UTICA – It will be out of a clash of rural, small-town tradition and massive, modern high-tech manufacturing.
The village of Utica in northern Licking County has remained largely unchanged for decades, but the announcement of the state’s largest economic development just 16 miles away leaves many wondering what the future holds.
Located about 10 miles north of Newark and 10 miles south of Mount Vernon, Utica was one of the consistently unchanged areas in Licking County. The village population has decreased since 174 by 174 inhabitants and since 1920 increased by only 400.
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Located at the intersection of US 62 and Ohio 13, Utica is known for Watts Restaurant and Velvet Ice Cream just south of the village, and was the center of the handmade window glass industry from 1903 to 1929.
But a few miles south of Johnstown will be Intel Corporation, which plans to build a $ 20 billion computer chip manufacturing facility. Construction will begin this year with production expected to begin in 2025.
The company predicts employment will reach 3,000, with an average salary of $ 135,000. The project is also expected to create 7,000 construction sites and 10,000 indirect jobs. It could be the start of a $ 100 billion investment by the company.
More: Planning for Intel: Licking County Communities Gathering to Stop
So, where will all this leave Utica and its 2,064 inhabitants?
Pam Furr, owner of Mims and Red Children’s Books and Gifts in downtown Utica, said people leaving Jersey Township due to development are heading to U.S. 62 toward Utica.
“Most people are moving in that direction,” Furr said. “It’s bringing people out into this region. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. Hopefully it’s positive if we can control what happens.
Furr, who moved from the Johnstown region to Utica 15 years ago, said the house in which she grew up had been demolished to make way for Intel.
Tonya Osborn, co-owner of Jitterbug Café Parlor with sister Melissa Osborn, said running the business has been difficult since it opened in February 2020, just before the COVID stop.
She does not expect Intel Impact to offer a direct solution to the online shopping trend, furthering COVID fears and all the traditional barriers that small businesses face.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an overnight type,” Osborn said. “We have had to drive the waves (of the economy). It is a ebb and flow. We do not know what is normal.
“It’s a struggle for small business owners. It was just one kick after another, but we did it. We got a lot of support from the residents.”
Osborn said 11,000 cars pass the store on Ohio 13 every day, but “they don’t always stop as much as you’d like.”
“The struggle for us is to keep the feel of the small town and accept the changes going forward,” she said.
The change can be clearly positive, as evidenced by Doug Morgan’s Mill Street development, which the Mill St. Distillery, which opened two weeks ago, and the Mill Street Grains and Gatherings wedding and event venue, which will have its first full year in 2023.
Morgan, a Knox County resident, also bought The Mill House, a 1856 villa at 223 Main St., marketed for quilts, and the legendary Watts Restaurant, Ohio’s eighth oldest restaurant, opened in 1912. Wedding venue, then everything else has grown from there.
“We want to create a destination that is authentic,” said Morgan of the Mill Street property. “We have an authentic center. People create new downtowns that look like the old, real thing. It’s authentic. We have it here in Utica.
“The city is so welcoming. The sky is the limit, as are many small towns in Ohio. It’s a city time has passed,” since the glass company left the city in 1929. “It’s almost as if someone has pressed the pause button and everything is still here. A lot of people don’t like change at all and that’s not realistic. It’s a hard balance.”
Morgan said he spoke to a retired truck driver from the Newark-Heath area who said he drove past Watts Restaurant every day but never stopped.
“He remembers being lined up (outside) and saying, ‘I never came here until I retired and now I’m a regular,'” Morgan said. “I don’t know if we’re doing a really good job of promoting it. We have some really great destinations.”
Scott Hartley, superintendent of the North Fork Local School District, said the area has changed little during his 15 years leading the school system, but changes are on the horizon.
“We were pretty consistent, with some revitalization and development, but pretty consistent in growth,” Hartley said. “In three to five years, we’re likely to see marginal growth. In five to 10 years, that’s a little bit more complicated. We can see a little bit more substantial growth.”
Of course, the major concerns for schools are new housing developments. Utica has 1,600 students, with 500 in high school, 350 in middle school and 750 in the two elementary schools. The middle school needs to be replaced soon, he said.
“We have some room for growth,” Hartley said. “When a development of 400 apartments comes in, we have to look at what we do.”
The village has no room for growth at its water treatment plant, according to Glen Richards, the village administrator for 12 years after 32 years as utility superintendent. He expects the housing to be the first Intel impact.
“We are very undersized, and with Intel we are very concerned if we have to expand,” Richards said. “It must be at least double what it is now.”
Richards said the canal plant can handle a capacity of 320,000 gallons per day, but its daily average has reached 500,000 gallons to serve its 2,295 inhabitants. The sewage treatment plant was built in 1984.
The village hopes to receive financial assistance from Licking County commissioners for the estimated $ 4 million cost of expanding the sewer system.
The preliminary engineering plan for the water treatment plant will cost about $ 45,000. Re-zoning will cost $ 40,000. Creating a complete plan would be another $ 53,000.
“That’s a lot of big costs for a small village to prepare for this,” Richards said. “We decide what we have to do because the costs of everything will be borne by Utica.”
