitewoman Street was paved by the city last year and other highlights in Roscoe Village was the expansion of Good Boy Bakery and the opening of the Roscoe Barbecue Company.
For downtown, he applauded Paul Gilbert and Matt Parsons doing renovations of the Frew Building. They're also poised to take over the Selby Building after some remodeling by Our Town Coshocton is completed.
"Main Street is experiencing a much-needed resurgence of housing, short-term rentals and an influx of new businesses from both in-town and out-of-town investors. The city thanks each businessperson investing in our downtown and Roscoe Village businesses, as well as their patrons and tenants," Mills said.
Another part of that downtown and Roscoe Village revitalization is creation of a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. This led to holiday events and was part of the summer concert series off the Coshocton Court Square.
"Many doubters and critics came out of the woodwork during its creation, but once it was in place and working some of them became fans," Mills said. "This scenario has played out many times while serving as your mayor. Many of my strongest opponents are now the very people who believe in me, work with me and encourage me to be forward thinking as their mayor."
New partnerships included the merging of the city and county health departments into the Coshocton County Health District, something Mills was keen on doing since taking office.
The city has also contracted with Strategic Public Partners, SPP, for lobbying at the state government level. Mills said the firm helped the city net more than $100,000 from the state capital budget for sidewalks and streets in Roscoe Village and repairs to the Selby Building.
Looking ahead to 2023, Mills believes there are many great things on the horizon for the city. This includes funding from the state for projects in Ohio's Appalachian counties, possible money to demolish the former Custom Glove and Ansell-Edmont glove factories, providing water to the Village of Warsaw and a similar project for Conesville focused on the burgeoning Conesville Industrial Park. He also continues to work with the owners on obtaining and/or revitalizing the former Carnegie Library building.
"I welcome everyone to reach out to me and share concerns, visions and thoughts about things my administration is doing right or wrong or could and should be doing. I am your mayor and this is your city and I want to make sure the things that have already started become reality during my next term," Mills said.
Mills is a candidate for mayor in the fall general election and will face a challenge from the winner of the Republican primary on May 2 between Tom Heading and Stan Braxton.
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: People, partnerships and places that moved the city forward in 2022
