Meeting summary:

  • Hamilton County is looking to reconnect the east and west sides of six Mill Creek Valley communities separated by rail lines and Interstate 75 and to mitigate issues created by trains and interstate traffic.


Documenter’s follow-up question:

  • Could a Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant steering committee ever recommend eliminating the troublesome Lockland split stretch of I-75 South, which extends from Evendale to Arlington Heights, and re-engineering it to arch over those communities and add more lanes to handle more traffic? (Such skyways are in Texas right outside Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as in Columbus, Ohio).
  • What would it take for a Reconnecting Communities steering committee and governments in affected communities to agree to eliminate housing in the study area and limit zoning to industrial?
  • How does the county’s focus on eliminating the east-west split of the six Mill Creek Valley communities’ jibe with Ohio Department of Transporation’s plan to eliminate the Lockland split on I-75, a project set to begin in 2028?

The meeting was held, as it is normally, in Room 603 at the Todd B. Portune Center for County Government, 138 E. Court St., in downtown Cincinnati. Spectators and presenters were in attendance, as were the three commissioners, an assistant county prosecutor, county administrator, assistant commission clerk and chief clerk. The commission’s YouTube feed began at 10:07 a.m. The meeting adjourned at 10:17 a.m. when the commissioners went into executive session.

Commissioners present

  • Denise Driehaus, president
  • Alicia Reece
  • Stephanie Summerow Dumas
  • Jeff Aluotto, county administrator
  • Patrick Dressing, assistant prosecuting attorney

Approximate time spent during the meeting

  •  N/A on time: Call to order; Introductions
  •  17 minutes: Reconnecting Communities Grant presentation
  •  21 minutes: Executive Session I (10:18 to 10:37 a.m.)
  •  118 minutes: Executive Session II (10:39 a.m. to 12:37 p.m.)

Agenda

The agenda featured four items:

ITEM 1.  Reconnecting Communities Grant

Presenters were Chris Schneider, county Planning and Development Department administrator, and Alex Sherlock, a senior planner in the department’s community planning department.

Schneider said the thrust of the presentation was to inform the commission about the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) Grant Program. The federal Department of Transportation oversees the program, whose goal is to “mitigate issues that have resulted from the presence of transportation facilities such as railways and interstate highways.”

Schneider said next steps include selecting a consultant, convening a steering committee, assessing the impact the railways and I-75 have had on the east-west connections of six communities in the Mill Creek Valley and creating alternative solutions to existing problems surrounding the east-west connectivity of those communities.

According to Schneider, the county accepted $375,000 (the county’s share was $75,000) from the RCN grant program in October 2024 to study “east-west connectivity in six Mill Creek Valley communities impacted by I-75 and multiple railways.” Those communities include the cities of Reading and Sharonville and the villages of Arlington Heights, Evendale, Lincoln Heights and Lockland.

The Department of Transportation said facilities and assets in the area to be studied include rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Genesee & Wyoming Inc.; I-75; and the Mill Creek.

The April 2024 CSX train derailment in Wyoming was one of the incidents that prompted the county to pursue the federal grant, Schneider said.

Schneider said the goal is to create a plan identifying east-west connectivity solutions, which include improving the quality of life for residents affected by the assets in the study area and creating a strategy to apply for future capital improvement funds, which would involve creating a list of recommendations and each community in the study area having a say in adopting any recommendations for capital improvements.

Multiple candidates for consultant have responded to the county’s requests for proposals. “We are moving forward,” he said,

For Thursday’s legislative session, Schneider said the commission will be asked to approve a consultant his office has chosen to head the project. Once that is complete, a steering committee will have to be created from representatives of each jurisdiction, county planning and development staff and local stakeholders. A kickoff meeting is planned for late June.

Schneider, responding to a question from Driehaus, said the grant will be used for planning and community engagement only, not for any future capital improvements.

“Maybe there is a bridge that goes over the railroad, or maybe there are biking multi-paths that help with the connectivity,” Schneider said when Driehaus asked what kind of possible projects he envisioned. Ultimately, he noted, ideas for improvement projects would come through the steering community in consultation with the affected communities.

Reece asked whether the grant funding has been guaranteed, considering what has been occurring regarding funding of various projects and agencies under the Trump administration. Schneider said the DOT liaison he has been in contact with has indicated the grant funding for the county has been obligated for the county RCN project.

“We’re good to go forward with the contract as planned,” he said.

ITEM 2. Executive Session I, to discuss collective bargaining.

ITEM 3. Executive Session II to discuss the sale or acquisition of property:

Commissioners ended the regular meeting at 10:17 a.m. and went into executive session.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcincinnati.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

Find more Documenters’ notes on Cincinnati City Council here.