Those projects include $27.5 million toward upgrades at Mason’s Western and Southern Open professional tennis tournament; $8.5 million for an interchange outside of Liberty Twp. in Butler County; $2 million to restore the historic Wright Brothers factory in Dayton; and $4 million to create a new sports wellness complex in Springfield.
“These are projects that people notice because they make a difference every day in their neighborhood,” said Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, in a Monday statement.
See the table below for a list of the House’s and Senate’s proposed local projects and their earmarks.
| COUNTY | PROJECT | House | Senate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | Millikin Interchange Improvements | $8,500,000 | $8,500,000 | |
| Butler | Madison Township Firehouse Improvements | $1,750,000 | $1,750,000 | |
| Butler | BCRTA Outdoor Workforce Training | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Butler | Riversedge Amphitheater Expansion | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Butler | Shuler Benninghofen Mixed-Use Project | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Butler | VOA MetroPark Museum Grand Entrance | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Butler | Oxford Student Safety Project | $800,000 | $800,000 | |
| Butler | Liberty Playground Replacement Project | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Butler | Madison Township Park Revitalization | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Butler | Welding Lab Program Expansion in Fairfield Township | $231,540 | $218,460 | $450,000 |
| Butler | Great Miami Trail Corridor | $400,000 | $400,000 | |
| Butler | Hamilton YWCA Domestic Violence Project | $400,000 | $400,000 | |
| Butler | World Class Clubs: Repairing Community Gymnasium | $225,000 | $225,000 | |
| Butler | Boys and Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty | $218,796 | $218,796 | |
| Butler | VFW Roof Repairs West Chester Post 7696 | $7,875 | $7,685 | $15,560 |
| Champaign | Champaign Aviation Museum Improvements | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| Clark | Champion City Sports and Wellness Center | $4,000,000 | $4,000,000 | |
| Clark | A.B. Graham Memorial | $375,000 | $375,000 | $750,000 |
| Clark | Champion Center Arena Improvements | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Darke | Western Ohio Regional Fire Training Facility | $750,000 | $750,000 | |
| Darke | Eldora Speedway Public Safety Upgrades | $400,000 | $400,000 | |
| Darke | Historic Bear's Mill Infrastructure Restoration | $275,000 | $275,000 | |
| Darke | The Darke County Fish and Game Association | $120,000 | $120,000 | |
| Greene | Future Development of Wright-Patterson | $1,000,000 | $2,500,000 | $3,500,000 |
| Greene | Skyway SCIF Center | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Greene | Spring House Park: Phase One | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Greene | WSU: Archive Facility Upgrades | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Greene | OhioMeansJobs Greene County Improving Accessibility Project | $175,000 | $175,000 | |
| Greene | Ohio Veterans' Children's Home Expansion and Upgrade, Phase 1 | $150,000 | $150,000 | |
| Miami | Troy Great Miami River Recreation Connectivity Project | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | |
| Miami | Troy-Miami County Public Library Improvements | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Miami Chapel Inspire Zone Youth Workforce Development Center - Boys & Girls Club | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Montgomery | Dayton Aviation Heritage Site (Wright Factory) | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Montgomery | Dayton International Airport Concourse B | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Future Development of Wright-Patterson | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Healthy Family Market / Dayton Children's Pediatric Center | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Tri-Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Kettering Business Park | $1,250,000 | $1,250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Community Health Centers of Greater Dayton-West Carrollton Health Center Construction | $500,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Montgomery | Countryside Park Revitalization | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Ronald McDonald House of Dayton | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Schuster Center | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Union Ring Road Completion Project - Phase II | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Uptown Centerville Connectivity and Development Improvements | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Montgomery | Harrison Township Police Headquarters Renovation | $750,000 | $200,000 | $950,000 |
| Montgomery | Saint Vincent de Paul Community Donation Intake Facility | $800,000 | $800,000 | |
| Montgomery | Homefull Housing, Food and Jobs Center | $500,000 | $250,000 | $750,000 |
| Montgomery | Jefferson Township Community Improvements | $600,000 | $600,000 | |
| Montgomery | BOLT Innovation Center | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Centerville Schools Safety Access | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Dayton Dream Center Transitional Housing | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Montgomery | East End Whole Family Services Hub Facility Expansion and Renovation in Dayton | $300,000 | $200,000 | $500,000 |
| Montgomery | Union Ring Road Completion Project - Phase III | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Montgomery | Robinette Park | $400,000 | $400,000 | |
| Montgomery | Homefull's Healthy Start Child Care & Early Learning Center West Dayton | $350,000 | $350,000 | |
| Montgomery | Dayton Airshow | $300,000 | $300,000 | |
