SHEFFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio– With the newly proposed contract between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers, we’re taking a look at the community impact of the potential 900 million dollar investment into its Ohio assembly plant.

The plant sits on three different municipalities: Avon Lake, Sheffield Lake, and Sheffield Village, just west of Cleveland.

Spectrum News 1 sat down with one of the Mayors, and he knows a thing or two about Ford.

“Sheffield village Mayor John Hunter says he has a very long-standing relationship with the Ohio assembly plant. In fact, back in the 70s, he was the very first hourly worker to be hired. Decades later, he was in Detroit for those negotiations that resulted in Ford’s $900 million investment into this community.”

“I was very excited because I knew that this was going to be a big boom for Lorain County,” says Hunter.

Mayor Hunter says he has negotiated on behalf of United Auto Workers Local 2000 in the past. Still, this past week, he went, as a retiree, to provide information about the plant and the area to support current union members.

“I like to tell people that I’d like for you to bring your business to Sheffield village, but if you can’t bring into Sheffield village, bring it to Lorain County. If you can’t bring them to Lorain County —bring into Ohio, we all benefit from it in the end,” says Hunter. 

Mayor Hunter says he wasn’t too shocked that Ford decided to expand here.

“Quality of the product, the efficiency of the operation. The community support and activity and the cooperation from the cities. That makes plants grow, and this is what Ford Motor Company looked at in making a decision to expand the plant here.”

Mayor Hunter goes on to tell Spectrum News 1 that this investment will cause a ripple effect throughout the community.

“And you’re going to see the need for other things from housing to cars and roads need to be taken care of. So it’s a great boom for Lorain County and this country. And I’m very proud to be a part of it, and most especially, I’m proud of the employees and the leadership of the Union and Ford Motor Company. It takes a team effort,” says Hunter.