State of city tied closely to school levy success. Is the flu season turning a corner? And, another solar project bites the dust.
Give us a few moments and we'll serve up what matters in Marysville on Tuesday, March 4, 2025
In this edition:
The state of the city emphasized the importance of passing the MEVSD school levy
The event also featured two major developments coming to town
Also, is the flu season turning a corner for the better.
And another solar project over in Logan County has the plug pulled
City showcases support for schools and growth momentum
The 2025 State of the City event show-cased support for schools and speedy, shovel-ready development on Monday evening.
More than 150 residents and others gathered at the Automotive Mobility & Innovation Center in the Innovation Park for the event.
Focus on school funding
It was made very clear that the state of the city is very closely tied to the success of the Marysville school levy on the May ballot.
“It’s absolutely critical the school levy passes in May,” said City Manager Terry Emery, who served as the emcee for the evening.
Retiring Marysville school superintendent Diane Allen noted how the Marysville school district trails other districts in the county and the state on key metrics like spending per pupil.
“We all [Marysville, Fairbanks, North Union] spend less than the state average, but we are the lowest in the county,” Allen told the crowd.
Above: Levy supporter Erin Morrison discusses the importance of passing the school levy in May
Erin Morrison, a district parent, former district employee and levy campaign supporter said she is most concerned for the district students if the 5.5 mill 10-year emergency property tax levy is rejected by voters in May.
“We have over 5,000 students and this would impact them on a day-to-day basis if this doesn’t pass,” she said.
STEM-related classes and the unified arts program would be hit hard by pending cuts if the levy fails.
“We’d lose our entire theatrical arts program,” Morison said. “I’m concerned about the reduction in course offerings.”
She said it will make students less competitive when applying for college and for scholarships.
“My biggest concern is the impact it will have on students, and I feel it will take years to recover from it,” she said if the levy fails.
Matt McQuade, with The New Albany Company, which is the developer of Marysville Southeast, said ongoing local school funding problems will make it harder to attract companies to locate new jobs here.
“It means everything,” McQuade said. “It’s always going to be a question asked. It’s one of the highest priorities for us because strong schools mean strong communities.”
Brad DeHayes, who has worked with the Marysville schools on the Silos at Water and Light project uptown, agreed.
“Well-funded schools maintain stable communities. It’s just a fact,” DeHayes said.
Water and Light with speed
Above: City Manager Terry Emery with Brad DeHayes, Connect Realty and Matt McQuade with The New Albany Company discuss development during the State of the City
Mr. DeHayes also told the crowd that the Water and Light project will move fast, but will take several years to fully build out.
“We don’t send out renderings that we’re not going to do,” DeHayes said of the Water and Light project. “The images you see are of the actual site plan and what is going to go there.”
“We have the largest modular apartment manufacturing facility in Columbus,” he said of his company Connect Real Estate.
That factory will manufacture the 272 apartments, and then ship them up to Marysville for rapid installation in 2026.
“It’s going to be coming very fast,” DeHayes said.
Dirt will begin to move late this year, with foundations being laid in Q1 2026, and then the modular apartments will be installed.
“It’s going to be the fastest building process you’ve ever seen,” he said, which will benefit the uptown area with less disruption from construction vehicles and equipment.
He said the project will stretch into 2027 and 2028 as they develop out the commercial and retail components.
The project will turn a non-performing site into a revenue generating asset for the city and the schools.
Shovel ready at Marysville East
Mr. McQuade discussed the partnership with the City in the development of Marysville East and Marysville South which will include more than 1,200 hundred acres when all is said and done.
He emphasized The New Albany Company’s deliberate, long-term approach to strategic planning, which started back in 2023.
McQuade said they are already marketing the property, even though they are still moving through the process with the City.
“Speed to market means everything,” he said. “Where you can really get tripped up is not having shovel-ready land.”
He said at the end of the day, their role is to bring additional revenue to the city, along with jobs and other opportunities. He said proximity to Columbus, roads, rail and access to power all make Marysville Southeast attractive to develop for industrial purposes.
He said Marysville has the same type of potential the company found in the build out of New Albany.
“What sealed the deal was the support we saw from the City Council and the staff,” he said.
The City will be utilizing a New Community Authority (NCA) to help fund the upfront infrastructure costs, levying a 9.5 mill charge to the developer/landowner within the NCA over time without impacting the City’s general fund and without diverting funds from the schools.
Flu activity “very high” but starting to trend down
Influenza activity continued at a “very high” level last week, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
But at the same time, key indicators show that we might be turning a corner into a downturn of the virus.
Statewide, outpatient visits were down 14.4%, emergency department visits were down more than 20%, and hospitalizations were down more than 2%. That follows a trend through February above the 5-year average for influenza.
Union County has tracked 56 influenza-associated hospitalizations, up from 46 the week prior. Central Ohio continues as a hot spot for influenza.
Car fire on Mill Creek Drive contained
Mill Creek Drive just off of St. Rt. 36 was shut down for about an hour on Monday morning so first responders could extinguish a vehicle fire.
The road was shut down during the 9 a.m. hour and reopened at 10 a.m. after the fire had been contained.
