Civil and Municipal - Mar 2023

74 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 business spotlights that provide 5 minutes of video about a local enterprise, to be shared via social media, by the business and the city. When Clayton acquired the Meadowbrook Golf Course through a donation in 2015, it provided the perfect opportunity for a community space, and it has become a cornerstone of the city. “City council and staff have worked very hard to make that 18- hole golf course and its event facility the place for our community to gather,” Zimmerlin explains. “Like a lot of cities that were townships at one time, we don’t really have a center city. We do have the old village, but we don’t have a gathering space that’s large and Meadowbrook has really serviced that.” With several parks throughout the community, Clayton has recently secured a grant to add a new accessible parking lot to North View Park, through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. A Community Development Block Grant, and ARPA funds were also used to buy a new accessible playground for that park. “It’s an inclusive playground. I know that one of the goals really is to make sure that everybody in the community has an opportunity to experience and use the parks that we have,” she maintains. Park path resurfacing is also in the plans for 2023, another effort to make sure the city is as accessible as possible. Looking ahead, Zimmerlin says that there will be a continued focus on manageable and sustainable growth in the city of Clayton, following the land use plan that has been put into place. She elaborates, “I think that if we continue to follow that plan, we are going to achieve the goal of sustainable, smart growth. We are not going to outrun our resources, and we are going to be able to make Clayton an even better place.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Sinclair College www.sinclair.edu county’s Business Solutions Center and the Job Center ensuring workforce training is always at the forefront of the local economic climate. He says, “When we have our regional business meetings we have those anchors, Montgomery County, Sinclair, MVCTC, Northmont City Schools, at those meetings, so we’re all on the same page. We’re fortunate that Montgomery County has done a nice job with their business development in terms of making sure that these different resources are well marketed, and that when we’re talking to businesses in different industry sectors, we are able to provide them with the resources to reach out for future employment opportunities.” A valuable partnership with Montgomery County is part of Clayton’s success, along with strong relationships with Northmont City Schools, and the State of Ohio, which the city relies on for various grants. As for other partnerships, Zimmerlin conveys, “We have the Northmont Chamber of Commerce, and we work closely with them. We also work with the Dayton Development Coalition, and Jobs Ohio.” On the community side, Clayton has an Adopt a Roadway program, where residents and civic organizations can clean up litter. The city also promotes local businesses, offering