Port authority begins jobs program

The information will be used to look at workers’ skills and the competitiveness of local businesses.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

EAST LIVERPOOL — The Columbiana County Port Authority is starting a program to help develop local jobs.

As a first step in the Columbiana County Business Retention and Expansion program, major employers such as hospitals, industries and manufacturers will be asked to provide information on the number of their employees and other information about their businesses.

The requests are going out and are to be returned to the authority by Sept. 1.

None of the material requested from the approximately 60 large employers is confidential.

A similar list was compiled in 2004, according to Glenda Schafer, the project coordinator for the authority.

She said that the information will be sent to The Ohio State University, which will compile the information.

Schafer said the material should be completed for local distribution later in September.

A similar mailing would go to smaller employers. No date has been set for that step.

Economic potential

The authority is assisting Baard Energy of Vancouver, Wash., and Ohio officials as they negotiate a permit to build a $4 billion coal-to-liquid fuel plant near Wellsville — a potentially huge boost to the local economy.

But Tracy Drake, the chief executive officer for the authority, said that normally, up to 80 percent of jobs are created by established businesses.

The information requested will be used as a “diagnostic tool,” Drake said.

The authority will look at ways to assist businesses with operations and potential expansion plans.

After that, the information will look at issues such as the skills of the work force and the competitiveness of local employers.

Drake urged employers to return the surveys because more information will create a better business picture.

wilkinson@vindy.com