Mary Alice Reporting –
More housing is a major topic for Tuscarawas County and it was brought up at Monday’s New Philadelphia Council meeting.
City administration joined others in a discussion with state officials regarding workforce, housing, and infrastructure within the county.
Mayor Joel Day says the meeting was called due to the impact that Schaeffler Group is projected to have as they build in Dover.
“And the lack of affordable housing for workers and families was the main topic of our discussion. The state officials were also told that the high cost of extending water and sewer lines to developments and the lack of broadband coverage in the county continue to be impediments to the areas growth.”
He pointed out that manufacturing companies are getting the workers, but they’re not living within the area and instead are driving from neighboring counties.
“The return of investment is really the driving force here. You can make an investment in Tuscarawas County and get a pretty good return on it but you have to get the developers to take that leap. Another thing that we have against us is we’re having an Appalachian county and there’s that false impression that we’re sort of backward here but we’re not.”
Day says he also stressed the need for the city to retain state funding to reconstruct the I-77/US 250/SR 39 interchange.
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