City Council - Regular Meeting

I call to order and welcome you to the Middletown, Ohio City Council meeting for Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026. Please join me for a moment of meditation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. You will hear three taps of the gavel when it is time to stand. Please join me in a moment of meditation now. Clerk of Council, Mrs. Amy Skank, please call the attendance roll.

Mrs. Carter? Present. Mr. West? Here. Mr. Mulligan? Here. Mayor Slamka?

Present.

Mr. Lally?

Present.

The first item on the agenda this evening is citizen comments. A professional presentation free of foul language is expected. Speakers are encouraged to prepare remarks in advance to stay within the time limits. Citizen comments is not the time for debate, questions and answer, or any back and forth conversation with council or staff. This is a time for you, our residents, to be able to present in front of council on record, uninterrupted, and have the floor. Please note, after the meeting, your comment cards will be given to the city manager and she will assign a member of staff to reply to you as appropriate. We have received three comment cards this evening. I will prompt each speaker with their next steps when they reach the podium. I would like to call Jeff Payne to the podium. You may stand or sit as to your preference, and please adjust the microphone and speak directly into it at all times. Before we begin, please state your full name and Middletown resident's work address or interest in the city for the record. You will then have four minutes of uninterrupted speech. Please commence.

All right, thank you. Jeff Payne, 1050 Central Avenue, Executive Director, Downtown Middletown, Inc. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council, and Madam City Manager. On behalf of the Board of Directors and our many volunteers, I am here to express our sincere thanks to the City's assistance in helping DMI hold a successful Women's Wine and Chocolate Walk event for this year. The work provided by the City crews to prepare Downtown made it an enjoyable experience for our 700-plus visitors. Downtown's positive image was certainly on display. We received compliments throughout the day's events. While we're still in the process of finalizing our numbers, we can report that our ticket sales were roughly up by 100 over last year's sales, and our attendance was up by an equal number. In spite of the day starting with light drizzles, we ended up the day on a high note with plenty of sunshine. The downtown businesses that I have had an opportunity to speak to have all stated that it was a solid day with good sales. I want to mention that in addition to the city support, we could not have done this without our team of volunteers who contributed over 750 hours. This included planning team, prepping, uh, volunteers and volunteers that day in service to this event. In closing, I want to mention that downtown Middletown Inc is solely focused on assisting and promoting the downtown. A strong and vibrant downtown is part of the ingredients of a healthy community. The programs DMI create, initiatives and events that DMI facilitate are to bolster our existing businesses and attract new ones while enticing visitors who spend money downtown. Our mission is build. build a vibrant community, unified downtown businesses and organizations, improve downtown's image and appearance, leverage historical preservation, develop a strong economic base. Again, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Payne. Next, I would like to call Nancy Griffith to the podium. And you may stand or sit according to your preference. Please do adjust the microphone and speak directly into the microphone at all times. And before we begin, please state your full name and Middletown residents work address or interest in the city for the record. You will then have four minutes of uninterrupted speech. Please commence.

