Kettering council approves safety grants, project spending and Barnes building MOU; joins Purdue Pharma settlement

Kettering — The Kettering City Council on Aug. 12 approved a package of resolutions and appropriations that city officials said will fund immediate maintenance needs, advance a long‑term streets project, support housing rehabilitation and preserve a historic school building in downtown Kettering.

Council voted to accept a $2,500 community safety grant from CenterPoint Energy for the fire department to expand placement of thermal‑imaging cameras into jump seats on engines and ladder trucks to help firefighters find people in low‑visibility conditions. "This is an expansion of our thermal imaging camera program…this will allow our crews to go in and find missing persons in blacked‑out conditions," said the fire chief.

The council also unanimously authorized the city manager to apply for federal lead hazard reduction and Healthy Homes grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Staff said the planned application requests $1.3 million for lead hazard reduction and $400,000 in supplemental healthy homes funding, prioritizing owner‑occupied homes with incomes below 80% of area median income and families with children under 6. City staff said they anticipate serving about 440 people over the four‑year grant period (roughly 10 homes per year).

In economic‑development actions, the council approved a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to support adaptive reuse of the Dwight L. Barnes building at 3750 Far Hills Ave., a historic school property owned by Kettering City Schools. The MOU lays out potential city support including tax‑increment financing, an income tax incentive program of up to 10 years and a historic‑preservation grant of up to $500,000 to help stabilize and repurpose the building for administrative offices, co‑working, meeting and event space. "The Dwight L. Barnes building…is a historically significant building that sits in a prominent location in the heart of our community," said the city manager in a presentation on the proposal.

Council also approved routine municipal items: a contract amendment for traffic‑signal maintenance (raising available spending to $42,000 because of crash‑related equipment damage), an additional $40,000 for TEC Engineering to design street lighting on Dorothy Lane (raising the city’s cumulative contract cap to $100,000 for general engineering services), and demolition contracts for three properties at an estimated $74,555 to remove blighted structures. Staff explained ownership and funding sources for each demolition.

On housing policy, council adopted amended housing rehabilitation program guidelines described by staff as intended to ease homeowner participation and avoid defaults. Under the revisions, a forgivable 0% interest loan would forgive 20% of principal each year for five years; deferred loans would require repayment when the property is sold; and very low‑income households may qualify for up to $15,000 in grant assistance for emergency repairs, lead paint abatement and accessibility modifications.

The council also approved supplemental appropriations totaling $595,932 for fiscal 2025. Finance staff said the package includes $15,000 to cover the increased traffic‑signal maintenance contract, $18,800 to meet a local match requirement for a brownfield remediation grant related to the former Cheerheart Cleaners property, and $562,132 for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and related program income.

One item of legal significance: the council authorized the city to accept the One Ohio subdivision settlement with Purdue Pharma LP and certain Sackler‑related parties and to authorize execution of documents needed to participate in the Chapter 11 plan. City legal staff explained that because Purdue Pharma is in bankruptcy, the settlement and any distributions must be effectuated through the reorganization plan and that the city, as a creditor, is entitled to vote on the plan.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of July 22 minutes: Approved (roll call: majority yes; Mr. Duval abstained). - CenterPoint Energy community safety grant ($2,500): Approved (unanimous yes on roll call). - Participation in One Ohio/Purdue Pharma settlement: Approved (roll call: yes votes recorded by council members present). - Traffic signal maintenance contract amendment (increase to $42,000): Approved (roll call: yes). - Additional TEC Engineering funds ($40,000; design for Dorothy Lane lighting): Approved (roll call: yes). - Marshall Road right‑of‑way necessity resolution (property interests for curb ramps and roadway improvements): Approved (roll call: yes). - Municipal Court carpet replacement ($35,000): Approved (roll call: yes). - Dwight L. Barnes MOU (nonbinding memorandum of understanding): Approved (roll call: yes). - HUD lead hazard & Healthy Homes grant application ($1.3M + $400K): Approved (roll call: yes). - Demolition contracts for three properties ($74,555): Approved (roll call: yes). - Housing rehabilitation program guidelines (amended and restated): Approved (roll call: yes). - Supplemental appropriations ($595,932): Approved (roll call: yes). - First reading: Amendment to Ordinance 4254‑15 to extend the Prewwoods TIF district (first reading; no final vote this meeting).

Council member Jill Hall, who announced she is resigning because her family is moving out of state, received a proclamation recognizing her service and offered closing remarks. "It has been an honor of my life to serve my hometown," Hall said in her farewell.

What’s next

The ordinance to extend the Prewwoods TIF district will return for a second reading and potential adoption at a subsequent council meeting; staff said the TIF extension would require a later formal adoption to extend the district life and expendions. The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2025.

(Reporting note: Vote tallies shown above reflect roll‑call results read into the record during the Aug. 12 meeting; where the transcript did not record an explicit named yea/nay for each item, the article summarizes the outcome as read on the record.)