Youngstown Council to Consider DORA, Payroll Incentive Legislation
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – City Council will consider legislation to establish a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, provide a nearly $100,000 incentive for a local business to expand and help fund a workforce and community center.
The ordinances are among the items that council members will take up when they meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Covelli Centre Community Room.
Under discussion since 2019 but derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the DORA would permit outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages within a defined area during designated time frames. The legislation sets the hours of the DORA as 4 to 11 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays. Special hours would be designated in advance by the mayor with City Council’s consent.
The boundary of the proposed 34.24-acre DORA area would run from:
- The east side of South and North Hazel streets from West Commerce Street to West Boardman Street.
- The south side of West Commerce Street from North Hazel to Wick Avenue.
- The east side of Wick and Market streets from West Commerce to West Boardman.
- Both sides of South Phelps Street from West Boardman to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.
- Grounds of the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.
A public hearing on the proposal took place Sept. 25.
If council members approve the legislation, the city will apply to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control for approval of the DORA, said attorney Adam Buente, city senior assistant law director.
“The state would still need to receive the application to review it to ensure alignment with all state guidelines,” said Nick Chretien, executive director of Economic Action Group. EAG has been working with the city on creation of the DORA to help stimulate downtown.
Job Creation Grant
City Council will also consider a proposed $98,000 job creation grant to assist P&S Wholesale Baking Co.’s expansion at its Salt Springs Business Park plant, where the company relocated from Poland in 2022.
The company plans to add up to 40 new positions, generating additional payroll of not less then $4.3 million by December 2025, according to the ordinance. The estimated $98,000 value of the grant would provide annual payments for a three-year period based on payroll withholdings generated by the expansion. The annual payments would range from 100% to 50% of the payroll withholding collected by the city.
The city previously approved similar agreements to incentivize Steelite International’s relocation of its headquarters from New Castle, Pa., to downtown’s Taft Technology Center and to support an expansion by Trivium Aluminum Packaging USA Corp.
P&S representatives reached out to the city’s economic development office to explain there was “an opportunity to expand nationally” that would require the company to increase production by adding a new line, said Kyle Miasek, finance director.
“They went on to explain that the new production line would require about 40 new positions, and they were hopeful that the city could come up with some type of economic assistance,” he said. Having previously approved income tax grants for the two larger entities, city officials saw a “worthy” opportunity to assist a smaller company that was concentrating on hiring people in the city, he continued.
Workforce Development
An ordinance allocating $400,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to address area workforce development needs through the creation of the Youngstown Restorative & Opportunity Center also will be considered.
Funds are from the $2 million in ARP funding allocated to the city’s 1st Ward.
The center would establish career pathways in health care and the culinary arts. The initiative would specifically target 30% to 40% of Youngstown adult residents, primarily Black residents who are functionally unemployed, by focusing on enhancing their skills, knowledge and capabilities, according to the ordinance.
Pictured at top: Federal Street in downtown Youngstown.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