It's Nancy Griffith. The address is 63 South Main Street, Middletown, Ohio. I'm the current board president at the Sorg Opera House. Good evening, Madam Mayor and city council members. Most nights when I stand before city council, I'm talking about Paul J. Sorg, the man whose vision helped shape the city and whose legacy we continue to preserve through the Sorg Opera House. Tonight, however, I'd like to talk about a different friend of mine. Well, a friend I've come to know through history. Tonight, I'd like to talk about Simon Goldman, the man who built many of the homes in my neighborhood and left an enduring mark on Middletown. The more I've learned about Simon, the more I've come to appreciate something that I believe is fundamentally important. and I'm going to directly quote him when I say this. When we live among beautiful things, we become better citizens. Now, beauty isn't just about grand architecture or expensive projects. Beauty is about creating places that inspire pride, belonging, and stewardship. It's about building communities that people care about because they can see that someone cared enough to create them. When Simon built homes in my neighborhood, he wasn't simply putting up walls and roofs. He was helping create a sense of place. More than a century later, people still admire these homes. They still walk these streets and appreciate the craftsmanship, character, and the permanence that he left behind. This kind of beauty has value. When people live among beautiful things, they tend to care more about their surroundings. They maintain their properties. They become involved in communities. They volunteer. They develop a sense of responsibility for the place they call home. Beauty inspires investment, and not just in financial investment, but emotional investment. There is a tendency today to think that beauty is a luxury, something nice to have after all the practical needs have been met. But history tells us something different. The communities that thrive are often the communities that understand the importance of beauty, culture, recreation, and public spaces. They understand that people need more than infrastructure, They need inspiration. Which brings me something that may surprise some people here. The new pool isn't for me. People that are built like me are not equipped for the sun. I don't spend my summers swimming. I wasn't one of the first people through the gates when it opened. But the fact that this isn't for me doesn't take away from its beauty. I can still appreciate what it means to be a child learning to swim for the first time. I can appreciate what it means to a family looking for a safe place to spend an afternoon together. I can appreciate the joy, memories, and opportunities it will create for people throughout our community. Not everything has to be built specifically for me in order for me to recognize its value. In fact, one of the marks of a healthy community is the ability to celebrate things that benefit our neighbors, even when they aren't things we personally use. The same is true of historic preservation. Not everyone attends a concert at the Sorg. Not everyone visits every park. Not everyone visits a business big or small. Not everyone participates in every community program. Yet these things collectively make Middletown a better place to live. They give our city character. They give our city identity. They remind us that we are part of a story that began long before us and will continue long after us. Simon Goldman understood that. Paul J. Sorg understood that. They invested in more than buildings. They invested in civic pride. A city without beauty is simply a collection of structures. But a city with beautiful neighborhoods, public gathering spaces, parks, pools, and historic landmarks become a place where people want to live, raise families, and build memories. As we make a decision about Middletown's future, I hope we continue to remember that beauty matters. Historic buildings matter, parks matter, pools matter, neighborhoods matter, because when we live among beautiful things, we are reminded that our community is worth caring about.

That's time. Thank you. Thank you.

I have one more sentence, and I can email it to you if you guys want to hear it, but thank you for your time. I appreciate you.

Thank you very much. I would next like to call Ms. Dora Bronston to the podium. And please stand or sit according to your preference. Before we begin, please state your full name, oh, and please adjust the microphone and speak into it at all times. Please state your full name and Middletown residents work or just are interested in the city for the record. You will then have four minutes of uninterrupted speech. Please commence. Thank you.

I'm Dora Bronston, 4817 Earl Avenue, Middletown. My sinuses, so excuse my voice. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Amy, of course, and to all of you here. I'm here as a volunteer for the Dream Center. Deborah Patterson could not be here tonight, so I'm going to read this on her behalf. The Luella Thompson Dream Center, the founder of the Feed the Hungry Project in Middletown, she was a professional hairdresser and developed community member. She established the Feed the Hungry Project in 1987. after answering God's call to feed my people. What began as serving meals from her home grew through faith, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to helping neighbors in need. Ms. Deborah Patterson has exemplified her dedication to that vision and expanded it. In the spirit of her legacy, the Dream Center staff have tirelessly provided hot meals for breakfast and dinner five days a week, clothing, after-school programs, and essential assistance to the residents of Butler County, Ohio. The mission there is to feed the hungry, to provide nutritious hot meals and adequate clothing for those in need, while also providing a resourceful and friendly environment by empowering and encouraging hope as well as life-changing resources. They actively work to obtain funding through grants and donations. Their vision is with a strong infrastructure managed by a committed and dedicated board and staff, the Feed the Hungry will expand its ability to meet the needs of Middletown community. They believe that we can help them break cycles of poverty and add positive encouragement that will help them change. We will all advocate for programs and policy changes that will help alleviate hunger and food insecurity. an opportunity to serve. This is why I'm here tonight. The Feed the Hungry program will continue to recognize the value of providing an opportunity for volunteers to express their value through service. That being said, I am here to solicit your participation, donations for our Community Day event Saturday, this coming Saturday, June 6th at the Dream Center. The festivities will begin at 12 noon until 7 p.m. There will be live music, free food and giveaways, entertainment, health screenings, agency resources, bouncy houses, and activities for kids. And I know I've seen you, Councilman Lawley, at many of the events in the community as well as Vice Mayor and the Mayor and Councilman Joe Mulligan. I don't know about you, Steve. I don't know you as well. But anyway, I've seen your faces there, and hopefully you'll have an opportunity to come out. I have a flyer circulated among you. And like, again, I said, on June 6th, this Saturday, Community Day at Yankee Road, the little park area by Verity Parkway right there. And everyone is welcome. If someone needs a small reminder, I have some handouts for anyone here. if they'd like to get one. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Brunson. This concludes our public participation. The next agenda item is council comments. We will begin to my left with Council Member Lawley, followed by Vice Mayor Carter, and then to my right with Council Member West, followed by Council Member Mulligan. I will speak last. Mr. Lawley?

