What’s Next for Muskingum County

The topic of conversation at the Muskingum County Port Authority involved what move the county should make next.

Through American Electric Power and the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth a site selection consultant toured the area looking at land the port has for sale and buildings available for business.

The consultant confirmed what the port board already knew, the land available is small and isn’t entirely ready for a business to be built on it.

"In terms of the ground that we continue to own a lot of the development costs are massive," said Port Authority Executive Director Mike Jacoby. "We’re talking about what makes more sense, improving what we’ve got or going out and acquiring some new property."

Jacoby said while most growth in our area will come from small and existing businesses the county should keep an open mind about attracting a bigger company.

"If we’re not preparing for the next opportunity years from now we would have missed a great opportunity and may be suffering the consequences," said Jacoby.

Jacoby said the site selection consultant was complimentary about the work done in the past to bring business to the area, but the message is to do what they’ve done before, again.