The Josh Laubach file
Occupation: Operations manager at AK Steel Middletown Works
Age: 31
Residence: 3rd Ward, Middletown
Previous political experience: Currently completing his first four-year term on city council
Website: None
COMPLETE, BALANCED COVERAGE
This is the second of four interviews conducted by the Journal-News of the candidates seeking your vote on Nov. 5 to serve on Middletown City Council. Interviews with the remaining candidates will run daily through the week. An interview with candidate Dora Bronston ran in Tuesday's Journal-News.
In his first four years on City Council, Councilman Josh Laubach has been known for being a hawk on the city’s budget and roads.
He’s also been critical of the city when purchasing or acquiring vacant or abandoned buildings.
Laubach is looking to retain a seat on Middletown City Council as one of four people competing for two open seats.
Q: The city has been pretty active in recent years in Economic Development over the years, from tax incentives for industrial businesses along Yankee Road to buying buildings for Cincinnati State's downtown campus. But there's also been new interest in the city from the new owners of the Towne Mall, companies expanding or planning to expand into the city, and a proposed business park in the East End. Where do you see the next great push of economic development in the city?
A: Looking out in between the next five and 10 years I see a lot of the industrial growth, or the revitalization we've seen in the past couple of years. As far as where in the city, there's opportunities all over the city but I see that sector growing. I also see continued growth in private investment coming into the downtown area and the continuation out on the East End of other projects.
Q: The community image in the past has been, according to the 2008 Forbes article, a dying city. Why is that not the case anymore? Or is that still the case?
A: "I don't think it's the case. We've seen substantial interest in the private sector in investing real dollars in Middletown due to our location, also due to our diverse labor we have and in the surrounding areas. We've seen almost three-quarters of a billion of investment in the past seven years, and most of that coming after that (Forbes) article was written."
Q: The city has either purchase or acquired buildings downtown over the years. What can the city do about those buildings?
A: "(We need to) find viable owners for them in the private sector. For example with the Manchester Inn, marketing it and putting it up for sale. I've actually not been a proponent with a lot of that activity with the obvious exception being the Cincinnati State deal, and the exception for that with me was we had a buyer at the other end. We acted, more or less, as a pass through or facilitator for that deal that happened between Cincinnati State and Higher Education Partners. It's kind of a sore subject with me as far as the other buildings being acquired over the years. Some of that happened recently, some of that happened five, six, seven, eight, nine years ago. I think it's kind of put us in an awkward position."
Q: Where do you see downtown going in terms of development in the near and not-so-near future?
A: "I think the thing that sells downtown, other than it's historically where the city originated, is the fact that its connected to other areas. Not everything has to be centered around (Interstate) 75. I think that's a draw for downtown, and also looking at the industrial infrastructure that's still in place there, I think that's going to drive that development down there. I see that as an asset. I think it's something that we're blessed to have, and obviously in the past 30 years we saw a declined going into that part town and shifting out to the East End. But I don't think that's going to continue, I think it's going to come back the other way because there are still communities to the west and south of us so it still makes it viable to do business in that area."
Q: Towne Mall has been a point of contention about the lack of development, and now we hear some tenants frustrated with the new owners not coming through after they bought the mall and some of the outlots. What can you do to help move that project along?
A: "That being a private venture, I think the only thing I can do from a council position is leave them an open door in terms of work through the city and making sure the city is not in the way — or there's nothing that can't do to allow them to do business at that mall in that area. From that perspective, we can offer them a lot of assistance and help in terms of making sure there's nothing in terms of city policy, zoning or ordinances that get in their way. But really, we don't have a lot of control over that."
Q: There's the proposed Mad River Business Park and Henkle Schueler recently purchased property in the East End. There is also the Renaissance area and a newly revamped interstate interchange. Where does the East End development go from here?
A: "I think it kind of follows that east of I-75 will have a theme of medical-related services, possibly other more of a white collar-type job. West of I-75, I think you'll see it continuing to be a stronger service-type of an area. We saw a new Hampton Inn go in, Bob Evans put in a new restaurant in the past five years. We see interest in that area. I think you'll see a continuation of that, and that's probably the best use of that land."
Q: Middletown has been known as a steel town, an AK Steel town specifically. In recent years, the city has had an influx of other interests, including arts and entertainment and the medical community. To an outsider, how would you describe Middletown?
A: "Middletown is still a steel town with a rich history in heavy industry. But we also, due to that history in heavy industry, developed and added other areas. We offer a wide range of medical services all around the city of Middletown, and I think we'll continue to do that. There's a rich heritage here of labor and management living and working in the city together, and I think there's still a lot of parts of that left. It's something to value, and to take advantage of and to be a part of if you want to come to Middletown or be a part of Middletown. Location-wise, amenities-wise, there's a lot of infrastructure, there's a lot of human capital here, there's a lot of living capital in terms of homes available and the character of those things. When I talk to someone on the outside, I emphasize those qualities and it's something that's unique to us very much more so than any of the surrounding service-based communities in our area, West Chester, Springboro, Mason, and so on."
Q: It looks like Middletown will spend upwards of $2 million for the second straight year on roads for 2014. But for the previous few years, mainly because of the economy, roads weren't given that much money to be repaired. Where does the city's infrastructure rate in your priorities?
A: "Infrastructure as a whole has got to be one of our top priorities. Without maintaining the infrastructure of the city, there is no city to live in, to offer basic services, there's no reason for industry to be here, there's no reason for other businesses to be here and people to live here. If you lose the infrastructure you lose homes and businesses, therefore you lose the town. I'm not saying that it's more important than public safety, for example, but it absolutely has to be at the top (of the list. It's been my position that we continue to dedicate a greater portion of local funds to a long-term plan that upgrades and renews our infrastructure in the city."
Q: The Public Safety Levy was just approved in August 2012 where it would supplement about $3 million to the public safety budgets. Can the city justify proposing cuts in public safety for the 2014 budget after asking the voters to renew that levy to avoid just that?
A: "That was my concern of putting a public safety levy up because under our current structure of contracts our costs will outpace increases in taxes therefore leading us in a negative position budgetarily. I was not a supporter to putting a levy on for that reason. Our revenues have remained flat however our expenses in police and fire have increased exponentially, and we spend more money in 2013 on police and fire, to the tune of $3 million a year, than we did in 2002. Meanwhile our revenues are almost exactly the same as in 2002. I wanted to be honest with the voters and let them know that a quarter percent was not enough to maintain the trajectory that we're on for expenses."
Q: The city is about partnerships, especially recently with the school district moving into the city building, and historically with businesses and the chamber. What other areas of partnerships will you pursue?
A: "We can continue to look for ways to work with either businesses or other governmental agencies in order to achieve maximum effeminacy. There's nothing that I'm looking at right now that I think we can partner with and make any more significant changes. I think we need to maintain a level of sovereignty as a city as a whole and controlling its own destiny while at the same time be able to be open minded and work with our neighbors and surrounding communities which I think we do a pretty good job of."
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