Thank you, Mayor Slankton. The first thing is I want to send out a congratulation to Middletown Bishop Fenwick High School boys volleyball team as they won the Ohio High School Division two state championship this past weekend. So that's a great accomplishment and it's another state championship in high school sports for the city of Middletown. So congratulations to Fenwick. For those of you who might not have anything to do this Saturday night, the Middletown Division of Fire will beat the Middletown, I mean they will play the Middletown Division of Police in a softball game at Lefferson Ballpark. So if you want to come out and watch some exciting home runs hit by the firefighters. Chief Morgan, are you playing? No. I mean, they won't even let me coach first base. But now it's going to be a good time. And so if you don't have anything to do, it'll be a pretty exciting thing to go out and watch. Is it 6 or 5? Yeah, 6 p.m. Thank you. That's all I have.

Thank you, Mr. Lawley. Vice Mayor Carter.

Good evening, Middletown. This is the season of graduation, so I want to salute all graduates and say good job. I had three women in my church... earned their doctorate. I wanna say their names, but then I don't know if that's proper, so I won't do that. I also wanna thank Middletown for showing up for the parade. It was fantastic. People lined the streets like, had not seen before so I want to thank the people who got this parade together and I want to say I love Middletown I think a lot of things are happening right now and will continue to happen so I'm done Thank You vice mayor mr. West Thank You mayor I'd like to echo Paul's congratulations Bishop Fenwick another state title especially in volleyball for that school and that's all I had mayor thank you absolutely Thank You mr. West mr. Mulligan

