Survey being used to develop village plan

Fort Recovery has been through this routine before.
In the early 1990s, with the village’s downtown needing improvements, a survey was mailed to residents to get their input on what should be changed.
“The downtown was very viable because every store was full,” village administrator Randy Diller said. “It just wasn’t very appealing. Aesthetically it didn’t look very good.”
The results came back, and showed that residents also wanted improvements to streets, sidewalks and parking.
“We did a streetscape on the downtown area, did the bricks, did some trees and trash cans and, you know, made everything look nice. Everybody spruced up their buildings. A lot of canvas awnings went back on to simulate the older period that the buildings were built in,” Diller said.
Businesses have kept their storefronts looking good, Diller said. But the time came for another survey, focusing on residential, commercial and industrial expansion.
Those were the growth areas, in order, the survey’s 204 respondents found most necessary for long-term growth.
“I really think housing,” wrote one resident in response to a question about what area of the community most needs improvement. “Apartments, single-family homes that younger professional people will want. Young people go to college to get good jobs as they have been pushed to do all their lives. When they want to come to Fort Recovery, where will they live?”
Diller agreed housing is a top priority — young people need housing if they want to return, current residents want places to build new houses and businesses know they can attract more top employees if there are good places for newcomers to live.
“If you took a drive around Fort Recovery, I wouldn’t think that you would find two for sale signs right now,” Diller said. And there isn’t much available for rent, either.
A housing development with 17 lots is being planned, but “those (lots) aren’t going to last very long,” Diller said.
Respondents also frequently cited streets, curbs and sidewalks as aspects needing improvement.
“I think curbs and sidewalks on some of the side streets that do not have them would be wonderful,” wrote one respondent, while others requested repair to existing structures.
“On many streets you can not go for a walk without staring at the ground due to uneven sidewalks. If you don't, you will trip,” one resident cautioned.
Young people and new employees can’t move to Fort Recovery without housing, but as some responses noted, there are other factors in growing the population.
Nearly 85 percent of respondents answered “yes” to the question, “Do you believe additional types of business stores/services are needed in Fort Recovery?”
Many requested a dollar store in response to a follow-up question asking about the types of business needed.
“A store to fill in the gap between what we have and what people go to Wal-Mart to get,” wrote one resident. “I think we could keep more people in town if we could fill that gap.”
In March, village council approved annexing eight lots, four of which were zoned commercial, in anticipation of a Dollar General being built.
Numerous answers commented on there not being a dentist in Fort Recovery.
“I'm shocked that a community of this size can't attract a dental facility or at least a satellite office,” said one.
But the lack of a dentist isn’t for lack of trying.
“We’ve had four or five different ones seriously close to locating here in Fort Recovery over the last 15 years and it just hasn’t happened for one reason or the other. It will,” said Diller, noting the problem has been finding an affordable space. “The start-up costs for a dentistry are pretty high, so when you come in with zero patients, you know, you’ve got to take something out of that cost.”
He’s hoping a developer can work to lease a space to a dentist, which will likely be more appealing than having to buy property.
Industry, too, needs space for expansion. Many respondents said expansion north of the village along Ohio 49 would be appropriate.
About half of respondents said heavy industrial growth is necessary for Fort Recovery’s long-term success, and 87 percent believe light industrial expansion is necessary. Agricultural businesses are considered necessary by 53 percent.
All the feedback collected in surveys — as well as similar feedback from community meetings — is influencing a plan being written by Paul Sullivan, an architect who also consults with communities on long-term needs.
Sullivan first presented his plan to Diller and Lori Kaup, president of Project Recovery, a group formed in the early 1990s to help with downtown revitalization.
“(Sullivan)’s going to give us his experiences and his background and his professionalism and we’re going to make decisions based off of that what’s best for Fort Recovery,” said Diller, explaining that while some have felt the consultant will be telling the village what to do, that isn’t the case. “We want it to be our plan with help from people that do this for a living and that’s what we’re getting.”
Then village council will see the draft of the plan, and public meetings will be held to gather input again.
Council has final approval, but “The decision should be made by the community as a whole and I think that’s what this (process) allows,” Diller said.