Officials look at retaining local jobs
By BEcky Brooks
Managing Editor
news@gazettepublishingco.com
Carol Knapp, executive director of the Huron County Development Council, told the Bellevue City Council that her organization has been working on a new job retention and expansion program.
She explained that retention of jobs was crucial because 80 percent of job growth comes from existing businesses.
During council’s Monday night meeting, Knapp told officials she will be working with Steve Fuhr, director of the Bellevue Economic Development Corporation, on the retention program in the Huron County portion of the city.
Knapp presented council with a statistical report as well as information the development council plans to post on its website.
Knapp explained that through the new Ohio Means Jobs economic development program, her office is working with a regional office to provide information to the state on locations and communities which could be viable options for site developments and job growth.
Fuhr explained later that Bellevue — because it is located in four counties — participates with two different regional economic development offices. The local BDC interacts with the Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation and the one in Tiffin for Seneca County. Both of those are part of the Regional Growth Partnership, based in Toledo.
Bellevue EDC also interacts with Huron and Erie Counties’ economic development organizations, which, in turn, are linked to the Team Northeast Ohio.
Knapp reported in a demographic breakdown, that Bellevue’s Huron half has 3,673 people of the county’s 59,626 population. The city ranks third in population in the county because only a portion is in that county.
Under businesses, however, Bellevue is second in the county with 406 businesses (19.1 percent of Huron County businesses). Norwalk has 882 businesses (41.5 percent).
Fuhr said that number does not include businesses in the Sandusky County section of the city.
Knapp also told council that the HCDC also will be creating a pilot program to match workers to fill vacant jobs in Bellevue.
“We have a lot of jobs out there that employers cannot get employees for,” she said about a major complaint from area plants.
A report she presented showed that within 10 miles of Bellevue there were 174 available jobs on Dec. 27, 2011. Of those jobs, 56 percent were permanent and 121 were eight hours a day. Of those jobs, a third were also listed as middle class positions, she added.