Thank you, Mayor. I'll add to the Vice Mayor's comments. Thank you to the volunteers and the organizers for the Middletown Memorial Day Parade and also the ceremony of remembrance at Woodside Cemetery that happened after the parade. I'm glad that so many residents were able to enjoy a beautiful day here in our city while we honored those who made sacrifices to ensure our freedom. I attended the third and final meeting regarding the potential redevelopment for the site of the former Vail Middle School and was happy to join with many stakeholders and residents to try to plot out the future for that 14 acre parcel. So more to come on that. I think city staff will be introducing an online survey on the city's website here in the near future. Also had the opportunity to attend a recent meeting with the Warren County Municipal League where several Warren County communities elected officials and staff members were present and they provided updates. And just to provide some feedback, the word on Middletown is very positive and they're excited about the development at Renaissance Point and the new hockey arena and event center, also the aquatic center at Atrium YMCA. Over the weekend, I did stop at Monsoon Bay, and to Ms. Griffith's point about building community and providing venues for families to get together. Pleased to report that many Middletown families, the parking lot was full and the pool was full with families over this weekend enjoying the great weather and the new facilities. So Tyler Roberts from the great Miami Valley YMCA is gonna report back later in the summer on headcount numbers, but it's off to a great start. So congratulations to all who made that possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mulligan. There's a lot going on this month, especially this weekend, and the Midpoint Library Middletown Suburban Reading Program has begun. It's for adults and children, and you just head on over to the library at 125 South Broad Street or go online to pick up your adventure log. You can then gain points for each book you read, each hour you read, if you attend library programs or complete fun activities. And then you can actually enter with regular books, audio books, comic books, graphic novels, you name it. And then you're entered to win different prizes. It's a lot of fun, and so for more information, please do visit midpointlibrary.org. And this runs from now, June 1st, until July 31st. This Friday, June 5th, is DMI's first Friday event, Caribbean Night, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Middletown, celebrating music, food, and culture. Join for live bands, including Love Locks, plus DJ Genius, food trucks, including Irie Smoothie, our very own local Middletown natural smoothie establishment, and 14 of our local downtown businesses providing specials to match the theme. For information, please visit downtownmiddletown.org. Also this Friday, June 5th, with doors opening at 7 p.m., the Sorg Opera House, located at 63 South Main Street, presents Grunge Fest, the ultimate tribute to the sound of a generation. For more information, please visit sorgoperahouse.org. This Friday and Saturday, June 5th and 6th, is the MAX, or the Middletown Art Center's annual event, In the Garden. Supported by the Middletown Garden Club, this is an elegant collection of garden-themed events featuring Friday's exclusive and ticketed In the Garden Gala from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday's free and open to the public Gather in the Garden garden-inspired event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a great day for the entire family. For more information, please visit MiddletownArtsCenter.com. ALSO THIS SATURDAY, I WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, JUNE 6TH FROM 12 PM TO 7 PM, JOIN IN AT 834 YANKEY ROAD FOR THE ANNUAL FEED THE HUNGRY PROJECT COMMUNITY DAY. THIS IS A DAY FULL OF FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT FEEDTHEHUNGRYPROJECT.ORG. ALSO THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 6TH FROM NOON TO 5, MOAM, OUR MIDDLETOWN OPEN AIR MARKET PRESENTS CRAFTERNOON DELIGHT. A celebration of all their crafters, artists, designers, and makers, including food trucks, woodworkers, cottage bakers, growers, beekeepers, book vendors, and more. Kids and pets are always welcomed. For more information, please visit MoAM's Facebook page. Also this Saturday, as Mr. Lally has said, June 6th, Middletown's Police Department and Fire Department face off in Battle of the Badges, a softball game at 6 p.m. at Lefferson Park. Squeaky Wheel's Cups and Cones and Vine Lemonade will be on site. For more information, please visit cityofmiddletown.org, hover over Residence, and click on City of Middletown Events. Also this Saturday, end your evening at the Sorg Opera House as they present Always Jovi, celebrating the music of Bon Jovi. For more information, ticket prices, and to watch a short video compilation of what Always Jovi delivers, please visit sorgoperahouse.org. Next Thursday, June 11th, Sounds at Sunset, located at Sunset Park at 218 Belmont Street, welcomes the David Mayfield Parade with opener Dead Centric. With food truck Cheese the Day and beer tent opening at 5.30 p.m., bring a blanket or a chair for this Grateful Dead and top-notch bluegrass event. For more information, please visit the Sounds at Sunset Facebook page. Next Friday, June 12th, is the eighth annual Middletown Pride Celebration from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Governor's Square in our beautiful and historic downtown. As always, everybody is welcome. Glitter is optional, but amazing attitudes and kind spirits are mandatory. For more information, please visit downtownmiddletown.org. Also next Friday, June 12th, starting at 6 p.m., Toast of the Town event presents the South Main Haunted Walking Tour. Join in as they delve into the rich tapestry of the city's past, exploring the homes, some rumored to be haunted, that have witnessed the rise and fall of generations. For more information, please visit thewindermere.com over special events and click on Paranormal Encounters. Next Saturday, June 14th, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., MoAM brings you Second Sunday with the theme of The Great Local Bake Off. Nothing brings community together more than the kitchen, and MoAM is gathering some of the area's most talented small bakers, cottage bakers, and home bakers together to let them flaunt their stuff. For more information, please visit MoAM's Facebook page. Also, please save the date of Tuesday, June 16th, as Frazier's Kitchen, located at 1206 Central Avenue, will be celebrating their one year anniversary with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. As a reminder, the city of Middletown accepts applications for our boards and commissions throughout the year, so if there is something that you have an interest in and you wish to give back to your city in this way, please do submit your application. To learn more, please visit the city's website at cityofmiddletown.org. Lastly, and as always, there are many ways to get involved with your community and give back. You can join a board or committee, run for office, apply for a job with the city, volunteer at the hospital, pick up trash in your neighborhood or park, plant a garden in your yard or balcony. Smile at a neighbor. Find joint satisfaction for a job well done in whatever work you do, or just have a positive and giving attitude. Find something that you can do regularly to give back. We are all connected, and we are all in this together. The care of our city is an adventure in which we all get to share. That is all from me tonight, and this concludes our council comments. Next on our agenda this evening is the city manager reports. City manager, Ms. Ashley Combs, you have the floor.

