Good evening.

I would like to welcome everyone here.

Before we begin, I want to highlight a few things this evening.

Our regular scheduled business meeting has been canceled due to a lack of quorum.

There will be no formal action taken this evening, no votes, resolutions, or legislation.

We are holding two hearings on the proposed new community authority.

These hearings are meant to be informational only.

The purpose of both hearings is to present information to the public and to receive public input.

Tonight we will all hear presentations.

After the presentations, we'll open the floor for those who are in fact registered to speak.

I want to emphasize again, no decision will be made this evening.

This is an opportunity to learn about the proposal.

With that being said, I am now opening the public hearing regarding the petition to establish the City of Datsen citywide new community authority.

And I will turn it over to Ms.

Dixtein for the presentation.

Thank you, Mayor.

At this point, I'd like to call forward Cole Hetman, development coordinator to lead us through the presentation for the citywide new community authority.

Good evening.

Thank you, City Manager Dixteen.

Good evening, Mayor Turner Sloss and Commissioner Joseph.

I'm Cole Hetman.

I'm excited to be giving this presentation this evening to provide information regarding the City of Dayton Citywide New Community Authority.

All right.

So what is a new community authority?

The definition of a new community authority is that it is a public-private partnership created under the Ohio Revised Code 349, is governed by a board of trustees that finances street and sidewalk improvements, streetscapes, parks, and community facilities.

The importance of a new community authority is to understand that it is an economic development tool.

This tool complements our use of other development tools such as our edge financing.

We also have CRAs or downtown TIFFs.

Additionally, the city is able to use this new community authority to provide a dedicated stream of financing to upcoming projects that we have going not just downtown but throughout the city of Dayton.

So that's the emphasis that I really want to make here for this.

So in the instance of the arcade, that development in itself, and then with a Delco, the parking garage, and the flats.

Moving now towards a citywide NCA.

This encourages us to now use this tool so that it is an equitable development approach.

And when they come to the city with an idea for a project, we're able to provide them with a menu of different community development charges to assist in financing this project.

So let's go and talk about some of those the process of how to join the NCA.

So once again, I want to reiterate that no property owner pays a community development charge unless that owner voluntarily signs and records a declaration agreeing to it.

The property owner and the business owner come to the city to request to join this NCA.

We cannot impose any charges without their consent.

Also about the NCA is that the boundary does not have to be continuous.

We can have different developments throughout the entire city.

So we can have developments in the Wright Dunbar neighborhood, we can have developments on Third Street corridor, we can have developments in Wayne Avenue.

We can target areas on the on main development.

The possibilities are truly limitless as long as we are engaging with those stakeholders and they are coming to us to understand the benefits of this NCA tool.

Parcels are added through the consent.

And with this consent, it comes down to the authority of city commission to approve these parcels.

So a board, the NCA board will first hear the addition of the parcels.

They will go through the declarations of the community development charges.

They'll determine what charges are correct for the project, and then based on the board's recommendation, they pass this along to city commission.

City Commission will then set forth a resolution to add the parcel, and then we begin the process that we're dealing with today.

We have to set a public hearing in 30 days.

Once that 30 days elapses, we have the public hearing, we get input from community members, so that way then the next step is commission voting to approve the addition of the parcels.

So very similar to what we're doing now, we're going to see this happen more and more as we go down the road.

Okay.

And then finally, um, the important part here is once all of the community development charges have been negotiated, it stays on the parcel itself.

So this gets recorded with the county recorder's office, and then the county auditor are the institution itself that will have the fees set the fees for collection.

So it's all recorded at the county level.

Um whenever a property transitions to another owner, the fees stay with the parcel.

So it all has to be disclosed during the sales of the sale of the business.

So talking about how the mechanics of joining flows.

So mechanically, joining looks like this.

Um, an owner or developer asks to participate, usually alongside a project that the city is looking to support.

Um there the terms are negotiated, and we are able to set those community development charges to roll back into the project itself to begin to fund some of those public enhancements.

Um the next steps are the declaration of the covenants followed then by being certified by the county auditor, and at every step, the decision making belongs to the property owner.

So once again, all voluntary.

Some examples of charges.

Um we have four different examples that I have shown.

Um one is an assessed valuation, another is business revenue, another example is food and beverage charge, and then we can potentially have a parcel fee.

These rates are set based on the project.

Um there can be any combination of permitted uses.

So projects are gonna look differently, and we want that to happen.

We want to be able to be flexible.

We want to be able to promote business decisions.

We want to be able to promote new development within Dayton.

So we don't want to be so rigid that we're creating um confines for a business to you know box in for their financing tools.

