MACEDONIA: The worst seems to be over for this northern Summit County city, which saw 20 percent of its jobs evaporate after the start of the 2007 recession.Last year, the city welcomed 38 new businesses to town, with several more employers preparing to move in this year.Officials are so optimistic about growth, they’re ready to lay the groundwork for opening some inaccessible areas along state Route 8.First step: Persuade the Ohio Department of Transportation to drop the “limited access” designation on Route 8 north of Interstate 271 so additional infrastructure can be built.With additional revenue from businesses and a voter-approved 0.25-percentage-point income tax increase, 2012 could also see city employees getting their first raise in four years and the return of a city festival.“We can start to do some things again,” said Mayor Don Kuchta, who in November was elected to his third term. “I think the economy is rebounding.”Infrastructure needsRecent improvements on the southern end of Route 8 have eased congestion and changed traffic patterns to the north, Kuchta said, and the “limited access” designation is obsolete.If the city can get the state to drop it, Kuchta has his sights set on two changes.First, he would like to put an “easy in, easy out” entrance between the Great Escape and Chick-fil-A off Route 8. Businesses in that area — a joint economic development district (JEDD) shared with Northfield Center Township —can be seen from the highway but require a couple of turns and traffic lights to reach.Better access “would bring in more shoppers and more business,” Kuchta said.If the state approves the city’s request, Kuchta said, he would also ask Northfield Center to consider a second JEDD in a wooded area north of Valley View Road and west of Route 8.Kuchta has been sending letters to popular chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, inviting them to consider the city for a restaurant. But they are shackled by a city charter that requires new construction be in the Western Reserve architectural style.A new JEDD could resolve that inflexibility by putting the restaurants on township property while allowing the city to share in any new revenue generated.The city, a Cleveland water customer, also will spend 2012 trying to determine the feasibility of switching to Akron water. It would be a $25 million project and years in the making, but the city and local businesses might benefit from cheaper rates, Kuchta said.Businesses comingWhile the city ponders its future, there is plenty of immediate activity worth watching.In the Highland Road area, building material company Bennett Supply is constructing a facility, automotive recycler Omni Source Corp. is expected to move into a vacant building and Akron manufacturer Plastic Materials is taking over the long-vacant former home of Polyone Corp.Meanwhile, TPC Wire and Cable could become the second tenant in the former Graco Children’s Products plant.“The good news is we should be able to replace the number of employees we lost when Graco left” between TPC and Guardian Building Products, which moved into part of the building late last year, Kuchta said.“But of all the things coming, the one everyone is asking about is Dunkin’ Donuts,” Kuchta said with a chuckle.The Building Department has received plans from the doughnut icon, and a spring groundbreaking is possible.City work forceA surge in regionalism has many communities considering ways to partner with their neighbors.Last month, Kuchta sat down with his peers in Hudson and Twinsburg to reopen talks about a regional dispatch center. There is an opportunity for the cities to merge operations, housed in Twinsburg’s new Cleveland Clinic building. Grants might be available, Kuchta said.Also on the agenda: restoration of some lost positions, pay and capital expenditures.Citywide payroll was pared by $600,000 in 2009 and 2010, and cut another $160,000 last year.Now the city is trying to bring police department staffing back up to par. Two officers were hired this month, and “we are continuing to look at growing the force,” Kuchta said. The department also needs a couple of new police cars, he added.“We have money that is available to spend on capital expenditures,” he said. “The question is, do we get more equipment or do we do more with roads?”Employees represented by the city’s five unions went three years without a raise. Kuchta said he would like to see them get a 1 percent raise this year, along with a few other improvements in benefits.“The unions are working with us very well,” he said.Leisure life“There are necessities, and there are niceties,” Kuchta said.Success is handling the former while adding a bit of the latter, he said.To that end, city officials are thinking about resurrecting Home Days, a three-day festival that was a summer tradition until it was shelved in 2006. The event, featuring rides, games, music and food, was dropped as a weakening economy started picking away at the city budget.The council approved a motion to bring back the event this year. It has not been budgeted, however, and the city might have started its effort too late to schedule amusement rides.“If we have something this year, it would likely be scaled down because of that,” Kuchta said.Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.