Good evening. So I would like to remind everyone that the next city council meeting on Tuesday, June 16th will be held at the event center of Middletown at 530. And if you'd like to arrive early, we'd love to show off the facility to you. Other than that, one presentation this evening by public works director Scott Tadish for the blocked railroad crossing wayfinding signage.

Good evening. So we talked about this a few weeks back, or maybe a few months back. So staff was directed to provide wayfinding signage options to account for railroad crossing blockages at First Avenue, Central Avenue, and Manchester Avenue adjacent to downtown. Over the past several years, extended blockages have occurred, leading to a great deal of frustration and confusion for the traveling public. Therefore, engineering, electronics maintenance, and public works maintenance personnel have developed a plan to help address this issue. The goal was to determine a cost-effective solution with minimal impact to the surrounding residential areas. The wayfinding signage will alert drivers to detour options when railroad crossings are blocked. A key component is determining signage placement and manner as to not overload all the existing signage but still provide enough for individuals to see and follow the entire detour route as long as it be up to all DOT standards. So here's a map showing Central Avenue eastbound traffic as you would be heading towards University. The green dots on this map, along with the other maps, are flashing signs tied to the existing traffic controllers that will flash when the crossings are activated. The orange dots are static wayfinding signs. So for this, as you're traveling eastbound on Central, if you came to a block crossing, the signage will take you to Charles Street, on to Reinhardt's, and then on to University to get around it. Again, this is similar. This is the First Avenue as you're approaching the First Avenue crossing eastbound. Now here you'd have to, we'd have signage back a little farther on First Avenue to hopefully catch you before you get to Grimes. Then from Grimes you would take Central to Charles to Rhine Arts, then back on to North University. This is a little bit complicated here on First because if you miss Grimes you're kind of stuck. We've even seen people turn around the wrong way on a one-way street to get around it, but we're hoping we can catch as many people as possible if they pull up here and get caught by the train. So here, this is coming southbound on North University as you're approaching the Ryan Arts Overpass. Now, this is where you see the green dot on the top right-hand side of the slide. That's, you know, and we'll show what it'll look like here in a minute, but that's where we'll have a flashing sign that will activate when the controllers, the traffic controllers at Central and First Avenue and Manchester, when they are activated for a, when that railroad crossing is activated. So that'll start lighting, telling you you can, you're approaching a block crossing. At this point, you can't really see the block crossing, but it's the best best way we thought we could catch people before before they got to the actual block crossing and then this is coming from the other direction on northbound university as you're approaching central avenue and the rest of the downtown crossings again we'd have a flashing light alerting you to the the blocked crossing and then detour signage would take you to to utilize the Ryan Arts overpass. And then again, back to Charles Street, back to Central Avenue. Here's a sample of the wayfinding signage. This is for a left turn. Just to note, these are 30 inch by 24 inch signs. So two and a half feet by two feet, give or take. Here's some proposed locations. Again, just these are for the left turning sign. Two on First Avenue approaching Grime Street. Then on the top right side, you have one in the median on eastbound Ryan Arts as you're coming off the overpass approaching Charles Street. And then on eastbound Central, we'll have one approaching Charles Street as well. And here's just the right turn signs. One will be located on eastbound Rhine Arts as you're coming up to the southbound off ramp to take you down onto University, which is also State Route 122. And then one will be located on northbound Charles approaching Rhine Arts, again, to direct you to take that overpass. We'll have a couple continue straight detour signs. Both of these will be on Charles Street, both southbound and northbound. And then here is the flashing blocked railroad crossing ahead sign. Just for dimension purposes, this is about six feet wide by... actually it's gonna be over a little bit six feet in height. This will obviously be mounted on metal poles. And again, it will flash when the crossings are activated. Here's the proposed locations for those as you're, again, approaching the downtown crossings from university, both southbound and northbound. So with that, we're estimating a total cost of around $30,000 for everything. We're thinking once we finalize this, it'll take maybe a month or so to install, just because we'll be doing most of the work in-house. But with that, I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Taddish. Do we have any questions or comments from council? I want to say this is great work. Thank you so much. I think it's going to make a very big difference. Some people from here don't necessarily know how to get around, but definitely our visitors when this happens.

