The impact of Intel’s two new massive semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Licking County, Ohio, will go far beyond the $20 billion investment itself. The two new plants – with more likely to follow – will generate tens of thousands of new jobs across Ohio and will in turn draw contractors and other high-profile manufacturers to Central Ohio.

These new employees won’t arrive alone: they’re arrive with families in tow looking to make Central Ohio home. The impact means that Central Ohio’s public infrastructure – transportation, parks, schools, water and sewer lines, and every kind of public service – will need to expand rapidly and to stay ahead of the growth.

Chandler, Arizona, home to another Intel plant, had one high school before Intel moved in. It’s now the second-largest school district in Arizona. Can Central Ohio’s towns keep up with the region’s exciting growth, and even stay ahead? Hear from the mayors of three key regional cities how each is planning for – and embracing – Central Ohio’s high-growth future.

The panelists are:

Donald Barnard, Mayor of Johnstown, OH

Laurie Jadwin, Mayor of Gahanna, OH

Sloan Spalding, Mayor of New Albany, OH 

The host is Keary McCarthy, Executive Director of The Ohio Mayors Alliance and The Ohio Mayors Alliance Foundation

This CMC forum was sponsored by GBQ and Otterbein University with support from the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

The livestream was supported by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on May 17, 2023