City Council approves stormwater truck, road‑design contract and adopts bond‑defeasance ordinance

Middletown City Council approved several routine and fiscal items at its Nov. 4 meeting, including personnel appointments, a vehicle purchase for stormwater operations and a design contract for street improvements.

Consent agenda: The council approved the consent agenda by roll call. The items listed were conditional appointments of Christopher Lucas, Lacey Fuller and Evan Snelling as corrections officers in the Public Safety Department (division of police) and acceptance of the resignation of Anthony Rosai from the Historic Commission.

Truck purchase: Council authorized the purchase of a 2026 Ford F‑550 from Rush Truck Centers of Cincinnati through the cooperative SourceWell program for use by the stormwater division at a cost of $118,392.92. Staff said the 2011 F‑450 with more than 100,000 miles will be sold on GovDeals and that the new vehicle will serve as the primary response vehicle and carry heavy‑duty maintenance equipment.

Road‑project design contract: The council authorized the city manager to enter into a contract with Crawford, Murphy & Tilley, Inc. for design work on the Middletown Road Improvements PY‑40 project in an amount not to exceed $123,650. Staff reported the city has applied for Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant funding to support resurfacing, curb, sidewalk and ramp repairs; funds for the contract will be paid from the Capital Improvements Fund if the grant is awarded.

Ordinances and readings: The council adopted Ordinance O2025‑60 (described by staff as authorizing application of Warren County Career Center funds to defease or redeem bonds related to the Community Learning Center and to adjust related transaction documents) as an emergency measure. Council also approved Ordinance O2025‑61 (a procurement procedure for asphalt purchases in 2026) on its second reading. Two additional ordinances were presented for first reading only and required no vote: O2025‑62 (a proposed two‑year lease extension with Mark Cakeras d/b/a Marks Towing for police towing services at $100 per tow and use of land at 3500 Terry Drive; staff noted Marks handles about 1,100 tows annually and has served the city since 2013) and O2025‑63 (an amendment to the jail health care contract with TriHealth Corporate Health/Bethesda Healthcare, Inc.; staff said a 2026 renewal could reach $204,880 and funds were included in the 2026 budget).

Votes at a glance: The motions and ordinances taken at the meeting passed by roll call with all voting members present recorded as voting yes. (The transcript records unanimous roll‑call approval for the consent agenda, truck purchase, design contract and the two adopted ordinances.)

Funding and next steps: The truck purchase was procured through SourceWell; the road design contract will proceed pending grant processing and the Capital Improvements Fund allocation. The ordinance adopting funds to defease bonds was adopted as an emergency and will proceed under the terms described in the ordinance text.

Context: City Manager Ashley Combs and staff provided details for each item during the staff reports; first readings for the towing lease and jail health care contract preserve council’s ability to consider those matters at subsequent meetings.