I'm just used to it. I've lived here forever, so I know right where to go, but you're right. A lot of people, they pull up there and then they don't know what to do.

Absolutely, they look great. And I'm wondering, are there any other locations in the city where we have stopped traffic due to railroads, maybe on the south end, anywhere else?

Definitely at Oxford State and Yankee, although that one's tricky because the detour is huge to get around it.

But that is another spot.

I mean, you also have... Oh, the crossing at Cohen, I can't think of what the street is there, but.

Woodlawn?

That one's not as, yeah, Woodlawn, you're correct. That one's probably not as bad as others.

Yeah, and you can see the train going northbound. Right. Like you said earlier, you can't see it going southbound, so having it there before the overpass is really nice. Yes. So thank you very much.

Yeah, that will be tied together through like a cellular network with our traffic controller at the main intersection.

Well, thank you so much. Thank you. That's all for me, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Combs. Next on the agenda this evening is the consent agenda. While the consent agenda is generally for consensus items, do any council members wish to remove anything from the consent agenda this evening and move it to the motion agenda? Seeing none, we will continue. Mrs. Genk, please present the consent agenda.

Your consideration this evening, we have the approval of the city council minutes of may 19th, 2026 to receive and file the following board and commission minutes, the airport commission from March 16th, 2026, the library board for March 18th and April 15th, 2026 to accept the resignation of John graph from the airport commission. to confirm the conditional appointment of Tyler Dilbeck to the position of patrol officer in the Department of Public Safety, Division of Police, and to receive and file the oaths of office for Noah Arnold, Austin Jarboe, Ronald Koblen III, Tatiana Mendez, Story Musgrave, and Logan Vaughn.

Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

Motion.

Is there a second? Second. It has been probably moved and seconded to accept the consent agenda. We will proceed to vote. Mrs. Genk, please call the roll. Mr. West?

Yes.

Mr. Mulligan?

Yes. Mr. Slomka?

Yes. Mr. Lawley?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter? Yes. Yeses have it, and the motion passes. The consent agenda is approved. The next agenda item is the motion agenda. We have two items this evening. Mrs. Skank, please present item A on the motion agenda.

To authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with Donilon McCarthy Enterprises for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on various city-owned properties in an amount not to exceed $1,112,396 and 14 cents.

Thank you, Mrs. Skank. Ms. Combs, the staff report, please.

Middletown has received federal funding through the OKI Carbon Reduction Grant Program to install electric vehicle charging stations at four locations. The first being Smith Park, 15 level two charging stations. The second being the city building, five level two charging stations. The third being downtown parking lot behind Triple Moon Coffee, two DC fast charging stations. And the fourth at Jayco Park, two level two charging stations. Donnell McCarthy Enterprises submitted the lowest bid of $1,112,396.14 on May 27th, 2026. The funds are initially going to be spent from the capital fund and the OKI carbon grant will reimburse up to 100% of the cost up to 1.5 million.

