Marion CAN DO!, the area’s economic development group, has issued an endorsement for the Tri-River’s Career Center levy that appears on the November ballot. CAN DO’s interim director, Dan Burkhart, says the levy is needed to continue Tri-River’s vital work in training highly skilled workers for current and future industries in the Marion area.
If approved, the ½ mill, 10-year levy will cost around $1.08 per month for the average homeowner. You can learn more about the levy by clicking here.
Below is the full endorsement letter submitted by Burkhart.
The ability to obtain a job is directly related to the skills the applicant brings to a potential employer. Marion is a railroad/industrial community and our history reflects our future. We can expect a disproportionate number of the jobs generated here to be related to industrial production. In order to attract industries to Marion, we must have a workforce that has the skills to fill those specialty jobs.
Marion CAN DO! is doubling down on the work to attract new, good-paying jobs to our community and to help existing companies expand their operations here. On any given day, we have 10 projects of all sizes that are considering Marion. We must have our house in order to attract them and secure their commitment to locate here. Every other community in the Midwest is also trying to attract them, so the competition is very stiff. Still, Marion has some great advantages in this battle. We have a large number of desirable buildings, the Dual Rail Park, and the Marion Airport Park. We also have the intermodal where rail and truck transportation interconnect and provide a pathway to and from Marion with this entire region of the nation. However, we must have workers with the skills to attract industry here!
Although our unemployment rate for September is 5.2%, we still have about 1,500 unemployed and 1,000 who have stopped looking for work in Marion County. Ohio Means Jobs Marion County (formerly Jobs and Family Services) does an amazing job of assisting workers with training and employment services. However, many of the unemployed lack the skills to fill the jobs that are available and will become available in the future.
We are fortunate to have Tri-Rivers Career Center in the Marion community that provides our present and future workforce with the skills needed to attract and keep industry here. Tri-Rivers is recognized nationally for their innovative RAMTEC program that teaches high school, college and adult students to run and repair large robotic equipment. This is the kind of program that keeps Marion competitive in the workforce arena and provides workers with skills that they can offer a Marion employer. However, this is only one of the many skills-building programs that teach the trades at Tri-Rivers.
The Marion CAN DO board is composed of private and public sector individuals with a strong commitment to creating and retaining jobs in our community. At the October Board Meeting, they unanimously committed to supporting the needs of Tri-Rivers by endorsing the .5 mill, 10 year permanent improvements levy. We are all sensitive to what we pay in taxes, but this levy expands skills, job opportunities and our ability to attract employers to the Marion community. Every resident benefits. Tri-Rivers is earning the support they are asking for. CAN DO supports their work, and recommends everyone votes “Yes” on Nov. 4th.
Dan Burkhart
Interim Director
740-387-2267
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