By HOLLY GASKILL
More than $27.5 million was invested into Wells County in 2021, in addition to the creation of 29 new jobs and $1.3 million in new payroll.
These figures represented solely manufacturing and industrial growth and investment, meaning overall county growth would be even higher. Chad Kline, Wells County’s economic director, presented this information to both the county commissioners and the county council in his agency’s annual report.
Specifically, Kline highlighted the construction of a “spec” (for speculative) building, a 30,000-square-foot facility at the 435 Industrial Park in Ossian — the construction of which is being led by the James S. Jackson Company, based out of Bluffton. He also noted recent million-dollar investments from 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics, WEG Commercial Motors, Energy Control and Almco Steel.
Kline then reported an average personal income increase of 9.4 percent and a 6 percent increase in gross domestic product from 2020 to 2021. Wells County saw an 11.25 percent increase in total assessed value in the same time range — this value has increased 29.63 percent since 2018, equaling an approximate $449.5 million increase.
Wells County also nearly doubled its annual new housing, with 119 new home starts in 2021. This growth is expected to continue with Ossian’s new housing TIF district and READI grant to support continued development. In 2022, the Wells County Economic Development board also received 87 site leads and submitted 22 responses for information.
Also during the council meeting Tuesday, Council Member Scott Elzey and Zane Herr were appointed to the Wells County Tourism Commission Board.
The new board will contain nine volunteers tasked with determining the use of funds from the recently-approved innkeeper task.
Of the remaining seven members, three will be appointed by the commissioners, three by the mayor of Bluffton, and one by the town of Ossian. Kline stated there were still several vacant seats.
This year, Kline outlined some of the following goals for Economic Development:
• Continue developing local plans correlating with the Area Plan Commission’s Vision 2035 plan.
• Coordinate efforts for a mixed-use development project in downtown Ossian.
• Create a Wells County marketing campaign and strategy.
• Plan training programs for local employers.
• Support and guide projects awarded READI funds.
• Assist Chamber of Commerce in developing an entrepreneurial network and perform analysis on available industrial sites.
holly@news-banner.com
