It looks like it never materialized. Did the economic downturn kill it? Perhaps. The land clearing started but then never finished. We got the med center and the college, but no Walmart.
Victory won? I don’t know. Seems that way. We’ll have to wait and see.
Well, it’s June 2012. If Walmart was coming to Mount Orab, it’s long overdue. The supposed building lot sits empty. The trees to be cleared are still mostly standing. And no one talks about Walmart coming to town anymore.
The plan was for the store to open in 2011. There’s been no development, though. The trees that were supposed to be cleared in 2008 still stand on the lot.
The Kroger Marketplace has opened. It’s a nice store. Glad to have it nearby.
I hope WalMart and all the negatives that come with it stays out of town.
If it’s been quiet here at No Mount Orab Wal-Mart that may be a good thing. It’s difficult to know what is happening in light of the global economic meltdown, especially concerning the capital building programs of major companies.
Wal-Mart has announced elsewhere that it is scaling back its expansion plans. Several planned Supercenters have been scrapped. In fact, I have heard through the grapevine that the entire Supercenter idea may be in jeopardy, as WalMart’s grocery sections are underperforming.
Here’s what I do know:
The site supposedly zoned for the Mount Orab Wal-Mart has seen zero activity since the initial flurry of tree cutting back in late 2007. In fact, the section of trees that was supposed to be removed by mid-2008 still stands.
The local newspapers have said little about the project in the wake of the October 2007 announcement.
Kroger announced a Marketplace store for the area, which would make the Wal-Mart overkill for the size of Mount Orab.
The housing market implosion curtailed all new homebuilding. Existing building projects, save for the medical center, have stalled. Perhaps the great move east for disaffected Cincinnatians will not materialize, throwing off demographic analysis for Brown County and environs.
No matter what the issue, the lack of activity and news on the planned Wal-Mart is curious. Maybe, for those of us against the building of a new Wal-Mart in Mount Orab, that’s good news.
This article says it all. When you want to know why your paycheck brings home less and less, your income is going to pay for the healthcare of Wal-Mart employees:
Report: Ohio spent $111M to insure workers
9/1/2008, 4:11 p.m. EDT The Associated Press AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A new report shows Ohio spent $111.5 million in 2007 to cover Medicaid costs for workers who are not enrolled in employer health insurance plans.
Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal think tank in Cleveland, estimates the state covered more than 111,000 workers and their dependents from 50 companies with the highest Medicaid enrollment.
The federal government covered $182 million of the total cost. Researchers analyzed monthly Medicaid enrollment data to compile a list of statewide employers with the most employees who received government health assistance.
“Right now, we’re in a very tight budget,” said Piet van Lier, the study’s author and a senior researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. “Medicaid is a very big expense — not only for Ohio, but for other states — and here’s a substantial benefit going to employers.”
Most of the employers included in the lists are retailers, restaurant chains and staffing firms.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services warned that people should be careful not to jump to conclusions based on the Medicaid enrollment numbers.
“Eligibility for employer-sponsored health care coverage does not preclude eligibility for Medicaid,” the department said in a statement. “Several circumstances could lead people who are eligible for employer coverage to apply for and receive Medicaid.”
Wal-Mart topped the list with a monthly average of 13,141 employees and dependents enrolled in Medicaid last year.
Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter said the rankings are “notoriously unreliable” and hard to verify.
He said the company offers competitive benefits to hourly employees who work at least 34 hours a week, but some Wal-Mart employees only work part-time. The benefit structure varies depending on employment status, Rossiter said.
Wal-Mart giveth and Wal-Mart taketh away—from your wallet. We don’t need a Wal-Mart in Brown County. Shortsighted leaders aren’t looking for real solutions, just easy ones with plenty of flash, even if they have no substance in the end.
No Mount Orab Walmart! 