LAST Day to Secure Discounted Room Rate for GOPC Summit!

Today is the FINAL day that the discounted room rate will be available at the Westin for the GOPC Summit, “Restoring Neighborhoods, Strengthening Economies,” to be held June 9th-10th in Downtown Columbus.

The 2-day Summit will feature speakers from both the public and private sectors, including civic, political, philanthropic, non-profit, and business leaders. New strategies for transforming Ohio’s cities and regions and for making Ohio economically competitive in the 21st century will be presented, including cutting-edge tools and practices, effective partnerships, and policy solutions.

The GOPC is proud to announce that Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus will be the lunchtime keynote speaker on the first day of the Summit. There will also be a networking reception with members of the Ohio General Assembly later that day.

Click here to register and make a hotel reservation for the Summit!

Legislative Update: Fast Track Foreclosure & Service Station Cleanup

Ohio General Assembly Reviews Bill that will Fast Track Foreclosure on Problem Properties House Bill 134, formerly known as HB 223 in the 130th General Assembly, has been re-introduced by bill cosponsors Representative Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City), and Representative Mike Curtin (D-Columbus).

This bill will expedite the time it takes to foreclose on a vacant or abandoned residential property, leading to a faster turnaround for managing and mitigating blight in Ohio’s neighborhoods.  Specifically, HB 134 aims to:

1. authorize a municipal corporation to file for foreclosure on vacant and abandoned residential properties,
2. permits blighted properties on sale at a sheriff's auction to be listed without a minimum bid on the second sales attempt, and
3. permits a municipality to dispose of blighted properties at their convenience if such properties have not been disposed of through a sheriff's auction.

As a result of the bill, additional foreclosure actions may be filed by municipal corporations with the appropriate court of common pleas or municipal court, and those properties in turn could be sold through a sheriff's sale, or if unsold, disposed of in a manner deemed appropriate by the municipal corporation that filed the action.

Since the bill’s introduction in late March, the bill has been moving quickly with a third hearing in the House Financial Institutions, Housing, and Urban Development Committee on Wednesday, May 20th. With the rate the legislation is moving and no testimony in opposition to the bill, HB 134 remains in good standing and could be up for a possible vote out of committee by the end of this month.

GOPC has offered support to assist Representatives Grossman and Curtin, and is working collaboratively with the Ohio CDC Association and other Interested Party members, such as the Ohio Bankers League (OBL), and various other stakeholders of this legislation. Proponents of HB 134 include the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association (OMBA), Safeguard Properties, Community Blight Solutions, SecureView companies, the City of Columbus, and the Buckeyes State Sheriffs’ Association.

HB 134 continues to receive widespread, bipartisan support and GOPC is optimistic the bill will pick up more momentum as more members of the Legislature learn of the positive impact it will have on Ohio’s communities.

GOPC Testifies to Ohio’s Senate Finance Workforce Subcommittee on the Service Station Cleanup Fund Program

Image by Matthew Rutledge

Government Affairs Manager Lindsey Gardiner recently offered interested party testimony to the Senate Finance Workforce Subcommittee on the Service Station Cleanup Fund Program contained within the Ohio Development Services Agency’s budget, which is part of the 2016-2017 Operating Budget (HB64).

Gardiner gave the following remarks (excerpt from testimony):

“We were pleased to see that the Operating Budget proposes the creation of a Service Station Cleanup Fund (Sec. 610.20). We have made three recommendations for consideration in the Budget.

1. Expand the definition of property owner to include organizations that have entered into an agreement with a political subdivision, which will be better prepared to manage the challenges associated with these contaminated sites.
2. Clarify the definition of cleanup or remediation to include the acquisition of a class C release site, demolition performed at a site, and the installation or upgrade of the minimum amount of infrastructure that is necessary to make a site operational after other clean up measures. Adding specifics to this definition will ensure properties are shovel-ready.
3. Adjust the grant amounts for property assessment from $500,000 to $100,000 and cleanup from $2,000,000 to $500,000. Average assessment costs for small sites like a service station usually range from $20,000 to $120,000 and cleanup and remediation of these sites often can be accomplished with $100,000 to $600,000.”

GOPC is very pleased to see a commitment by the state of Ohio to assist communities in priming sites that will directly support local economic development efforts. Ohio has much economic redevelopment potential locked-up in contaminated sites and remediating these locations will help businesses thrive and create places where people want to live. We hope that the Service Station Cleanup Fund is the first of several programs that leverage the investments needed for these sites, which are located in so many of Ohio’s communities.

