Discusses Leases, Tenant Improvements, Insurance

(Wilmington, Ohio) The Board of the Clinton County Port Authority met last week and continued the recognition offered by its partner organizations, in recognizing May 9-13 as “Economic Development Week.”

Sharing information with the Board, Executive Director Daniel Evers said that when it is undertaken successfully, economic development is a team effort. He added, “In our community, several organizations work together to facilitate economic development.”

As evidenced later in staff reports, there are many examples of cooperation on economic development initiatives throughout the county. The Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Miami Regionals, funded locally by the Port Authority, continue outreach into the community.  Evers said, “Five existing businesses are enjoying improved performance and have made connections with legal counsel, insurance and other important assistance.”

The SBDC has facilitated $640,000 in loans for community businesses so far this year and has initiated relationships with four prospective start-up businesses. The program has been active in Clinton County for just short of two years and has helped 41 clients to create 91 jobs.

Ruth Brindle reported that the Clinton County Workforce Coalition presented survey results at a recent Economic Network Alliance meeting – a meeting co-hosted by the Wilmington-Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission. Highlighting more community collaboration in economic development, Brindle said this group would be continuing its outreach to gather workforce barrier data throughout the summer and would be the featured program at the Chamber’s Annual Luncheon coming up in June.

“We also were recognized as a ‘Friend of Education' for our work on Workforce issues by the Southern Ohio Educational Service Center (SOESC) at its awards night recently,” said Brindle, adding that plans for a local Career Exploration Fair are in the works for later this year.

“Recognizing Economic Development Week allows us to speak to the work of so many organizations in the county, the region and the state, and to reinforce the collaboration and multiple dimensions of our local economic development network,” said Evers.

In other business, the Board members approved leasing building space to a potential tenant proposing to initiate a new business at the airport. “While we see both general aviation (GA) and corporate aircraft traffic at the airport today, initiation of an organized FBO – fixed base operator – business will formalize the services most GA and corporate operators expect when arriving at an airport,” said Evers. This has the potential to increase the draw to the airport, as the operator intentionally markets services to this target aviation sector, he added.

Additional Tenant repairs and improvements included roof repairs to two buildings as well as continuing the significant renovations to Building E in preparation for that tenant.

“Having executed this Lease, we are working diligently to complete these renovations,” said Beth Huber, CCPA Associate Director. The projects in progress include improvements in HVAC and lighting, as well as the installation of a specific crane system to facilitate the operations of the tenant.

The Board approved the renewal of its Aviation Insurance and addressed other items of business and heard reports from staff, its broker and LGSTX Services, Inc.  - the airport operations team – representatives.

The Clinton County Port Authority Board meets monthly on the second Thursday at 9 a.m. at the Wilmington Air Park.

About the Clinton County Port Authority

The Clinton County Port Authority is a special purpose government formed to operate transportation infrastructure and lead economic development efforts. Designated by the County, City of Wilmington, and the Wilmington CIC as the lead Economic Development agency for the County, it coordinates with the Dayton Development Coalition and JobsOhio to attract jobs to the area. It twice has been recognized as a Best Workplace. The Port Authority owns and operates the Wilmington Air Park, an integrated aviation and logistics business park located on 1,900 acres with nearly three million square feet of industrial, office, and hangar space. It is the highest volume cargo airport in Ohio and ranked 25th in the U.S. It was named Best Airport in Ohio in 2020 and 2021. Learn more at www.ChooseClintonCountyOH.org, and www.WilmintonAirPark.com.

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