City Commission

On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., the Dayton City Commission met in regular session at the Dayton Metro Library located at 215 E. Third Street. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Mims called the meeting to order. INVOCATION Commissioner Fairchild gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Mims led the public in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken and Mayor Mims, Commissioners Joseph, Shaw, Fairchild, and Turner- Sloss were present. The Clerk of Commission, Ms. Regina Blackshear, was also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Shaw made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 7, 2024, meeting. Commissioner Fairchild seconded the motion. The previous meeting minutes were unanimously approved. ORDER OF BUSINESS Mayor Mims asked the Clerk of Commission, Ms. Regina Blackshear, what is the nature and order of business for this meeting. Ms. Blackshear said, “Mayor Mims, the sole order of business today is to present the Annual State of the City Address. Each year, a Dayton City Commission meeting is set aside for the purpose of reporting the state of the city, highlighting some of the accomplishments of the year past, and remarking on initiatives for the year ahead. I am informed that you will present your remarks and will then adjourn the meeting from the stage.” Mr. Darius Beckham, Senior Policy Aide, introduced and invited Mr. Ray Marcano, former President of the National Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer Juror, and a Fulbright Fellow. His opinion column appears every Sunday in the Dayton Daily News, and his work has been published in the Columbus Dispatch as well as USA Today, and Mayor Jeffrey Mims, Jr., to the stage for a conversation about the City of Dayton. Mayor Mims thanked everyone in attendance he introduced his wife Ms. Toni Mims and City of Dayton staff. STATE OF THE CITY Mr. Marcano asked “While the national economic numbers look good, locally, roughly one-third of people in the City of Dayton live in poverty. What can the city do to help those families?” Mayor Mims said every year the City of Dayton helps coordinate a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program which is a major anti-poverty initiative. He said program volunteers will complete residents' federal, state, and local taxes for free. Mayor Mims said income-eligible residents can use the credits to boost their federal tax returns and the returns range in price from $600 for workers with no dependents to $7,430 for some families. He said the City of Dayton has coordinated the assistance for the last 20 years and it has yielded $11M back in the pockets of Dayton residents. He introduced Mr. Adama Diakhate, Program Manager for VITA and EITC; and is also a Community Engagement Specialist in the Planning Neighborhoods and Development Department for the City of Dayton. Mayor Mims said breaking the cycle of poverty in Dayton requires upskilling people into jobs that provide disposable income. He said they are working hard to attract manufacturing jobs back to Dayton. He said Joby Aviation selected the Dayton International Airport as the new site for its first aircraft factory which is a $500M investment that will yield 2,000 jobs by 2028. Mayor Mims said Sierra Nevada is building their second aircraft facility at the Dayton International Airport which is a $38M investment that will bring $10.8M in a new annual payroll to our area and will yield 150 jobs. He said the City of Dayton approved a lease agreement with Sinclair Community College for a new aviation mechanic training center at the Dayton International Airport. Mayor Mims said It’s paramount that they build collaborative pathways to get Dayton residents/youth into these middle-class jobs. Mayor Mims said investing through the Dayton Recovery Plan they’ve invested $1.5M into a racial equity fund at the Miami Valley Urban League. He said in 2023, $360K was invested in 77 Dayton black and brown businesses. Mr. Marcano asked “along those economic lines, that affordable housing remains a key issue. Dayton is investing $22M to tear down 1,100 nuisance properties, which will create a bunch of vacant lots that, theoretically, could be used for new housing. What’s the city’s plan for those lots?” Mayor Mims said those lots represent opportunities for homeowners to have a side lot, for community groups to have gardens, and for infill development. He said as the economy improves and interest rates drop, they expect to see new construction on these vacant lots to help address the housing crisis facing both Dayton and the nation. Mayor Mims said as they implement their Housing Policy, the abundance of land owned by the City of Dayton will be an asset that will allow them to set aside collections of land for new housing development to address the needs of residents. Mayor Mims said jobs created from demolition contracts are good for the local economy. He said current