Announcing the Keynote of the Greater Ohio Summit

Greater Ohio Policy Center is excited to announce that Mayor Michael Coleman will be the lunchtime keynote speaker at the GOPC Summit, Restoring Neighborhoods, Strengthening Economies. Mayor Coleman will speak at noon on June 9th, the first day of the Summit. Since taking office in 2000, Mayor Michael B. Coleman has built Columbus’ reputation as one of the most livable cities in the nation by building stronger, safer neighborhoods, creating jobs and maintaining a high quality of life. Mayor Coleman is the first African-American and longest-serving mayor in Columbus history, the 3rd longest serving Mayor in the country, and the longest-serving African-American mayor among major U.S. cities.

“Coleman seems to focus relentlessly on the kind of urban renewal that will make Columbus attractive to the next generation,” wrote Matt Bai in Yahoo! News in December of 2014.

Mayor Coleman will be one of the many leaders who will be sharing innovative ideas and new approaches for transforming Ohio’s cities and regions for a new era at the Summit.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear from many of the leading voices of revitalization at this one-time-only event. The discounted room rate at the Westin Columbus is available until May 19, 2015. Click here to register now and make a reservation.

Also, Make Sure to Join Us for the Networking Reception with Members of the Ohio General Assembly!

On June 9th, from 4:15-6:15pm at the Westin Columbus, Greater Ohio Policy Center is hosting a networking reception with Representatives and Senators from across the state.  Click here to register now and join us for this special event that is part of the Greater Ohio Summit.

Want to know who else is attending? Click here to see the list of attending organizations.

Donate to GOPC on May 12 and boost your dollars!

The Big Give is Coming to Central Ohio! For 24 hours, beginning Tuesday May 12, at 10:00 a.m., the Columbus Foundation will increase your online donation of $20 or more made to the Greater Ohio Policy Center!

Starting at 10am on May 12^th and ending at 10am on May 13^th, the Columbus Foundation is matching on a pro rata basis all donations made to nonprofits and charities in central Ohio.  The pool is $1.3 million and the Greater Ohio Policy Center is an eligible recipient!

Everyday GOPC works with leaders in the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to advance policies and programs that support the redevelopment of existing communities, strengthen regional cooperation, and protect the countryside and Ohio’s natural resources.

Support from donors like you help fund the work we do; won’t you join us in championing revitalization and sustainable growth in Ohio?

Best of all, you don’t even have to live in central Ohio to participate in the Big Give!

How it Works

Step 1: Beginning at 10 a.m. on May 12, visit http://columbusfoundation.org/ and click on the Big Give banner.

Step 2: Search for Greater Ohio Policy Center. Click the Give Now button. 100% of your donation will go to GOPC.

Step 3: Enter your credit card information to complete your donation of $20 or more. There is no maximum amount.

The Big Give ends at 10 a.m. on May 13. Please make a gift during this 24 hour period—this is a rare opportunity to make your dollar go even further!

If you have any questions, please call the GOPC office and we can help: 614-224-0187.

Managing Distressed Properties at Wells Fargo Community Development

Guest post by Lauren Martinez of Wells Fargo REO Community Development In a little-known corner of Wells Fargo lives the REO (real estate owned) Community Development Team. This 30 person team, on a basic level, manages distressed properties that have gone through foreclosure while trying to find a suitable nonprofit organization or municipality to receive the properties as donations. The idea is pretty simple, but the effects of the idea create something wonderful out of (nearly) nothing.

This program began in 2009 and has grown over the past six years to donating more than 1,500 properties each year. Of course, there are some regions and states that see more donations than others, states like Florida, Maryland, and, more recently, New York. Wells Fargo operates both a large scale program that donates multiple properties at a time to organizations that have a housing-focused mission and extensive experience rehabilitating homes, as well as a smaller scale program called the Community and Urban Stabilization Program (known as CUSP). This program focuses on a wider target of non-profit organizations and places of worship that do not necessarily have a housing mission but do have the desire and ability to rehabilitate and use a distressed property for a good purpose. The underlying idea of both of these programs is to provide these non-profits and the communities that they serve with an opportunity to stabilize neighborhoods that need it.

It’s truly inspiring to see the wonderful things the nonprofits do with the properties. From vacant lots, we’ve seen community gardens and parks appear; from distressed homes we’ve seen food pantries, low income housing, non-profit office and meeting spaces take shape. The possibilities are virtually endless, and we at Wells Fargo are so proud to play a part in it. It’s no secret that the non-profits are those that put in the long hours and hard labor to put these homes and lots to good use. I often like to think of the process as growing a garden. The non-profits spend the time cultivating, watering, nurturing and weeding out what’s causing the blight. We’re providing the seed for the organizations to make something beautiful out of a less than ideal situation.

“From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.” –Aeschylus

If you’d like more information on our programs, please visit http://reo.wellsfargo.com/community.

The pictures provided below are before and after photos of a rehabilitation completed by the Trumbull County Land Bank, located in Warren, Ohio. This non-profit organization’s focus is “to help return vacant and abandoned properties in Trumbull County, Ohio, to productive use.” The house is now a “first home” for a young couple.