Two new members sought for village panel

North Perry Village is seeking to add two new members to its Economic Development Committee.

The five-member panel, consisting of three village elected officials and two residents, is intended to “further facilitate Village Council’s desire to increase economic development in the village,” according to a 2018 ordinance that established the committee.

Vacancies currently exist on the committee after two Dave Seese and Tara Schubert left the group earlier this year. Each were appointed to two-year terms on the panel that would have ended in about July or August of this year.

Any residents who’d like to apply for the open seats on the

committee are asked to contact Village Councilman Ray Blalock at rblalock@northperry.org orJudi Sprague, the village’s new administrative assistant and secretary, at secretary@northperry.org or 440-259-4994.

The other three members of the group are Mayor Ed Klco Klco and Village Council members Blalock and Mike Cutler. Their terms also are for two years.

At this time, the Economic Development Committee’s highest priority is creating a village Community Improvement Corporation.

A CIC is a nonprofit corporation created under guidelines of the Ohio Revised Code for “advancing, encouraging and promoting the industrial, economic, commercial and civic development” of a specified community or area.

Village Council, at an October work session, engaged in a thorough discussion about what’s involved in launching and operating a CIC. During that gathering, council

members gained insight about community improvement corporations from two people who served on CICs in nearby towns.

At the same work session, it was agreed that an important first step would be for the village Economic Development Committee to draft legislation that council would need to approve to establish the CIC.

When Village Council held its April 2 meeting remotely through a video and audio conference, Councilman Larry Klco asked when the ordinance to create the CIC would be ready for council to review and consider for approval. Stephen Byron, who took over as village solicitor in February, said the ordinance had yet to be drafted.

“We had planned to have the Economic Development Committee meet and put together that ordinance,” Byron said.

Byron noted that Assistant Village Solicitor Laura Pizmoht needs to get direction from the committee about “the purpose of the ordinance and things that need to go into it.”

Larry Klco then asked