Formerly known as JAG, Johnstown, Alexandria, and Granville have rebranded their water and sewer partnership as the “Municipal Utility Coalition of Licking County” to facilitate its plan to advance growth and prosperity in western Licking County while preserving the sense of neighborhood and natural resources that have attracted residents and business to call western Licking County home.
The Coalition is currently the water and wastewater service provider to over 12,000 people living and working in western Licking County and seeks to provide these services to the region as it grows so as to preserve local control over local resources. Municipalities like Johnstown, Alexandria, and Granville are looking ahead to plan and manage the residential and spin-off economic growth that accompanies the monumental manufacturing projects in our area.
What others are saying about MUCLC
Herb Koehler, Granville Village Manager stated: “It will be an economic boost to everyone in Licking County, but as municipal leaders, we must work together to implement a holistic development plan that is best for everyone. The Coalition is committed to working with all the stakeholders—state, township, and county officials, area residents, and businesses—to promote financially sound long-range regional development,” he added. “To that end, we have engaged the respected utility planning firm EMH&T to develop a comprehensive facility plan which will evaluate projected needs for both water and sanitary sewer service in the region over the next 20+ years and determine how the Coalition can best meet these needs.”
Denison University President Dr. Adam Weinberg wrote to Governor DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel – “The Coalition’s strategic and collaborative approach ensures that our region’s growth enhances rather than diminishes quality of life for residents of Licking County, setting a model for successful development for the 21st century.”
Jeff Brown, Superintendent, Granville Exempted Village Schools said “Unless economic development is thoughtfully and holistically managed, expanded water and wastewater services will result in unplanned and fragmented growth and that, in turn, would create a crisis for western Licking County schools. Therefore, utility expansion should always be aligned with a comprehensive strategy, a strategy that has been developed with input from and the acceptance of the residents and other stakeholders.”
The organization of the Coalition provides significant benefits:
- As municipalities, the members of the Coalition are responsible for public infrastructure such as parks, streets, sidewalks, storm sewers, and lighting; public services such as police; land use planning, and economic development; as well as water and sewer services. As a result, the Coalition is constantly aware of and responsive to ALL the interests and concerns of local residents.
- The Coalition has access to planning and development departments, which have expertise in all aspects of development and land use planning, including zoning, economic development tools including (TIFs, CRAs, CEDAs, and JEDDs, income tax programs, grants, financing tools, and creative revenue financing. Such tools can be best utilized by municipalities for the benefit of economic development, public infrastructure improvements and public services.
- The Coalition is actively supported by the Johnstown-Monroe School District, the Granville Exempted Village School District, and Denison University, principally due to its holistic and planful view of growth and the Coalition’s recognition that haphazard development would likely devastate the excellent schools that are essential to the community’s long-term desirability and prosperity.
- The Coalition believes that water and wastewater service should be viewed and managed to facilitate financially sound long-range regional development, not merely immediate development to maximize near-term revenue.