Excellent. Thank you very much, Ms. Combs. Do I have a motion to approve item A, to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with the Nellen McCarthy Enterprises in an amount not to exceed $1,112,396.14? Motion. Is there a second? Second. Having been properly moved and seconded, is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will proceed to vote. Mrs. Genk, please call the roll. Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Mayor Slamka? Yes. Mr. Lawley?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter? Yes. Yes.

Mr. West?

Yes.

Yeses have it. The motion passes. Mrs. Skank, please present item B on the motion agenda.

To request a contract with NFP Corporate Services of Independence, Ohio for agent of record for our health care services in the amount of $64,000 each year for the period of August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2028. and $67,000 for the period of August 1, 2028 through July 31, 2029, with the option of three one-year renewals.

Thank you, Mrs. Skink. Ms. Combs, the staff report, please. The background of this request is that the City of Middletown's agent of record manages health care benefits for about 404 employees, ensuring compliance and providing advice. After 19 successful years with NFP,

an RFQ process that confirmed their value the city's health care committee recommends continuing to work with NFP funding is available in the budget to cover this expenditure thank you do have a motion to approve item B to request a contract with NFP corporate services of Independence Ohio for agent of record for our health care services in the amounts and times specified here motion is there a second second having been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion Hearing none, we will proceed to vote. Mrs. Genk, please call the roll. Mayor Slanko? Yes. Mr. Lally?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter?

Yes.

Mr. West? Yes.

Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Yeses have it, and the motion passes. This concludes the motion agenda. The next item on the agenda is legislation. We have six items of legislation this evening. Law Director Mr. Alex Ewing, the legislation, please.

Item number one, resolution number R2026-15, a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an Ohio Department of Development 629 road work development grant for the phase two roadway improvements at Renaissance Point and declaring an emergency.

Thank you, Mr. Ewing. Ms. Combs, do you have anything to add? I do not. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the resolution?

Motion.

Is there a second?

Second.

It has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will proceed to vote. Mrs. Genk, please call the roll.

Mr. Lally?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter? Yes. Mr. West?

Yes.

Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Mayor Slamko? Yes. Yeses have it, and the legislation passes. Next item, please, Mr. Ewing.

Item number two, ordinance number O2026-33, an ordinance authorizing all actions necessary to renegotiate the rate for the governmental natural gas aggregation program and declaring an emergency.

Thank you. Ms. Combs, do you have anything to add? I do not. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the ordinance?

Motion.

Is there a second? Second. It has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will proceed to vote. Mrs. Skank, please call the roll. Mrs. Carter?

Yes.

Mr. West?

Yes.

Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Mayor Slamka? Yes. Mr. Lally?

Yes.

This is having the legislation passes. Mr. Ewing, the next item, please.

Item number three, ordinance number O2026-34. An ordinance amending ordinance number O2025-68, establishing pay ranges and certain benefits for employee classifications in the Middletown Department of Health and Environment. Second reading.

Thank you. Ms. Combs, do you have anything to add? Nothing to add. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the ordinance?

Motion.

Is there a second?

Second.

That's been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, we proceed to vote. Mrs. Skank, please call the roll. Mr. West?

Yes.

Mr. Mulligan? Yes. Mayor Sienka? Yes. Mr. Lawley?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter? Yes. The yeses have and the legislation passes. Mr. Ewing, the next item, please.

Item number four, ordinance number O2026-35, an ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum principal amount of $8,200,000 in anticipation of the issuance of bonds for the purpose of paying the cost of the acquisition of the town mall and related structures located on parcel numbers 703-153-006, 703-176-040, 703-176-01, and 703-172-002 and costs related and cost-related due diligence, title work, and design services, together with all necessary appurtenances thereto, all in support of economic development and job creation within the city. Second reading.

Thank you, Mr. Ewing. Ms. Combs, do you have anything to add? I do not. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Combs. Is there a motion to approve the ordinance?

