Council approves emergency ordinance to pursue transit funds for Keer Road improvements

Sharonville City Council on April 14 approved emergency ordinance 2026-17-E, authorizing the city’s safety service director to prepare and submit a funding application to the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority for transit infrastructure funds to support improvements along Keer Road.

Safety Service Director Mr. Lucas described the project as ‘‘repaving from Reading Road up to ... basically to Grooms’’ and said the effort would include coordination with Great Parks for ‘‘some other improvements ... near the harbor,’’ such as sidewalk work and ‘‘a couple bus metro pulloff locations.’’ He also stated the city was pursuing ‘‘a 30% match 7030 match on that grant.’’

The ordinance was advanced under emergency procedures; council suspended rules to allow immediate effectivity and approved the measure by roll call. The six members recorded as voting "yes" were Mr. Cook, Mrs. Sharpsher, Mr. Lovevet, Mr. Cox, Mrs. Knight and Mr. Schmidt.

The action authorizes staff to move forward with the grant application and related coordination; no specific contract awards or construction timelines were included in the ordinance language presented to council. The council did not set an exact local share amount in the meeting discussion, and the safety service director indicated the grant-match structure in spoken remarks rather than a detailed budget line in the ordinance.

Next steps: staff will prepare and submit the application and return to council with any required contract or appropriation details if the grant is awarded.