Hillsboro mayor shares annual 'State of the City' address with city council

Hillsboro Mayor Justin Harsha delivered his annual State of the City report to Hillsboro City Council during their Thursday, Jan. 16 meeting, discussing progress made throughout the city in 2024 — the first year of Harsha’s second term in office — and previewing work to be done in 2025.

“I'd like to reflect on our city's accomplishments, challenges and growth,” Harsha told council. “It's my pleasure to share with you the progress we've made over the past year together. We've made great strides in improving our infrastructure, enhancing recreational opportunities and investing in the future of our community.

“As your mayor, I'm proud of our shared success and remain committed to ensuring that Hillsboro continues to thrive as a vibrant, inclusive and forward-thinking place to live, work and raise a family.”

For infrastructure, Harsha said the city has “focused on initiatives that foster development, improve services and position our city as a place where businesses and family can grow and flourish.”

That included the much-discussed Appalachian Community Grant for the city announced by state leaders in May. The City of Hillsboro received $5,204,536 to supplement already earmarked grant funding for Crossroads Park (formerly known as the green space on West Main Street). The city has already secured $100,000 in state capital funding, through a partnership with Southern State Community College, for the project. The park has served as the site for the Hillsboro Festival of the Bells and other local events, including the city’s Movies Under the Stars and Jeepers Creepers programs.
 
“Construction on this transformative park will begin later this year, providing a recreational hub for our community and a catalyst for surrounding development,” Harsha said.

Several initiatives were undertaken in the past year to focus on “transportation and parking,” Harsha said, including construction of the Roberts Lane/Drive extension taking place during the entirety of 2024. (Safety and service Brianne Abbott said in her report that the project is on target to be completed this spring.)

“As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance accessibility, we launched the Roberts Drive extension, designed to open up new development opportunities and improve traffic flow in the area,” Harsha said.

In November, council also approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to take the necessary steps to purchase a lot on North High Street for a municipal parking lot. According to the legislation, the city wishes to purchase the .227-acre parcel for $110,000.

“We purchased property to expand downtown parking, addressing one of our most pressing community needs,” Harsha said.

The lead line replacement project on North High Street also was completed, starting in late July and continuing for several months with block-by-block road closures.

“Keeping our community safe and healthy remains a top priority,” Harsha said. “This year, we continued to address critical public health issues and focused on creating a safer and more secure city for all residents. Our commitment to ensuring safe drinking water for all residents was demonstrated by the completion of the lead service line remediation project on High Street, making significant strides toward eliminating potential health risks for our citizens.”

Harsha also complimented the city’s commitment to “sustainability and resilience in the face of challenges like drought and water shortages,” after the city was placed under a water emergency for almost three months in the fall. Under the water emergency — which was implemented Sept. 10 and lifted Nov. 26, limits were placed for non-essential use of the city water system.

“Over the past year, we faced a series of challenges due to drought conditions, which placed a strain on our water supply,” Harsha said. “Through coordinated efforts, we managed this crisis by prioritizing water conservation and implementing a water emergency plan to ensure that all residents had access to this vital resource.”

The city saw an expansion of their parks and recreation department in 2024. As previously reported, the City of Hillsboro assumed operations of Shaffer Park in February, following the hiring of Caleb Gregory as parks director, a new position for the city.

“In a major move toward better management of our parks, we have officially assumed control under a newly established, dedicated parks department,” Harsha said. “This department is tasked with ensuring that our parks are well maintained and offer diverse amenities for residents.”

There were also improvements made to park facilities throughout the year, Harsha said. Pickleball courts opened at the Railroad Street Park in late spring/early summer, with the Hillsboro, Ohio Pickleball Association, Inc. hosting several well-attended tournaments throughout the year.

As announced in the summer, the Railroad Street Park is also home to a new ninja course playground, thanks to the generous donation of longtime local business owners and philanthropists Darrell and Jane Tissot. Council voted in August to approve supplemental appropriations in the amount of $169,723 for the donation.

“These new features are already drawing residents of all ages and contributing to a more active community,” Harsha said.

Upgrades to Liberty Park in 2024 included the addition of a new grant-funded, ADA-accessible playground at Harmony Lake as well as an archery range.

“I would like to thank Daryl and Jane Tissot for the donation of the ninja course at Railroad Street Park, and Tim Schlater and John Kidder for donating the archery range at Liberty Park,” Harsha said.

