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Xenia council approves H2Ohio grant and emergency appropriations for Central State campus monitoring, legal fees and housing loans
Summary
City council approved an emergency ordinance to appropriate a $147,455.67 H2Ohio grant for telemetry/engineering work at Central State University and approved related appropriations including $40,000 for outside legal fees and $43,037.38 in returned housing-loan funds to the county program.
Xenia City Council on July 10 approved an emergency ordinance to accept a $147,455.67 H2Ohio grant administered by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and to appropriate that money for telemetry work and an engineering study at Central State University’s campus, along with two other appropriations for legal fees and returned housing-loan proceeds.
Finance Director Ryan Duke told the council the H2Ohio funds are 100% reimbursable and would be used first to install a SCADA/telemetry connection to Central State’s elevated water tank and then to fund a study of the university’s water and sewer infrastructure. Duke said the grant will be reimbursed to the city and “no city dollars” from the water fund would be used for the work.
The ordinance package also added $40,000 in appropriations for specialized outside legal services—Duke said unexpected labor and other legal matters increased costs this year—and $43,037.38 returned to the city from long‑ago housing rehabilitation loans that must be used for housing improvement purposes; those funds are to be sent to Greene County for administration of the CHIP program.
City Manager Brent Merriman described the telemetry connection as the immediate priority because linking Central State’s elevated tank to the city SCADA system will provide alarm notifications at the city’s water treatment plant and allow staff to react to pressure loss and other events sooner. Merriman said the city must be the grant recipient because the H2Ohio program provides funds to water suppliers, not to customers.
Council asked timing and program questions. Councilman Reynolds asked when the study would be done; staff said installation of the telemetry/SCADA system is the near-term priority and estimated the study might be completed by year‑end but did not guarantee a date. Duke estimated the telemetry installation component at about $30,000 and suggested roughly $115,000 could remain for a more comprehensive system evaluation, saying staff would “get as much as we can for that amount.”
Council voted to adopt the ordinance as an emergency. The motion to approve the emergency ordinance was moved and seconded during the meeting; the roll call vote recorded all council members present voting aye.
Why it matters: city officials said Central State’s utility infrastructure connects directly to the city’s water system and failures at the campus can rapidly affect citywide supply. The grant, officials said, reduces financial risk to the city because the project will be 100% reimbursed and will fund both instrumentation and an engineering review intended to reduce future vulnerabilities.
Implementation notes: staff said they will need an access agreement with Central State for equipment installation and for campus review. Council also separately approved a related resolution accepting the H2Ohio funds so staff can move forward on the procurement and access work immediately.
Votes at a glance: ordinance 2025-16 (emergency appropriations including H2Ohio grant): Passed 6–0 (see Actions). Resolution 2025-36 (accept H2Ohio grant): Passed 6–0 (see Actions).
No additional city match was required and staff said the only city investment is staff time to administer the grant and negotiate access with the university.
