Mayor Kessler highlights $17.7 million in grants, parks and safety initiatives in State of the Community

BEXLEY — Mayor Ben Kessler used the annual State of the Community address to highlight completed and planned capital projects, grant awards and safety programs that city leaders said are reshaping public space and services.

"The state of our community is strong," Kessler told attendees, reviewing work completed in 2025 such as the pedestrian and cyclist bridge and the new Schneider Park skate park and outlining planned projects including a permanent senior center, an interactive esplanade in Commonwealth Park and Livingston Avenue infrastructure work.

Kessler said the city had leveraged outside funding and regional partners to support projects; combined, he said, the projects discussed were supported by about $17,700,000 in grant funding, "that's almost our entire general fund budget for the year," he said. The mayor also highlighted solar carports at the police station (roughly 150 kilowatts of capacity) and announced a federally funded, one-year synagogue auxiliary officer program funded at $650,000.

The mayor described operational and public-safety work — snow clearing, water-line replacements, code enforcement staffing increases, and Slow Down Bexley — and announced new services such as AquaHawk for household water monitoring and a loan program using property-tax assessments to help homeowners replace water lines. He also noted the city is posting and filling a social-services coordinator position to connect residents to wraparound supports.

Kessler framed many projects as the result of multi-jurisdictional partnerships with the Bexley Community Foundation, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, state capital funds and federal programs, and encouraged continued community engagement as design guidelines and public-art planning move forward.