In addition to the new parks and recreation director, the city “hired a full time code enforcement officer” — Seth Brose — in 2024.

“This addition will ensure consistent enforcement of building codes and property standards throughout the city,” Harsha said.

In March, city council officially opened their new council chambers on the top floor of City Hall with their regular monthly meeting. In the ensuing months, it has served as the host site for regular city council meetings as well as committee meetings and public hearings.

As noted by Harsha, there was a “complete renovation” done to city administrators’ offices in addition to finalizing the council chambers.

“The second floor of the city building has undergone a complete renovation, including an upgraded council chamber and new office spaces,” Harsha said. “This marks a significant investment in improving our municipal offices and creating a more functional environment for city operations.”

The city also continued its commitment toward hosting various events in the uptown area and at Crossroads Park.

“Our community is the heartbeat of this city, and it is essential that we continue to foster connections among our residents, businesses and local organizations,” Harsha said. “We have hosted numerous community events throughout the year, including farmers’ markets, Burgers in the Boro, Jeepers Creepers, Christmas parade and tree lighting, and a Christmas market and volunteer opportunities. These events have allowed us to bring residents together to contribute to our city's ongoing success.”

Harsha also discussed the city’s financial outlook, as council approved the 2025 budget at their December 2024 meeting.

“One of the cornerstones of our administration has been maintaining fiscal responsibility while still delivering the essential services and infrastructure improvements that our community deserves,” Harsha said. “For 2025, the total city budget is set just over $20 million, with a projected carryover of $1.15 million, which will provide a solid foundation for next year's initiatives and allow us to tackle emerging needs without sacrificing fiscal discipline. This careful management of city funds has allowed us to continue investing in critical infrastructure, public services and community programs without increasing the burden on taxpayers.

“We will continue to prioritize projects that deliver long-term value for our residents while ensuring we remain responsive to future challenges. Our approach to budgeting reflects our shared vision of a sustainable, fiscally responsible city. We will continue to explore innovative solutions to fund our projects, seek out grants and partnerships and manage resources effectively to ensure the prosperity of Hillsboro.”

Harsha concluded that 2024 has been “an incredibly productive year for our city.

‘From the installation of new recreational facilities to securing vital grants for large-scale projects, we are building a strong foundation for the future,” the mayor said. “We could not have achieved this success without the ongoing support of residents, city staff and community partners.”

Harsha added that they hope to make similar strides in 2025 and urged the community to take an active role in helping shape the city’s plans.

“Looking ahead, we are committed to continued growth and improvement across all facets of our city. We will keep investing in infrastructure, community development and services that make Hillsboro a place where people want to live, work and raise a family,” Harsha said. “As we move forward, I encourage all of you to continue engaging with our local government, attend public meetings and stay informed about the developments in our city.

“Together, we can ensure that Hillsboro remains a place of opportunity, safety and unity for everyone. Thank you for your trust and dedication in our commitment to making Hillsboro a better place for all.”

• • •

Due to the fact that only five voting council members were in attendance, only one piece of legislation — an appropriations measure not requiring suspension of the three-reading rule — was approved Thursday. Council members also voted 5-0 to excuse the absences of Kathryn Hapner and Greg Maurer.

“I first want to apologize,” council president Tom Eichinger said. “If I would have known earlier that we were going to have two people missing tonight, I would have canceled the meeting and rescheduled it. As such, much of our legislation requires votes that would require six people. We don't have that, so we will have to pass on that legislation.

“Ms. Hapner had informed us back in January that she would be out of the country during this meeting, so that was OK, but I only heard from Mr. Maurer about 45 minutes ago, so that's why we're sitting here.”

As mentioned, council did approve an ordinance making supplemental appropriations in the amount of $750,000.

“This is just to appropriate the money we received from the county, the $750,000 of their ARPA money, that we are planning to use for the Beech Street project,” auditor Dawson Barreras said. “This will allow us to get our new water and sewer infrastructure that's desperately needed down there on Beech Street.”

As previously reported, Highland County commissioners voted in April 2023 to commit $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the City of Hillsboro’s planned Roberts Lane extension. The city later asked to instead use the money for their Beech Street improvement project, which was authorized by commissioners in July 2024. As of June 2023, that project had been estimated to cost close to $4 million for water, sewer, storm and streets (curbs, gutters and sidewalks) for the area of Beech, Railroad and McDowell streets. The project is “currently underway,” Abbott said.

