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Community Economic Development Program Mike Lloyd, Director lloyd4@postoffice.ag.ohio-state.edu  Photograph by: Steve Harrison, 7/99 Small Business Loan Application Form Now Available Click Here for 1st Part Click Here for 2nd Part Click Here for 3rd Part Our Sustainable Noble Report is Now on LINE! The Noble County Sustainable Development Program has finished their planning process. The Futures Council shared the final report with community leaders in February. A copy of the Sustainable Noble Report is available in Adobe pdf format. Direct link to the report: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~esco/noblefinalreport.pdf All About Community Economic Development in Noble County Noble County's economic development efforts are coordinated by the Noble County Economic Development Office -- a cooperative effort of Ohio State University Extension, the Noble County Commissioners, the citizens of Noble County, and the businesses, industries and utilities serving Noble County. The Noble County Economic Development Office is housed in the Noble County Courthouse and is staffed by faculty and staff of the Ohio State University Extension. Noble County, located in unglaciated southeastern Ohio, provides a site close to major metropolitan conveniences combined with a more relaxed pace of life. Although Noble is one of Ohio's least populated counties, its seven county workforce draw area includes 147,900 individuals with 7,900 unemployed and an overall unemployment rate of 5.3%, the state average based on August 2002 data. Recent examples in Noble and the surrounding counties indicate that ten or more applicants for each quality job opening is the norm. Noble County's largest manufacturing employer is Dana Corporation which employs nearly 450 people in its Caldwell bearing facility. Other major employers include International Converter which employs approximately 120 in a Caldwell facility manufacturing specialty laminated products. The newest major employer in the county is the State of Ohio's Noble Correctional Institution which employs more than 490 people in its new facility at Sharon, west of Caldwell. Traditionally, surface mined coal has been a major resource and supplier of jobs. Changing ecological considerations have reduced mining employment to a shadow of its former self, but coal continues to play a major role in the regional economy due to the large coal-fired power plants in the Ohio and Muskingum Valleys. (No endorsement of products or firms included in this webpage is intended, nor is any criticism implied of those not mentioned.) Noble County is located in the heart of southeastern Ohio, one-half hour from Marietta and Cambridge and less than two and one-half hours from Columbus, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The county is bisected by north-south I-77 which connects Cleveland with the south. One-half hour north of the center of the county is east-west I-70, one of the nation's busiest interstate. State highways in the county include routes 78, 285, 564 and 821. The Ohio River, with the ability to provide low-cost bulk transportation, is 25 miles to the south of the county. The Noble County Economic Development Office provides customized development materials upon request. Please contact us at:
Noble County Economic Development Office
Office: 740-732-5681 The Noble County Economic Development Office custom tailors informational packages to suit the need of the client. By mixing local, regional, state, and federal incentives, the county can create a competitive package for businesses interested in expanding in or moving to Noble County. The development office is happy to work with all sizes of businesses to encourage commercial and industrial growth in the county. The state of Ohio has a wide variety of programs and assistance for businesses interested in locating new or expanding existing operations in the state. Noble County's Appalachian location opens the door to special state and federal programs targeted to our region. These programs can significantly reduce the cost of doing business. For information on the programs currently available, contact the Noble County Economic Development Office or the Ohio Department of Development. Regional information on Noble County and on 15 other eastern Ohio counties is available at www.eoda.org the home page of the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance. Regional revolving loan funds are available through a program offered at Buckeye Hills - Hocking Valley Regional Development District in Marietta. In addition, Buckeye Hills also maintains an inventory of sites and buildings for the eight counties that it serves in addition to having virtual building packages for commercial, light industrial, and heavy industrial buildings at its www.seovirtual.com site. The virtual packages provide buildings that have already received state approval and could be built in 60 to 90 days using private funds, or a longer time using various grant programs. Two townships located adjacent to the interstate, Olive and Noble, in addition to the village of Caldwell, have the capacity to extend enterprise zone incentives to businesses. Enterprise zones provide the ability to induce businesses to the area by reducing real property, tangible personal property, and inventory taxes. Each enterprise zone agreement is individually negotiated with the business. The maximum abatement is 75%, while the maximum length of time is 10 years. All projects must be agreed upon by the business, commissioners and the local unit of