Port Says "Sanitary Sewer" is City's Biggest Barrier

Josh Roth

At the August 4, 2025, 3M Club meeting at Ohio Living Cape May, Josh Roth, Economic Development Director at the Clinton County Port Authority (CCPA), shared his local areas of focus regarding economic development.

According to Roth, he is focused on improving the competitiveness of the county by attacking barriers to new growth and threats to existing industry. For example, Roth shared that the "biggest inhibitor to the City of Wilmington" is the "sanitary sewer," as the original plant was built in 1936 and the trunk lines are not wide enough to support expansion. He shared that the city is currently building a wastewater treatment plant that will add 1.5 million gallons of capacity that can be expanded to 4 million gallons a day. Roth stated that the end goal is to provide sanitary sewer to the Route 73 and 68 interchanges. He also mentioned a potential housing development across from Nelson Avenue that would bring in roughly 360 homes, but is inhibited by the expensive sewer costs. To curb the $3 million cost for the developer, they're hoping to use "tax increment finance," a tool that would temporarily redirect the new homeowners' taxes to reimburse the developer.

The second barrier is housing. Roth said, "We really do need housing at all price points so that we can appeal to a broad cross section of the folks that work here so that we can stay competitive." Roth expressed his concern that Wilmington might lose large employers if too many executives who work in Wilmington don't also have the opportunity to live in Wilmington.

To keep Clinton County competitive, Roth shared his focus on attracting manufacturers to build plants in the county by ensuring our community has adequate resources to host them. Roth also touched on the importance of business retention and expansion programs for existing businesses to ensure they stay local.

Regarding Wilmington's marketability, Roth stated, " You think that we're a small town, but actually, we tap into three major metros, and that's why we can have great employers... because we can leverage our location and punch above our weight."

To learn more about the CCPA, visit chooseclintoncountyoh.org.