It was the second vehicle-related fire in the past week. Two vehicles were engulfed in flames Friday at the YMCA due to smoldering materials nearby. The flames and smoke were fueled by strong winds.
Two transported following Saturday AM crash on US 33
Speed was a factor in a crash on US 33 westbound around 7am Saturday morning.
44-year-old Jeremy Johnson of DeGraff was operating a 2004 Acura when he lost control of the vehicle between Delaware Avenue and Waldo Road. He was driving about 75 mph according to the report filed by Marysville Police. The vehicle went off the right side of the road, hit a sign and then traveled about 200 more feet, striking a tree.
Marysville Fire Division crews had to help free Johnson from the car.
EMS crews transported both Johnson and a 7-year-old passenger to Memorial Health for treatment.
MPD cited Johnson for failure to control his vehicle.
Minor injuries in early Saturday AM accident on US 33
A Milford Center man was treated at the scene after an early Saturday morning accident on US 33.
49-year-old Shane Coffey was west bound on US 33 when he drove off the right side of the road, striking a guard rail and rolling down an embankment.
EMS crews treated Coffey at the scene for minor injuries. MPD cited him for failure to control.
Raymond Road traffic impacted by Saturday PM fire response
Marysville Fire Division provided mutual aid to Northwestern Fire District on a fire run Saturday afternoon around 1:45 p.m.
Crews were called out to 21240 Raymond Road originally to a potential residential fire. When they arrived, they found a large agriculture building filled with a light haze and a burning smell. Crews reported that the building contained heavy machinery, a camper and a wood shop.
They searched for a fire visually and with thermal imaging cameras, but nothing was found.
Traffic on Raymond Road was impacted while crews investigated.
The owner was advised to shut down the electricity to the building until it could be checked.
Honda February sales lag
American Honda said it maintained sales momentum in February with strong sales of light truck and electrified models.
Year-to-date sales were up slightly, with car sales down 17.5% and truck sales up 9.2% for the combined Honda and Acura luxury brands.
In February, American Honda sales were off 2.8% overall, driven by a 22.4% decrease in demands for cards and a 7.2% increase in sales of trucks.
Honda set an all-time record in February for sales of electrified vehicles with 31,551 units, led by strong sales of the Civic Hybrid, CR-V Hybrid, Accord Hybrid and Prologue EV.
Honda also shared that the new Prologue EV was the best-selling non-Tesla electric vehicle in America in the fourth quarter of 2024. Pricing is unchanged for 2025.
Honda shifts strategy in response to Trump tariffs
Reuters broke the news Monday that Honda plans to build its next Civic in Indiana because of the new 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico that will go into effect today.
The company originally planned to manufacture the line in Mexico.
Honda reportedly pushed production to May 2028 from November 27, according to the article.
Honda has plants in both Mexico and Canada that supply vehicles to the US and overseas.
Grange Solar at Indian Lake withdraws application
Yet another major solar project in the region is getting unplugged. This one would have spanned more than 2,500 acres just to the south of the Indian Lake region.
The Ohio Power Siting Board has canceled a hearing for the proposed Grange Solar project in Logan County.
OPSB announced on Monday that it was cancelling public hearings on March 10 and April 7 after Grange Solar’s backers indicated they are withdrawing their application.
In its withdrawal notice, Grange preserved the ability to come back to the Siting Board.
“Grange also provides notice that it, or any of its affiliates, reserves the right to file at a later time another application for certificate of environmental compatibility and public need with the OPSB,” it wrote.
On August 14, 2024, the applicant filed a notification letter informing the Board, regarding its proposed construction of up to a 500-megawatt solar-powered electric generation facility across Washington, Stokes, Richland, McArthur and Bloomfield Townships in Logan County. The proposed project would have been located on approximately 2,568 acres of privately-owned land.
Last month, the Siting Board rejected the Richwood Solar project due to the strong public opposition to the project.
Thanks for reading Marysville Matters!
Energy and optimism.
That was the feeling walking into the crowded main room at the AMIC building for the State of the City event on Monday evening.
City Council members were adorned in shades of green (at the suggestion of City Council President Donald Boerger) engaging with residents, staff and business leaders in attendance Monday night.
It was great to see so many familiar faces and meet so many new individuals. City school board members were on hand and were appreciative of the spotlight the City was able to shine on the need to pass the school levy.
The program included a well-produced video featuring Second Chances, iron threads and Yeasty Boys as successful ventures in uptown Marysville. It also provided a financial update and a tip-of-the-hat to first responders who protect us every day.
Marsyville isn’t perfect. We have our challenges. But Monday night was a moment to come together, celebrate our progress and focus on the importance of the school levy to the city’s future.
Connect Realty’s Brad DeHayes summed it up best:
“You have a phenomenal community. I have confidence cooler heads will prevail sooner or later,” on the school levy, he said.
“There’s no need to defer it.”
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Have a great Tuesday!
-Joe C.
Great coverage of the State of the City event, which I also attended. Can't emphasize enough how the reputation of Marysville and Union County are tied to the schools. As I told a fellow attendee, to modify another's quote, "When Marysville gets a cold, Union County gets pneumonia." I would hate for us all to suffer for the short-sightedness of a few.