Of all the myriad of things I've picked up this week at the International Economic Development Conference and caused to think more about, it's one of the things that I've already been thinking about that stand out.
I knew bike paths in Licking County where a healthy community thing.
I've known the 44 miles of bike paths were good for recreation and families.
I've known, from personal experience, that our network of bike paths is a real stand-out capability to have in a community our size. The site location decision makers have told me the paths are a good thing for economic development as it is one of those rare amenities that makes us attractive to keeping talent and being acceptable place to locate for in-transferees.
But I never thought about this one fact until today.
It's already happening. With more and more corporations adopting sustainability and green standards for their operations, communities that can provide and environmentally-friendly amenities that also add "points" in green building certifications are going to win out more than their counterparts that don't. That's as true for existing companies which answer to a corporate HQ elsewhere as to that yet-to-find-us company whose investment we hope to attract in the future.
Licking County is ahead of the game with our bike paths being not only good for community health, recreation, and development but also being an amenity that is ready to be green for a greening corporate world.
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Take action: I'm asking my fellow Licking Countians to vote in favor of Issue 7. This countywide ballot issue provides a permanent source of funding for the Licking Park District. Without that funding, which is a mere $6 (not a misprint) per YEAR for a typical household, parks will have to close and the bike paths could suffer.
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