The legislation is expected to provide $2.6 billion for big ticket projects such as renovating prisons and building university facilities. Typically, lawmakers carve out about $150 million for local community projects but the requests lists usually far exceed the available funding.
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House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said he expects lawmakers will begin discussing the capital budget requests early next week.
The Dayton Development Coalition, Dayton Area Chamber and Greater Springfield Chamber submitted two lists to Householder: two dozen projects for Montgomery County, four for Clark, two for Clinton and two for Greene and one each for the counties of Champaign, Darke, Mercer, Miami, Preble, and Shelby.
All told, the requested funding for the 38 projects totals $44.6 million.
The local community leaders put the projects in order of priority, on two lists — one for Montgomery County and one for the rural counties.
The top three projects for Montgomery County:
— $2.5 million toward a $13.87 million National Aerospace Electric Power Innovation Center at University of Dayton;
— $50,000 toward an $11 million Hope Center for Families being built by Omega Community Development Corp.;
— $500,000 toward a $12.8 million parking garage in the Oregon District.
The University of Dayton wants to create an innovation center that would be based on its campus in a partnership with GE Aviation, Sinclair Community College and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The goal for the partnership is to bring together experts to keep the Dayton area at the forefront of electric power advances, according to its application for funding.
GE Aviation would provide funding for 20 new highly-paid salaried professionals to execute the prototyping efforts, training, tooling, and provide facility cost sharing as the anchor tenant of the innovation center.
Sinclair and UD would send have students study and help create research at the center.
“This training for the future will ensure the region has the highest quality workforce to attract additional advanced manufacturing to the region,” the group’s application says.
The Hope Center is a $11 million project that will provide access to services in health care, skill-set and workforce development and education. The new center at 1816 Harvard Blvd. will help remove obstacles to employment related to problems like addiction and lack of literacy and basic education.
The center plans to address racial and ethnic health disparities and will house a childcare center, after-school mentoring programs and other educational programs and service learning activities.
“We believe this could make an incredible impact on our city,” said Vanessa Ward, president of the Omega Community Development Corp.
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The top three other projects in surrounding counties are:
— $2.5 million for a $4 million Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Center in the city of Springfield;
— $3 million toward a $7.6 million workforce development center at Wright State University’s Lake Campus in Mercer County;
— $2.5 million toward a $2.75 million de-icing infrastructure improvement project at Wilmington Air Park.
David Gallagher, flight operations manager at the Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center, said the Springfield-based center is helping lead the way for unmanned aircraft operations across the country.“
“We are going through an aerial revolution right now,” Gallagher said.
Formed in 2013, the $5 million Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center manages and performs all unmanned aircraft operations for the Ohio Department of Transportation, according to the UAS Center’s website.
“We primarily conduct flight operations using small quadcopters, or little aircrafts that can fly around bridges and road construction projects,” Gallagher said.
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State capital funding requests for Montgomery County
Project, Sponsor, Amount Requested
National Aerospace Electric Power Innovation Center, University of Dayton, $2.5 million
Hope Center for Families, Omega Community Development Corp., $50,000
Oregon East Parking Garage, Dayton/Montgomery Port Authority, $500,000
West Dayton Community Services Center, Goodwill Easter Seals of Miami Valley, $500,000
Downtown signage, Downtown Dayton Partnership, $500,000
YWCA Dayton building renovation, YWCA Dayton, $725,000
Dayton’s Imagination District infrastructure, onMain Inc., $5 million
Heritage Hall & Education Center, National Aviation Hall of Fame, $1 million
Skilled Trade & Advanced Manufacturing Training Hub, Sinclair Community College, $500,000
North Arcade Commercial Kitchen, city of Dayton, $1 million
Ellis Human Development Institute renovation, Wright State University, $440,000
The Contemporary Dayton move to the Arcade, DVAC, $250,000
Boonshoft Museum improvements, Dayton Society of Natural History, $650,000
Comprehensive Outpatient Program Expansion, OneFifteenRecovery, $2 million
FifthThird Field improvements, city of Dayton, $3.97 million
Sunrise MetroPark, Five Rivers MetroParks, $582,884
21st Century Boys & Girls Club, Boys & Girls Club of Dayton, $2.5 million
Chapel preservation, Woodland Arboretum Foundation, $1 million
West Dayton Farmers Market, Homefull, $1.8 million
405 Xenia Ave market redevelopment, East End Neighborhood Development Corp., $282,700
Ballroom improvements, Victoria Theatre Association, $1.12 million
SteAm Collaboratory, K12 Gallery & TEJAS, $435,500
Wolf Creek bikeway connector, Five Rivers MetroParks, $688,378
Sears rehabilitation, Trotwood Community Improvement Corp., $350,000
Source: Dayton Development Coalition
State capital funding requests, ranked by priority, for rural county-based projects in the Miami Valley:
Project, Sponsor, Amount Requested
Springfield Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Center, city of Springfield, $2.5 million
Wright State Lake Campus workforce center, WSU, $3 million
Wilmington Air Park de-icing project, Clinton County Port Authority, $2.5 million
Renovation, Springfield Museum of Art, $902,800
Archives Center, WSU, $873,053
Miami Valley Research Park improvements, city of Beavercreek, $320,000
Fiber optics expansion, Clark County, $550,000
Downtown riverfront park improvements, city of Piqua, $490,000
Canal Feeder Trail, city of Sidney, $750,000
Swine and community pavillion, Dark County Agricultural Society, $710,000
Education center, Wild Hearts Zoological Society, $850,000
Gloria Theatre renovation, GrandWorks Foundation, $1.3 million
Performing Arts Center improvements, Clark State Community College, $3.6 million
Masonic Lodge redevelopment, Clinton County Port Authority, $2 million
Source: Dayton Development Coalition
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