Written with the help of AI from the Clark County Board of Commissioners minutes, Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Notable actions
This recap is based on the approved minutes of the Clark County Board of Commissioners meeting held Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Commissioners Sasha Rittenhouse, Charles Patterson and Greg Kaffenbarger voted yes on every item recorded, and no item failed or was tabled.
Budget Policy (Resolution 2026-0797): The board adopted a new Budget Policy effective October 14, replacing all earlier versions. County Administrator Jennifer Hutchinson said the policy is mostly the same with updated wording. She called the biggest change a $5 million cap on the economic development fund, since money has been added each year and she believes the mall project is the only time it has really been used. She said the policy also strengthens the requirements for showing a clear return on investment and adds a provision to help the county recover money, when possible, if recipients do not meet their obligations.
Retail grant (Resolution 2026-0786): The board approved a $12,750 Retail Development Project Fund grant to Baker’s Locksmith LLC, 1500 Upper Valley Pike, to help with renovation costs of its new retail building. Community and Economic Development staff said the business moved from downtown Springfield into the former PNC building. They said grant guidelines require that the improvements and added taxable sales generate at least that much in return over the next three years. The money comes from the Economic Development Fund created under Resolution 2022-0787. Commissioner Kaffenbarger said the Upper Valley Pike area has needed revitalization.
GIS and cloud storage contract (Resolution 2026-0780): The board authorized a $99,024 contract with ROK Technologies of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for cloud data storage and GIS (mapping) services for the Auditor’s Office, for January 1 through December 31, 2027. It replaces Resolution 2026-0746 because the original server would not work as first configured, and a revised proposal was received. It is paid from the GIS general fund.
Public safety building repairs (Resolution 2026-0781): Commissioners authorized a $49,000 contract with Scanlan Construction, LLC to repair the entry floor and ramp area at the public safety building, paid from the Permanent Improvement Fund. Hutchinson said the county had been making minimal repairs while a decision on a new public safety building is pending, but has reached the point where it cannot wait.
Road resurfacing bids (Resolution 2026-0790): The board acknowledged re-bids for the Clark County-Springfield Township 2026 OPWC Resurfacing Project, opened October 8. R. B. Jergens Contractors, Inc. bid $2,660,991.00 and A&B Asphalt Corporation bid $2,841,680.88, against an Engineer’s estimate of $2,663,931.58. The bids were referred to staff for evaluation; no contract was awarded.
Greenfield Drive turnaround (Resolution 2026-0798, added to the agenda): Commissioners authorized dedication of the turnaround easement at the westward end of Green-Field Drive in Green Township and signed the mylar, the formal survey drawing. Community and Economic Development staff said it follows the Planning Commission’s October 7 approval to reorganize lots at the end of the road for Electra. The Engineer’s office determined the hammerhead turnaround needed to be dedicated to the commissioners. Staff said the city plans a second reading of the purchase agreement next Tuesday as an emergency ordinance, which takes effect immediately, with a hoped-for closing by the end of the month. Staff called this the last step on the county’s side and said the fire department confirmed the turnaround is adequate.
What residents raised in public comment
Most of the public comment concerned Grid Growth, a proposed power transmission project whose route has not been finalized and for which, according to Chief Legal Counsel Beau Thompson, no application has been filed. Residents of Moorefield, Madison and Springfield townships spoke. One resident said a proposed line segment would run behind the 18-home Prairie Bluff subdivision, about 260 feet from her house, with a 175-foot tower planned on a neighbor’s 1.4-acre lot. Speakers raised concerns about electromagnetic fields, humming noise, shock risks, possible property value losses, septic leach fields, and effects on farm operations such as soil compaction and irrigation. One speaker, a farm family member, asked commissioners to consider farms as well as housing developments. Speakers asked the board to speak up now rather than wait for the final route, and to tell the Ohio Power Siting Board that towers on residents’ land could prevent compliance with county ordinances.
Commissioner Patterson said the board should formally ask Grid Growth to keep lines away from residential neighborhoods, especially clustered developments like Prairie Bluff. He does not support stopping the entire project, saying staff told him the community needs more electricity to attract advanced manufacturing. Commissioner Kaffenbarger said he does not support the project right now because he has not received a clear answer on whether it would supply electricity to Clark County homes and businesses. He said the county has asked for a map of how the routes overlap farmland protected by agricultural easements.
Thompson said Tecumseh Land Trust is gathering information and an overlay map of protected properties along the proposed routes. He plans to draft one or more resolutions, focusing at least on keeping the project away from residential neighborhoods and protected land. He noted that in the earlier Sloopy Solar case, the county kept its opposition despite proposed conditions and the siting board ultimately denied the project. No vote on Grid Growth was taken at this meeting.
Other speakers reminded the public of the Highway Hikers’ annual toy run on Sunday, discussed an October 6 Heartland Beat article alleging that federal immigration policies and public funding are being used to keep Haitian immigrants in Springfield, and urged the board to slow down on Grid Growth and consider alternatives such as small reactors. One also described taking part in a Braver Angels immigration panel at Wilmington College.
Routine and other items
Other contracts and agreements: $29,300 to Regroup Mass Notification for a mass notification system for the Emergency Management Agency, running December 31, 2026 through December 31, 2029; $11,457 to P&R Communications for Sheriff’s Office radio maintenance, July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; $15,000 to the Clark County Park District and $40,000 to the Springfield Arts Council for air quality and rideshare promotion partnerships for the Transportation Coordinating Committee, using federal CMAQ air quality funds and local TCC funds; and a lease of 2,675 square feet on the second floor of the Springview Government Center to the Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee at $11,696 due quarterly, October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Grants: Commissioners accepted an amendment reducing a hazmat training grant from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency by $3,750 because classes were not held due to low attendance. They authorized submission of a State Homeland Security Grant application for up to $102,890, and approved submission and acceptance of an $83,597.58 state traffic safety grant for the Sheriff’s Office for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Equipment and other approvals: The board modified an earlier resolution to buy radios for the County Engineer’s Office from Clear Connections LLC for a total of $58,519.96, adding four radios. It approved a $2,500 moral obligation payment from general water funds to a resident for a service line repair where a defective curb valve, not the service line, was leaking. It acknowledged the Sheriff’s Jail Expenditure Report for September 2026, approved travel and expense allowances, and canceled the November 11, 2026 regular meeting. The board also approved the previous meeting’s minutes and the agenda in their entirety.
Updates: Thompson said OneOhio awards include $51,600 for Clark County Reentry’s digital recovery workforce access lab, $784,228 for McKinley Hall’s ERAM project and $150,001 for Project Woman’s crisis response programs. Ohio Land Bank Association’s fall summit brings about 200 land bank professionals to downtown Springfield next Wednesday and Thursday. Alex Dietz was elected to the Ohio Economic Development Association board. Fall at the Fairgrounds is next Saturday and Sunday, with $3 cash-only admission going to the dog shelter. The board also went into executive sessions after the meeting on pending litigation, purchase of property, and employment of a public employee.
Source: Clark County Board of Commissioners minutes, Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
By the numbers: Companies bought 26.6% of the City of Dayton homes sold in 2025, by county records. See the data. The Dayton metro had 402,200 nonfarm jobs in September 2026, compared with 398,900 a year earlier (BLS, preliminary). See the data.
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