ABOUT KIM KEETHLER BALL
My journey in Granville began over 25 years ago when my husband and I moved here for his role at Denison University. We fell in love with this village and chose to raise our four children here, watching them grow from kindergarten through high school. That deep-rooted experience as a parent showed me what makes this community so special. As the owner of Readers’ Garden Bookstore, I live the reality of being a local business owner every day. I am passionately committed to fostering a Village government that supports entrepreneurs and enhances the unique character and vitality of our downtown. My involvement with the Chamber of Commerce, Explore Licking County, and Granville Pride stems from a genuine belief that we are stronger when we work together. I’m not just a council member; I’m your neighbor, a small business owner, and a mom who is invested in Granville’s future.
On The Issues
What do you see as the main challenges facing Granville over the next four years?
Growth in our surrounding areas of Intel, Data Centers, and Housing Development. Environmental issues of special concern are water and sewer rights, and clean soil and water. Growth of our community and school systems will continue to need to be addressed with emphasis on maintaining the historical character of our Village and community, and developing our tax base so that we are not overly dependent on property taxes to fund our schools. As a downtown business owner and a mother of 4 children raised K-12 here, I have a keen awareness of what makes our community special.
How will your skills and experience help address these challenges?
I bring a lifetime of work experience in a large corporation in all aspects of management - personnel, budget, and technical development. I have worked in the ministry in our local churches as well as Columbus and have community empathy, consideration, and appreciate the value that our many churches in Granville bring to our community. I am strongly ecumenically minded and aware of the uniqueness of our founding and history with regard to our churches and their properties. As an incumbent, I have spent the last 4 years learning about and becoming informed on our environmental issues. Some are complex, especially with water and soil. I have attended many planning meetings, workshops, and community forums with regard to these issues. There are many layers and I am glad to be as up to speed as possible. Our Council has fortunately been a good working group in that we are able to engage in civil discourse with regard to many issues and that enables us to move forward without conflict.
What is the main improvement you hope to achieve for Granville during your term?
We have many families in our community and I think that we need to continue to develop more multi-generational places for children and families to be together. I hope that we can move forward with the development of a public pool and more community space. I hope that our downtown business community can continue to be charming and shop-able for local people as well as visitors. I contribute directly to this effort as a downtown business owner. And as a co-founder of the Granville Center for the Arts, I have directly contributed to creating such a space - it is free, family friendly, and brings in diverse visitors to our community to shop, eat, and enjoy. And we must continue to develop and broaden tax revenue sources so that we are not only dependent on our property taxes for our schools.
2021 LCLWV/GACC CANDIDATES FORUM