Motion.

Is there a second?

Second.

It has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will proceed to vote. Mrs. King, please call the roll. Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Mayor Slamka? Yes. Mr. Lawley?

Yes.

Mrs. Carter? Yes. Mr. West?

Yes.

Yeses have, and the legislation passes. Mr. Ewing, the next item, please.

Item number five, ordinance number O2026-36, an ordinance authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation for resurfacing of South University Boulevard from the Roosevelt slash University Boulevard overpass to Lafayette Avenue. First at reading.

Thank you. Ms. Combs, the staff report, please.

The city of Middletown has secured federal funding through the okay, I resurfacing program for this project scheduled for construction in 2027 city staff will design and manage construction or dot LPA program in accordance with federal guidelines. The program or the project cost is estimated 1.5 million with okay, I covering up to 800,000 the city share will be 700,000 which will pay paid through the paving levy fund.

Thank you, Ms. Combs. As this is a first reading, there is no action to be taken at this time. However, is there any discussion from council?

No?

I just wanted to say great job to staff for finding this grant. It's a big one. Okay, so that concludes that. Hearing none, we'll proceed. Mr. Ewing, the last legislation item, please.

Item number 6, resolution number R2026-16, a resolution authorizing transfers from the stormwater fund and solid waste fund to the general fund for repayment of prior year advances. First reading.

Thank you. Ms. Combs, the staff report, please.

This staff report requests authorization of repayment in $700,000 in temporary advances from the general fund to the stormwater fund and the solid waste fund. Full repayment of $200,000 loan to the stormwater fund, fund 515 issued in December 2025. Full repayment of a $500,000 loan to the solid waste fund, fund 555 issued in December 2025. This will increase the general fund balance by $700,000. The only alternative is to not repay the loan advances, and this is a non-emergency matter.

Thank you, Ms. Combs. As this is a first reading, there is no action to be taken at this time. However, is there any discussion from counsel? Hearing none, we will proceed and this concludes the legislation for the evening. The next item on the agenda is unfinished business. Do any council members have anything they would like to present under unfinished business? We did have the reviewing of the citizen comment policy. Are we ready and prepared to see that tonight?

Yes.

Okay, let's go ahead and pull that up. This slide. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. So again, it looks like the bigger changes are moving from four minutes, being proposed are four minutes to three and a half minutes per speaker, and to move from an allotted total of 60 minutes for public comment to 35 minutes total for public comment at any given regular city council meeting. and to require Middletown residents. Oh, no, I think we changed that, didn't.

Yes. So so this does allow for Middletown residents and then for owners or representatives of businesses or nonprofit organizations located in the city to speak.

Okay, so that's like executive directors, things like that?

Yes.

Okay. Is there any discussion?

I have just one other thing to add was that we did, in the prior version that we discussed, I think it was two meetings ago, we had a requirement about presentation of residency status or documentation, and we removed that as well. So it's going to follow kind of the current practice of stating your address.

stating the address, so you still must be a Middletown resident.

Correct.

There's no requirement for approving that before the meeting.

Correct.

Any comments or questions? Okay, in that case, I move to approve the new citizen comment slide as presented. Is there a second?

Second.

It has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? All right, hearing none, we'll proceed to vote. Mrs. Skank, please call the roll.

Mayor Slamka.

Yes.

Mr. Lally.

Yes.

Mrs. Carter?

Yes.

Mr. West?

Yes.

Mr. Mulligan?

Yes.

Yeses have and the motion passes. Thank you everyone who worked on that. Is there anything else under unfinished business for anyone on council? No? All right. Then that concludes unfinished business. The next item on the agenda is new business. Do any council members have any new business they would like to present this evening? hearing none that concludes new business this concludes our regular city council meeting for Middletown Ohio Tuesday June 2nd 2026 at 6 14 p.m. this meeting is adjourned until Tuesday June 16th 2026 at 5 30 p.m. in the event center of Middletown for our next regular city council meeting thank you and good night