11-02-2019, 01:02 AM
COLUMBIANA, Ohio... https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019...erica.html
TLDR... Columbiana has strong sense of community
Amid the countryâ€s deep political divide, Columbiana runs against the prevailing anger and angst spewed so often on airwaves and social media. Earlier this month, Readerâ€s Digest announced that it had selected Columbiana the Nicest Place in America, noting how the city of 6,400 lifts its young and old, its thriving and its struggling. The magazine chose the city from more than 1,000 nominations...
Downtown, nearly every storefront is owned and operated by local businesses. The only exception is a Subway sandwich shop, and that is owned by a city resident. A diversified manufacturing base makes up a good deal of the cityâ€s workforce. Columbiana has several small to midsized businesses, including R&L trucking, which has about 300 employees. Vari-Wall, a tubing specialist, has about 100 workers.
Its population, according to the U.S. Census, is more than 98 percent white. City leaders are seeking ways to attract diversity. “Diversity, like variety, is the spice of life,â€â€ Ice said. Lance Willard, the city manager, said the city continues to push for more events in its downtown that draw people from beyond the region.
It leans conservative, a contrast to 40 years ago... 2016, Columbiana County, as a whole, gave Donald Trump nearly 70 percent of its vote. The crime rate is low, even in the shadows of Youngstown.
Some of the generosity in Columbiana extends beyond its residents to its government. In September 2018, City Council unanimously approved one of the largest incentive packages in Ohio: It granted a 100 percent, 15-year tax abatement for new home construction... if a person builds a $300,000 house, [no] real estate taxes on the home for 15 years.
TLDR... Columbiana has strong sense of community
Amid the countryâ€s deep political divide, Columbiana runs against the prevailing anger and angst spewed so often on airwaves and social media. Earlier this month, Readerâ€s Digest announced that it had selected Columbiana the Nicest Place in America, noting how the city of 6,400 lifts its young and old, its thriving and its struggling. The magazine chose the city from more than 1,000 nominations...
Downtown, nearly every storefront is owned and operated by local businesses. The only exception is a Subway sandwich shop, and that is owned by a city resident. A diversified manufacturing base makes up a good deal of the cityâ€s workforce. Columbiana has several small to midsized businesses, including R&L trucking, which has about 300 employees. Vari-Wall, a tubing specialist, has about 100 workers.
Its population, according to the U.S. Census, is more than 98 percent white. City leaders are seeking ways to attract diversity. “Diversity, like variety, is the spice of life,â€â€ Ice said. Lance Willard, the city manager, said the city continues to push for more events in its downtown that draw people from beyond the region.
It leans conservative, a contrast to 40 years ago... 2016, Columbiana County, as a whole, gave Donald Trump nearly 70 percent of its vote. The crime rate is low, even in the shadows of Youngstown.
Some of the generosity in Columbiana extends beyond its residents to its government. In September 2018, City Council unanimously approved one of the largest incentive packages in Ohio: It granted a 100 percent, 15-year tax abatement for new home construction... if a person builds a $300,000 house, [no] real estate taxes on the home for 15 years.