| Montgomery | Germantown Covered Bridge | $275,000 | $275,000 | |
| Montgomery | Dayton Clothes that Work! Facility Improvements | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Flyghtwood Sports Life and Leadership Campus | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Grant Park Accessibility Improvements | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | K-12 Gallery and TEJAS Acquisition Project | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Miami Township Public Works | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Old North Dayton Park Expansion Project | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Montgomery | Catholic Social Services Supervised Visitation Center | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Montgomery | Dayton Alvis, Inc. | $195,149 | $195,149 | |
| Montgomery | Boys and Girls Club of Dayton | $154,851 | $154,851 | |
| Montgomery | Preservation of Dayton Woman's Club Historic Mansion | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
| Montgomery | West Memory Gardens Flood Mitigation Project | $75,000 | $75,000 | |
| Montgomery | German Township Channel Maintenance | $60,000 | $60,000 | |
| Montgomery | Miamisburg Historical Society Improvements | $40,000 | $40,000 | |
| Preble | Preble County Fairgrounds Stall Barns | $700,000 | $700,000 | |
| Preble | Preble Gratis Well Reconstruction | $50,000 | $50,000 | |
| Warren | Cincinnati Open Tennis Tournament | $13,750,000 | $13,750,000 | $27,500,000 |
| Warren | Warren County Ion Exchange Project | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Warren | Waynesville Girl Scout Camp Improvements | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Warren | VFW Roof Repairs Mason Post 9622 | $5,045 | $4,924 | $9,969 |
The Senate’s proposal is the first look at what the full bill would look like since the pool of money was set aside last summer. The one-time strategic investment fund is made up of surplus state tax revenue, created in part because Ohio, like all states, received billions in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that offset much of the state’s spending over the biennium.
It comes several months after the House passed its version of the bill, opting to portion out only half of the funds while leaving the rest to the Senate.
Senate GOP caucus spokesperson John Fortney told this news organization that the Senate’s proposal is the result of mutual deliberations between the House and the Senate, quelling concerns circulating the Statehouse that the state’s historic fund might be a sticking point between the state’s often warring chambers.
“Bottom line it is all coming together well,” Fortney wrote in a text.
The Senate plans to hold public hearings on its proposal on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week — a step the House didn’t take when it passed its bill shortly before the March primaries.
Senate documents comparing the House and Senate projects show that the House’s proposals have been left intact. In some cases, the Senate added entirely new projects, such as $8.5 million for the Millikin Interchange improvements in Butler County; while in other cases the Senate merely just added funding to projects already identified by the House.
In a statement, House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, hinted that the House will be ready to move on a final version of the bill once the Senate solidifies its plan “so Ohio can realize the benefits of these transformational investments as quickly as possible.”
In a statement, Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, highlighted several Montgomery County projects that he said will “make a difference in the lives of many,” including a $2 million investment into the Great Miami River Recreation Connectivity Project, which will be used for “the design, engineering, and construction of this project to allow for the direct connection to the newly created multi-use trail and for recreational paddlers to access the river; and construction of a pedestrian pathway.”
Sen. Steve Huffman was Montgomery County’s only voice in the Senate’s deliberations given that Dayton-area Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miami Twp., opted not to meet with local organizations interested in the funds, nor did he submit a list of priorities to Senate leadership by the deadline.
When this news organization asked Antani about his decision last month, he said he vehemently opposed the one-time strategic investment fund on the grounds of fiscal conservatism. He called the state’s plan “completely unacceptable” and said any surplus funds Ohio had ought to go toward a tax refund.
“As somebody who plans to vote against this if this ever comes up for a vote, it simply would be hypocritical of me to submit a list for something that I’m going to vote against,” Antani said.
Butler County Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester, told this news organization that his priority was on securing funding for “huge” economic development projects like the Shuler Benninghofen renovation project and the Riversedge Ampitheater plans in Hamilton.
“I’m very pleased with what we’ve done,” Lang said. “Butler County is going to be well taken care of.”
The Senate’s proposal also rights what Clark County Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, perceived as a wrong when his sole priority, Springfield’s proposed $7 million Champion City Sports and Wellness Center project, had been overlooked by the House’s Republican leadership back in March.
Willis told this news organization that he thanks the Senate for putting $4 million into the project, but added another ask: “Now it is imperative that the House leadership rework their allocation to ensure we fully fund that project,” he said.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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