Mayor Michael Ebert said 2014 was a year of continued growth in which city officials were consciously critiquing how they were doing business and how they could do it better. Ebert said changes made in 2014 set the course for several new projects in 2015.

“Every year brings us new challenges, but our challenge to ourselves and (our) goal is always to enrich our community by responsibly managing the public’s money and creating an atmosphere of pride and outstanding service,” Ebert said.

One challenge that has been hard on Canal Winchester involves cuts in state funding to municipalities, with more legislation on the horizon aimed at further cuts. Ebert said his staff is doing what it can to manage city budgets appropriately.

“With our advanced planning for these types of cuts, the city of Canal Winchester has placed itself in good financial position over the last several years by watching unnecessary spending and implementing cost-cutting measures of our own,” he said.

According to Ebert, a new software system that will allow greater accessibility to financial and budget systems across all city departments, will be available in 2015.

“We’ll be implementing new computer software that will allow our department computers to interface, something they have never been able to do in the past,” Ebert said.

The new system will provide department directors with the tools needed for making budget decisions, he said.

Also in the works for 2015 is the planning and potential construction of a new public works and salt barn facility.

The salt barn and public works buildings date back to 1955 and are still structurally sound, but inadequate for modern needs, Public Works Director Matt Peoples said.

“We currently have 11 garage bays for 15 vehicles, not including all of our non-truck equipment,” he said. “The garage doors are only 12 feet wide while our biggest truck is 11-feet, 9-inches wide.

“The salt barn used to hold 500 tons, but we can only hold about 300 tons in there now due to the walls bowing, and we use 750 tons a year on average, meaning we have to refill the barn multiple times each winter.”

Plans are moving forward for further Gender Road improvements in 2015, along with the annual streets projects and additional upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

This project also will include the lining of “several thousand feet of sanitary sewer line in the Westchester area,” Ebert said.

Ebert and Development Director Lucas Haire said recruiting new business to the area is a priority, and 2015 looks to have strong potential in that area.

Haire recently returned from a Columbus 2020-sponsored economic development trip to Japan, where he met with manufacturers to encourage investment in Canal Winchester.

“Many of these companies were in the automotive supply industry, which Canal Winchester has strength in, with three of our five largest employers in that industry,” Haire said.

The meetings were very productive, he said, explaining that the companies were very receptive to the information the team provided about opportunities in central Ohio.

“We are always recruiting new business to the city and have recently seen the most leads we have had since the recession,” Ebert said. “Our goal is to bring light manufacturing business to Canal Winchester, business that is responsible and puts the community first.”