Council approves appropriations, paving and pickleball court contracts; hears public comments on homelessness, opioid settlement funds and sister-city aid

The Wilmington City Council approved several financial and procurement measures and heard a string of public comments on homelessness, opioid-settlement funding and international sister-city aid.

On unanimous votes the council passed Ordinance 25-15, making supplemental appropriations; Resolution 25-07, authorizing the parks and recreation director or public service director to enter competitively bid agreements for Denver Williams Park Pickleball Courts using a dedicated grant; and Resolution 25-08, authorizing advertising for bids for the 2025 residential paving program and authorizing the public service director to contract with the lowest and best bidder. All three measures were advanced by first reading and carried after motions to suspend the rules; each passed on roll-call votes recorded as 7–0.

Ordinance 25-15 covered multiple accounting transfers and supplemental appropriations discussed at the council’s workshop. The council identified funding moves including a transfer involving the cemetery fund and an $81,815 engineering-related entry, appropriations to finish the South Street improvements project (work expected to be completed in late June), and a $50,000 transfer to begin a Safety Campus feasibility study. Resolution 25-08 authorizes advertising for bids and execution of the residential paving contracts; councilmembers said the paving will focus on the city’s northeast and northwest quadrants. Resolution 25-07 authorizes the parks director and public service director to execute grant-related construction agreements for pickleball courts at Denver Williams Park; councilmembers clarified the courts will be paid from a dedicated grant rather than general-tax revenues.

Public safety and operations: The safety director reported public-safety incidents since the last meeting, including an accidental foam-system discharge at the air park (no fatality), a traffic stop that yielded a large quantity of seized drugs and two firearms, and a recent string of five vehicle thefts with three recoveries attributed to coordinated detective work. The police department is testing new tablet computers in patrol cruisers and has installed new data-reporting software for dispatch and incident tracking. The city named Rhonda Bailey, previously with the county sheriff’s dispatch center, as the new full-time dispatch supervisor.

Public comments: Several residents urged action on homelessness and suggested local uses of opioid-settlement monies. Patricia Thomas recounted local housing moves and said, “I know 9 women who over the past 6 months have moved off the street into a place of their own.” Gary Huffenberger described a mobile-hygiene project in Circleville called "Soap and Hope," noting it cost about $85,000 there and is a 32-foot trailer equipped with three shower stalls and laundry machines; he recommended the council and county consider using part of local 1Ohio opioid-settlement dollars for similar projects. Huffenberger cited figures presented during the meeting showing the city’s 1Ohio balance as $80,963 and Clinton County’s balance as $516,889, for a combined total of about $597,852 available locally at the time of his comment. Christine Snyder, representing the Mardaifah sister-city committee, summarized three years of fundraising and said the local committee has sent $10,000 by mid-April 2022 and $25,000 by December to support humanitarian aid in the Ukrainian sister cities.

Other public speakers included Eric Westerberg, Chuck Watts (who urged the council to consider adopting a "human rights city" framework), Scott Miller of the Wilmington Area Ministerial Association (urging collaborative approaches), and Elaine Silverstrom (who offered a draft resolution affirming Wilmington’s sister-city relationship and asked the city legal counsel to review it).

Procedural items: The judiciary committee gave first reading on Ordinance 25-16, which would amend city code to add motorized bicycles and e-scooters to riding-on-sidewalk rules; the committee scheduled a second reading for March 28. Toward the end of the meeting the council moved for executive session under Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(g)(3) (conferences with the city attorney regarding pending or imminent court action) and Section 121.22(g)(1) (personnel matters); the motion carried and the council moved into executive session by roll call.

Ending: Council members said they would provide the public with timing information for upcoming hearings and follow up on the feasibility study and paving procurements as bid packages and schedules are finalized.