affordable housing investments include: - Germantown Crossing (DayMont) which will yield 50 affordable units and is a $15.5M project, Desoto Bass Redevelopment which will yield 44 affordable units and is a $15M project, Wolf Creek Housing which will yield 28 affordable tax credit homes, National Church Residences which will yield 180 units and is a new senior housing project and is a $4.5M city investment and located in the 1000 block of Salem Avenue, and Grand Place Apartment Renovation which will yield 64 senior housing units and is a $14M Project. Mr. Marcano asked, “How does that plan complement the long-term objective of getting more people to move into the city?” Mayor Mims said Dayton, Ohio, ranked #5 Most Affordable City by Business Facilities in the 2021 Metro Rankings Report. He said it was named by Forbes Magazine as the #1 city to buy a starter home. He said the demolition not only removes eyesores for existing residents, but it makes the neighborhood more attractive to potential residents, stabilizing neighborhoods is key to attracting new business investment, and increasing the quality of life. He said investing nearly $20M into park upgrades, sidewalk/curb repairs, tree lawns, and other neighborhood amenities is also key. Mayor Mims said hundreds of new apartment units opened downtown in 2023, and 2024 is expected to bring four new mixed-use apartment projects with a total investment of more than $180M. Mr. Marcano said “With the economy comes economic development. Can you give us a brief overview of how many businesses brought new jobs to the city in 2023 and what’s the forecast for 2024?” Mayor Mims said the 2023-2024 investment snapshot includes private investments yielding $1.2B, jobs retained were 2,163, and jobs that were created were 2,172. Mr. Marcano asked, “What is the most difficult economic challenge the city faces this year and what are your plans to combat that?” Mayor Mims said the biggest economic challenge the City of Dayton faces is remote work which threatens income tax also Issue 6 Renewal - State effort to eliminate state income tax (hurts local government fund) Mr. Marcano said “The Dayton Police Department finished 2023 with 343 officers, short of the 365 the department would like. He asked what’s the plan to bring in qualified officers so the levels get to where they should be?” Mayor Mims said through police reform, several steps were taken to improve recruitment. He said police reform included: developing a cadet program, increasing the cut-off age for recruitment, and creating more opportunities to take the physical fitness test and preliminary assessment. Mayor Mims said he believes compensation plays a major role in attracting and retaining officers. He said they are going to have to take a hard look at what can be done on this but the most immediate step is passing a renewal of the 2016 income tax increase. Mayor Mims said these dollars are critical to continue funding the goal of 365 officers. Mr. Marcano asked, “What’s the biggest public safety issue facing the citizens of Dayton and what’s the plan to combat that?” Mayor Mims said gun violence and the lack of gun safety laws in Ohio. He said the state legislature continues to make it impossible for cities to implement gun safety regulations, but cities still must act. He said in 2024, his office will be taking steps to start a violence prevention initiative. Mayor Mims said the Dayton Police Department continues to work with neighborhoods to develop neighborhood safety plans which many have included calls for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) which have been noted as a force multiplier. Mr. Marcano said in 2016 voters voted to increase their income tax from 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent which represents $15M a year. He asked what would happen if Issue 6 didn't pass. Mayor Mims said nothing good will happen if the issue is not renewed. He said police, fire, EMS, fixing roads, recreation, preschool, and demolition will all come to a halt. He said the attraction of businesses to Dayton would not be there. He said it is very important to pass the issue and he wanted citizens to know there will be no increase. Mr. Marcano said “Education is near and dear to the mayor’s heart. He asked what he wanted the young people of Dayton to know from their mayor?” Mayor Mims said young people represent 20 percent of the population but 100 percent of the future. He said if a city wants good citizens, they have to grow them by putting them in a position by graduation they will have an array of skills to contribute to society. He wanted young people to know they have value. Mayor Mims thanked everyone for coming and hoped everyone felt a message of hope and anticipation because many great things are happening in the City of Dayton ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 a.m. ___________________________________ Jeffrey J. Mims, Jr. Mayor Attest: _____________________________ Clerk of Commission