government. Due to Noble County's already low tax rates, firms locating in the county get a substantial discount to the average Ohio rates, even without additional incentives. Consultation services for small businesses are available through the Small Business Development Center.Services include business plan development, marketing, cash flow analysis, financial planning and web page development. In addition to their main office at Marietta College, the SBDC provides services locally at the Caldwell Public Library and at the OSU Extension office. In addition to the state development programs found on www.odod.state.oh.us, there are additional programs available in Noble County that may not be available in all areas of the state. One of these is a special Manufacturer's Investment Tax Credit. In Noble County, the credit equals 13.5% of the amount by which the manufacturer's purchases of new machinery and equipment exceed a base amount calculated by the firm's purchases in the previous three calendar years. Most other areas of the state are eligible for only a 7.5% tax credit. Investments must be made by December 31, 2005. A second program is the Pioneer Rural Loan Program. This program provides direct loans for businesses that will create new jobs for Ohio citizens in rural counties. Loan proceeds can be used for acquisition of land and buildings, new construction, renovation and expansion of existing buildings, and acquisition of machinery and equipment. One job must be created for each $25,000 of state investment. Maximum loan amount is $750,000 and the maximum participation by the state in any project is 75% of the total project costs. The interest rate is set at not more than 50% of prime. Terms can range up to 15 years on real estate and 7 years on machinery. Typical project structure would include a bank note for 15% of total project costs, owner's equity equaling 10%, and state participation for the remaining 75%.  Photograph by Kevin Macri 11/99 Noble County is exploring the creation of a new industrial park. With its existing park filled, local leaders are developing plans that will provide fully serviced sites for future businesses. For information on sites currently available in the county click on the one you are interested in. Greif
Bros. (This is a Microsoft Word Docment) Existing industrial buildings are at a premium in Noble County, but local devleopment agencies and private developers are anxious to assist business owners in build-to-suit projects. Detailed demographic, business, and agricultural information is available through the Ohio State Univeristy Data Center. The Noble County Economic Development Office networks with a variety of local, regional, state and national organizations. Local partners include the Noble County Chamber of Commerce, Noble County Regional Planning Commission, Noble County Commissioners, Noble County Community Improvement Corporation, Noble County Tourism Association and the citizens of Noble County. The Chamber of Commerce, located in Caldwell, provides a wide variety of services to its members and to the community. The planning commission assists in the development of the county by approving new housing subdivisions and engaging in the overall planning efforts on behalf of the county. The Commissioners provide policy direction for the economic development program and serve as a legal conduit for loans and grants for infrastructure inprovements at industrial sites and buildings in the county. The Noble County Community Improvement Corporation provides a mechanism to transfer publically owned property to for-profit businesses. The CIC can also buy, sell and lease real property and buildings to businesses, issue industrial revenue bonds, and perform other activities to benefit businesses. The Noble County Tourism Association assists those intrested in visiting Noble County by providing information on the county's various attractions through brochures created for the region and by maintaining and informational web site. http://www.noblecountyohio.com Finally, the citizens of Noble County are full partners in the economic development program with their gracious support of the program and other aspects of the Ohio State University Extension program through a local tax levy. The Economic Development program acknowledges the additional support from the utility, business, and industrial firms in the region. Regional partners include Buckeye Hills - Hocking Valley Regional Development District, providing several low-cost business development loan programs, the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance, providing support to economic development in 15 counties of Appalachian Ohio, and the Governor's Regional Economic Development Office, which provides support services to 8 counties in southeastern Ohio. State and
federal partners
vary according to the project but typically include the Governor's
Office
of Appalachia, the Ohio Department of Development and the Economic
Development
Administration. Upcoming Program Information Connections to Web Sites The Ohio State University Related Links Extension
Community Development Local & Regional Links http://www.appalachianohio.com/Noble County Tourism Association Eastern
Ohio Development
Alliance State
Government Legislative
Information Data and
Demograhics Information Miscellaneous
Resources Rural
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All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith,
Associate
Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension.
TDD No. 800-589-8292
(Ohio
only) or 614-292-1868
Updated: October 2004