Elmwood Place trying to lure back business
Elmwood Place is a village of 2,200 people, just north of Cincinnati. The municipality has struggled to survive.
“We’ve seen a decline in business over the years. I believe that’s starting to come back,” said Eric Bartlett, chief of police.
The best of times and worst of times came just a few years ago, when the village collected thousands of dollars in fines from speed-camera tickets.
The public was outraged over the fines and many people refused to shop at stores in the village. Several businesses along Vine Street closed. But today things are again looking up for the village.
Aaron Haid, president of Queen City Transportation, said he did not have any preconceived notions about the village when he decided to transform 10 acres of land in there into the main headquarters for the company’s fleet of 250 vehicles and 350 employees.
“Our payroll is about $6 million a year and Elmwood gets the tax benefits of that. All of our employees will work here for the next school year," Haid said
A class-action lawsuit filed against Elmwood over the speeding fines is pending before a judge. At one point, the judge said the village should refund money received from the speeding tickets.