“It seems like Tiffin is very happy just to be average, and I’m not the kind of leader that sees Tiffin as being average. I see what we have to offer.” Tiffin, Ohio Mayor Aaron Montz, who is visiting Madison to gather ideas on how to spur economic development in his city.

Seth Grundhoefer
Courier Staff Writer

The Republican mayor-elect of a small northern Ohio city is using Madison as a model to help solve his city’s stagnant economy and quickly fading downtown.

Aaron Montz, who made regional headlines when he first ran for mayor of Tiffin – and took 40 percent of the vote – at just 18 while still in high school, began his two-day trip to Madison on Tuesday to meet with economic, historic, tourism and government leaders. 

Montz, now 26, won the city election in November after serving his first term on Tiffin’s city council.

George Freeman, who worked in Madison at radio station WIKI for 20 years and now is retired and living in Tiffin, set up and is attending the meetings with Montz, who begins his term Jan. 1. 

Tiffin, which is about 250 miles northeast, has a population that is about 50 percent greater than Madison’s, but Montz says the cities share many similarities, such as a wealth of history, proximity to rivers and no major four-lane highways.

But as many local residents have seen Madison’s downtown grow over the years, one of the biggest issues Tiffin has faced is a dying downtown. Montz said the downtown in Tiffin – in terms of mass – is much greater than Madison’s, however, hardly any residents live in the area and local downtown business presence is almost nonexistent.

Tiffin currently has 40 empty stores in its downtown, he said. Montz also said a recent economic study showed that per capita, residents only spend about $1,200 a year in Tiffin retail stores, whereas Madison residents spend about $2,500. The city does have two universities – Heildelberg University and Tiffin University – which collectively are the biggest employers, but those students have little incentive to spend time or live downtown, he added. 

The difference between Madison’s downtown and Tiffin’s shows Montz that Tiffin can do more with the assets it already has. 

“Madison has done things much more correctly, I guess I would say, than what Tiffin has done, especially when it comes to the downtown area,” Montz said. 

“It seems like Tiffin is very happy just to be average, and I’m not the kind of leader that sees Tiffin as being average. I see what we have to offer,” he continued. 

Montz said private investors in Tiffin are looking to begin development in downtown at the first of the year, but added that the city may have to create financial incentives for those businesses and a more cohesive plan to take the leap.

That’s where Montz is hoping Madison can help.

Dave Adams, Madison clerk-treasurer, met with Montz on Tuesday afternoon and said it was “gratifying” to see Madison being used as a model for Tiffin. During their visit, Adams stressed to Montz the importance of recruiting businesses to downtown and retaining the 25 to 40 demographic. 

Adams said Madison officials have worked to offer microloans at 4 percent interest for downtown developers and recommended the same to Montz for Tiffin developers. In Madison, Adams said building owners are encouraged to convert empty space above stores into apartments to send residents downtown. 

During their discussions, perhaps most importantly, Adams said he recommended that the mayor-elect have a constant presence in the area he’s looking to rebuild. 

“As a mayor, he’s got to step up and go out and prove that this is going to happen,” he said of the downtown development plan.

As one of his major campaign platforms, Montz said, in addition to bringing in economic development, he wants to better utilize and preserve the city’s historical assets. Recently, he said officials in Seneca County – where Tiffin resides – voted to tear down the county courthouse, which was built in 1884 and is at the center of downtown. The city took Seneca County to court over the decision, but a judge later ruled that Tiffin had no say in the matter.

“It was up to the county to do what they please with their own building … and it’s very unfortunate that we’re going to lose this structure,” Montz said. 

As the demolition of the courthouse gets under way, Montz said he wants to establish a better historical restoration and preservation plan for Tiffin to ensure that such a defining landmark in the city isn’t given up on again. 

“We’re here to figure out what we can do once that building is gone, because we have so many beautiful buildings still there just like downtown Madison,” he said.

Montz said one of the first actions he’ll do once his term begins is form a mayoral advisory council, which will include members of the local chamber of commerce, historic preservation committee, downtown development group, as well as several business owners and university officials. 

“We need to bring them together and figure out how we can all work together, because that is what Tiffin has lacked,” he said. “None of them have the same plan, and they all think their plan is the best.”

As for working with Madison, he hopes the two historic cities can maintain a relationship once his visit ends. 

“Who knows, maybe we can work out a tourism plan with each other,” he said.

Article Courtesy of Madison Courier

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