Check out the new format of Greater Ohio's Newsletter, On the GO. If you are not signed up to receive these newsletters, please sign up here.  Here is the top story from the newsletter: Experts Converge to Provide County Land Bank Training

Greater Ohio Policy Center, in partnership with the newly formed Center for Community Progress, whose goal is to create vibrant communities through reuse of vacant, abandoned properties with offices in both Washington, D.C. and Flint, Michigan, hosted an interactive training session for select counties on Ohio’s current land bank law, which was recently expanded to an additional 41 counties.

Over 60 representatives from 11 counties participated in the daylong event with presentations by Greater Ohio’s Lavea Brachman, the Center for Community Progress’s Dan Kildee and Amy Hovey, as well as Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation.

Greater Ohio, a key figure in the legislation that enabled additional counties to access this important tool, provided specific information on Ohio’s legislation that addresses county land banks. From Dan Kildee, former Genesse County Treasurer, participants learned about the basic concepts behind a county land bank and how the entity is financially structured. Amy Hovey, a former consultant to the Genesse County Land Bank and integral in its development, discussed various land bank models throughout Michigan and the country to show how this important tool could be customized to meet the needs of individual counties. Finally, Gus Frangos provided first-hand knowledge on how to set up a county land bank in Ohio as well as provided practical advice on the trigger points for different operation and policy decisions and the pitfalls to avoid.

Greater Ohio hopes to continue to edcuate counties on this powerful tool to address the foreclosure and vacant property crisis plaguing our communties, so continue to check our website for additional trainings.