Edon’s Village Council met with members of the Williams County Port Authority Monday. Pictured are (from left) Edon solicitor Tom Thompson, Edon mayor Duane Thiel and Edon village council member Lee Lawrence.
Liam Jackson | The Bryan Times
EDON – The Village of Edon and the Williams County Port Authority agreed on a partnership that would waive fees on two new houses the Port Authority will be building on recently purchased lots.
The lots are on Bunny Lane and Edon’s Village Council voted unanimously to waive utility taxes and building permit fees so the Port Authority can construct homes that are affordable as a part of a push to add more housing units to the county.
Dawn Fitzcharles and Dave Newcomer spoke on behalf of the Port Authority during Monday’s meeting and laid out the benefits of a partnership between the village and the Port Authority.
“We have done quite a bit of research and we feel confident that we can put in a housing product that would sell and be useful,” Fitzcharles said. “But in order for us to move forward, we need Edon to work with us and we also need additional properties to do this same thing.”
The two houses in Edon is part of the Port Authority’s goal to build 10 houses around Williams County this year. Next year the goal is 25 around the county and the ultimate goal is to get 400 built within 10 years.
The Port Authority predicts that there are close to 2,000 job openings within the county and houses like these can be a solution to bringing in and retaining employees.
“All these companies need bodies,” Edon village council member Dave Loughborough said. “There probably isn’t a single business in Williams County that would turn someone away if they came in and said ‘Hey, I want to work.’”
In other business:
• Saturday is village trash pick up.
• Backflow training will be hosted in October.
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