Workshop set on Rootstown, Ravenna JEDD project

A Community Workshop is planned Monday to give area residents a chance to learn more about the Joint Economic Development District between Ravenna and Rootstown.

The workshop will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Rootstown Middle School. Those interested in making their voices heard also can participate in an online community survey about the JEDD.

Last year, Rootstown trustees, Ravenna City Council and Portage County Commissioners approved a Joint Economic Development District with Ravenna . The agreement will allow the township to collect income tax from businesses within the JEDD area, 90% of which will stay in the township.

Rootstown considered a JEDD with Kent in 2016. But the vote by trustees was not unanimous, meaning the issue needed to go before voters in order to be approved. Residents, citing concerns that trustees didn't take public input into account, said they were prepared to sue to keep the issue off the ballot, and the proposal died.

Details of the agreement

The new pact with Ravenna would keep 90% of the proceeds in Rootstown. Half of the proceeds are earmarked directly toward improvements in the JEDD area. Those improvements would be decided by a JEDD board, which, according to the Ohio Revised Code, would include representatives from city and township governments, a business owner in the JEDD, a worker in the JEDD and a fifth person appointed by the panel to be its chair.

Another 40% of the funds would go to the township, and 10% would go to the city, whose only role would be collecting income tax. People who work at businesses in the JEDD area would pay a 2% income tax, lower than the city's tax rate of 2.5%.

What property is included in the proposed Rootstown-Ravenna Joint Economic Development District?

The JEDD area includes the state Route 44 corridor, from Tallmadge Road to the Ravenna border.

So far, property owners that have signed JEDD agreements, include the city of Ravenna, which owns Muzzy Lake and Crystal Lake, two bodies of water that previously served as Ravenna's water supply.

Residents who live near Muzzy Lake, who turned out at Rootstown's public hearing on the JEDD last year, were told that there are no plans for business development near the lake, but that JEDD funding could be used to address concerns there.

NEOMED is a "big player" in the JEDD, Trustee Housley said previously, and other businesses also have signed on.

The proposed JEDD area runs along Tallmadge Road to the Ravenna border, and includes some other areas, such as Lynn Road. The hope, Housley said, is that businesses not part of the JEDD will sign up once they see the benefits.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Workshop set on Rootstown, Ravenna JEDD project