Legislative Updates from the Governmental Affairs Project Team
Project Team members are tasked with looking at public and political issues at the local, state and national levels that may affect doing business in our area as outlined in the Public Policy Agenda. They will also be responsible for hosting the State of the City and State of the County Addresses and holds a forum for Legislative Updates.
The Project Team will not support or oppose any political party or candidate, only issues.
From the Ohio Chamber of Commerce
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce commends Congress for its bipartisan passage of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductor for America Act (CHIPS Act).
The CHIPS Act will strengthen America’s manufacturing industry, overall economy and national security by providing funding that is necessary to achieve our goal of domestic U.S. semiconductor chip manufacturing. The United States must reclaim its leadership role in the next generation of innovation and research by ensuring the strength of its domestic supply chains.
The transformational investments being made in Ohio, bolstered further by the passage of the CHIPS Act, will attract thousands of direct and indirect jobs and establish our state as the cradle of the Silicon Heartland. I want to thank the members of Ohio’s delegation from both parties who voted in support of this legislation. Ohioans will be positively impacted by this vote for generations.
Allocations of the funds included in the executive order are:
ttt. Up to Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) will be used to assist Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio, Inc. to provide workforce development and support services in Lucas County.
uuu. Up to One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) will be used to assist Southside Life Station-NWOBA to provide educational assistance to students in Lucas and Wood Counties.
vvv. Up to Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) will be used to assist The Aurora Project, Inc. to empower homeless mothers in Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Erie, and Henry Counties by providing personal and workforce development skills.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) would like to thank you for your time and input during the first phase of study for Route 23 Connect. This email serves to 1) inform you of the next phase of study and 2) invite you to participate in our first round of community partner meetings for this phase.
Project Background
In Spring 2021, ODOT began the Route 23 Connect study to determine the feasibility of a free-flow connection between Toledo and Columbus, focusing on the portion of U.S. 23 between Waldo and I-270. The project team spent the past year evaluating six concepts before announcing that none of the concepts presented could be reasonably implemented and therefore, would not be advanced. However, the study is not complete.
The cost, complexity, and environmental impact of the concepts presented in the first phase of the study were so high they would prevent the project from moving forward in a timely manner, if ever. Rather than continuing to spend time and resources on concepts that would almost certainly never move forward, the study is shifting its focus to further identify opportunities toward making smaller, but impactful improvements sooner.
Upcoming Meetings
To kick-off this new phase of Route 23 Connect, ODOT has planned a series of community partner meetings in late August to provide information regarding upcoming improvement projects already in the pipeline along the corridor and to gather your feedback related to congestion, mobility, safety, and upcoming development in your communities.
These meetings will be open-house style and involve an interactive, map-based activity. Each meeting will focus on a specific segment of the study area. You are welcome to attend all or one of these meetings based on the segment your community is located in and/or you are most interested in. The online meeting will replicate this mapping activity for the entirety of the corridor.
Information for the meetings and each segment they cover is as follows:
Meeting 1: U.S. 23 north of City of Delaware (U.S. 23 between SR 229 and Hills-Miller Road)
Tuesday, August 23, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Troy Township Hall | 4293 U.S. 23, Delaware, OH 43015
Meeting 2: U.S. 23 through City of Delaware (U.S. 23 between Hills-Miller Road and Glenn Parkway)
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Co-Hatch Delaware | Hall of Mirrors | 19 E. William Street, Delaware, OH 43015
Meeting 3: U.S. 23 South of City of Delaware (U.S. 23 between Glenn Parkway and SR 750)
Thursday, August 25, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Orange Township Hall | Moffett Room | 1688 East Orange Road, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Meeting 4: Southernmost Portion of Study Area (U.S. 23 between SR 750 and I-270)
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Highbanks MetroPark Nature Center | Multi-Purpose Room
9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Meeting 5: Virtual, Entire Corridor
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 12:00pm
Meeting Link: http://publicinput.com/23connect
For in-person events, all persons in attendance will be required to follow all federal, state, local, or venue policies in effect on the meeting date. This includes face covering policies and other health-related protocols.
Comments are also encouraged after the meeting, but we ask that all comments be submitted by September 30, 2022 to be considered during this phase of development. The project website https://publicinput.com/23connect is the best place to provide comments outside of the formal public outreach meetings. Comments may also be provided via email, phone or mail to:
Kelsey Vandia
Project Manager
Ohio Department of Transportation - District 6
400 East William Street
Delaware, OH 43015
Kelsey.Vandia@dot.state.oh.us
614-357-5430
Individuals who require interpretation services or a reasonable accommodation to participate in this meeting should contact me no later than August 15, 2022. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin or disability.
From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The pandemic caused a major disruption in America’s labor force—something many have referred to as The Great Resignation. The transportation, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food sectors have had the highest numbers of job openings.
Highlights:
- Food service and hospitality struggle to retain workers.
- Remote work has changed the game.
For an analysis of which industries have been impacted the most, click here.
Ohio Chamber Top 10 Legislative Priorities
Kevin Shimp, Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s General Counsel and Director of Labor & Legal Affairs, gave a talk at the August Governmental Affairs Project Team Meeting