The legislation on the agenda also included two standard annual items — a resolution authorizing participation in the ODOT road salt contracts awarded in 2025, which Eichinger said could be approved as an emergency in February to meet timelines; and an ordinance to authorize and direct the safety and service director to enter into an agreement with the Highland County commissioners to provide for indigent defendant counsel in the courts. For the indigent defense legislation, Abbott said she would contact the county to see if its passage could be delayed until February or if they would have to schedule a special meeting.

A proposed resolution “supporting the Ohio Municipal League’s challenge of AT&T’s tariff application at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and declaring an emergency” listed on the agenda was pulled.

According to Eichinger, AT&T Director of External Affairs Mark Romito sent the city a letter “concerning the Public Utilities Commission filing they made,” but they “have since pulled their request for a tariff change.” Since AT&T rescinded their request and council did not have enough members to pass the legislation as an emergency, they opted to pull the resolution, but Eichinger cautioned it is “liable to come back” if a similar application is filed in the future.
 
“This legislation was initially going to be presented just to show the city's support of the Ohio Municipal League and its challenge against AT&T’s tariff application to PUCO,” Abbott said. “It was going to be a detriment to the city, as far as rights of way were concerned, and there would be financial implications as a result.”
 
The resolution on the city’s agenda said that “AT&T’s tariff application proposes tariff changes which will require any municipalities in which AT&T is located in the municipality’s public right-of-way to pay the full cost of any relocation or undergrounding of AT&T’s facilities, regardless of the reason for the relocation. This is in direct contradiction of current Ohio law.

“If AT&T’s tariff application goes unchallenged and becomes automatically effective, municipalities throughout Ohio (and, subsequently, constituents who may or may not be AT&T customers) would be required to pay for any relocation of AT&T facilities in the public rights-of-way, even if the relocation or undergrounding is required for health, safety, or public welfare purposes.”

• In other action, council members voted 5-0 to appoint councilman Adam Wilkin as the 2025 president pro tempore, following nomination by Jason Brown.

• Abbott gave a brief update on several ongoing city projects, some of which were covered in the state of the city report, during her report to council.

“The projected opening of the Roberts extension project is spring of this year,” Abbott said. “Electrical work and striping are underway. The current focus for Crossroads Park amphitheater is design meetings and CMAR [Construction Manager at Risk] selection. Preliminary drawings for the Rails to Trails projects are complete, and the project will begin next year in 2026.”

As previously reported, the city received a $1.44 million Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for a walking and bicycling trail on an abandoned railroad bed.

In a different ODOT project, Abbott reported that “the downtown pedestrian safety project will take place this year.” Legislation for the project was approved in April, after three contentious meetings, although the city had already been awarded $336,000 through ODOT in May 2022 for the improvements. According to a press release from ODOT, “The crosswalks at the Main Street and High Street intersection will be replaced with new high-visibility crosswalks including new pavement markings, center median refuge islands and solar-powered pedestrian-activated beacons.”

In economic development news, Abbott reported that the city issued “six commercial and 10 residential building permits” in December and is working with “Marriott Hotel developers and Glo Fiber representatives” on their private development plans.

“Both projects are expected to break ground this year,” she said.

Abbott added that the city is also planning to continue successful events from 2024 this year, including “the farmers’ market, community cookout, Movies Under the Stars, Jeepers Creepers, holiday events and more.”

The safety and service director concluded her report by citing the city code in response to “several inquiries in regard to the removal of snow from the sidewalks, curbs and gutters.”

According to Ordinance 96.03, “Whenever there is a fall of snow or sleet during the night, the snow or sleet shall, by 8 a.m., be cleaned from all of the pavements of the city and gutters in front of the pavements by the person occupying the premises abutting on the pavements and gutters in front of the pavements. If the fall of snow or sleet or an accumulation of ice shall occur at any time during the period of daylight, then the snow or sleet shall be removed within two hours after the fall of snow or sleet has ceased.”

• Finance committee chair Mary Stanforth discussed her committee’s Jan. 13 meeting. According to Stanforth, the committee recommended that the city administration pursue a wage study at a cost of $19,700.

“The consultant will review documents to conduct a compensation study, including, but not limited to, current job descriptions, wage/salary schedules, compensation and benefit policies and practices and other and similar relevant documents,” Stanforth said. “This study will provide information that will help the city officials and the finance committee when dealing with salary and compensation issues.”

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