We want to offer the full gambit, and that's going to make us as competitive as possible when we're dealing with business uh attraction as well as business retention.

We are not leaving behind our current businesses.

So if there's a current business here that is looking to finance some public improvements, such as sidewalk improvements, parking improvements, they can engage with us and join the NCA, and now we have a fund that is able to benefit their future productivities.

Here's an outline of all the possible menu items.

So I like to kind of refer to this as your five-course meal.

So you're able to select your appetizer, your starter, your dessert.

Um, once again, we are conducting this so that it is as flexible as possible.

I want you to understand that these are ceilings, so it can be up to a certain percentage.

Um, here I would like to call out the retail charge.

Um, it's up to five percent.

So if a project dictates, such as the Montgomery County Convention Facility Authority, the MCC FA, they they are wanting to see a 5% retail charge on their community development charge.

We're not going to perhaps use that 5% with every business.

5% may be too steep of a charge for some of our small retailers.

Um they may not want to have a business retail charge at all, and that's okay.

We can permit that.

We're able to negotiate those charges.

And the important thing here is bringing the businesses alongside of us.

So where can these community development charges be utilized?

According to the higher revised code 349.07, it states that these charges are permitted to fund the acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance of land, land development, and community facilities, as well as debt service on those investments.

Community facilities are defined broadly in this section as well.

I given I've given a few examples.

So we can have parking, we can do community building centers, cultural, educational, recreation facilities.

This can help help with TAP fees, so expanding sewage lines, water lines.

Additionally, it's possible for the NCA to provide bonds.

As of right now, the NCA, the goal of the NCA is not to have any bond financing.

We're not looking to utilize it in that capacity at this moment.

So that is something that can happen later on, but no projects are in mind right now for bond financing with the NCA using the NCA to set those bonds.

So some guardrails and city control that I want to go over.

The emphasis here is that the NCA board will be appointed by a partnership and collaboration between the city commission and the city manager.

The authority, therefore, will not be development controlled.

So we once again are pivoting towards that equitable development approach.

We are the drivers, we're able to set forth the board, and we are able then to have that in mind when we are you know pursuing development opportunities, helping out businesses in our community.

The district boundary is set to include the entire city.

So we are not focusing solely on downtown development.

We are looking at development wherever projects pop up.

Ideally, these projects will be located around corridors that have high traffic of visitor volume.

The intention is to capture those development charges for folks that are transient.

They're visiting our city, they're here for a convention meeting, they are here on business, they're here on leisure, they're here on travel.

This is a way to tap into an extra revenue.

We are supporting smart growth.

NCAs, this tool is now becoming something that is readily usable because of an update to ORC code where beforehand used to have used to have to have a thousand acres to create an NCA.

That's no longer a requirement.

So cities are able now to utilize this tool to begin to create smaller NCAs within their municipal boundaries.

Public record and disclosure, every declaration is recorded at the county, and it is disclosed then to our stakeholders, but people that are buying the goods.

So it's all disclosed, it's all financially provided up front.

So there's no hidden fees or so hidden charges, no secrecy.

And then finally, um it is phased and commission approved.

So any corridor expansion beyond the initial district requires the commission approval.

And we will be addressing the MCC FA to begin to add their parcels.

They're the initial addition to this NCA.

So our next process, um what this public hearing is meant to do is to basically inform the commission on whether or not this NCA will be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare, and it is intended to result in the development and establishment of a citywide new community authority.

So today we are in that phase of exploring possibilities.

We are engaging with the public.

We want to hear from them what they think on this tool.

Our next step will be where we will bring a resolution to the commission and you guys will vote to establish the NCA.

Um following then the establishment of the NCA, the commission will work alongside the city manager to establish the board.

And then finally, we will be able to begin to execute our declarations of parcels.

So we'll be able to expand the NCA and add new properties and begin to collect those community development charges.

Some common or some questions that have come up from the public that I wanted to address briefly are the as follows.

So one question is will meetings, budgets, audits, contracts, debt documents, and collections be posted.

This really stems down to it being an NCA board policy.

The board is going to dictate how it will release its records.

If they decide to post it online, that could be an option.

But the quick answer is yes, all these documents will be available publicly.

Next question that came up is what is the sunset date and what conditions terminate the NCA?

The petition that is before the commission to create the NCA defines how to dissolve the NCA.

So the authority may be dissolved only by formal action of the board with concurring and unanimous approval by legislative action of the city commission.

Action of the board on the dissolution of the authority may be considered only after the board has determined that the development program has been completed.

No authority bonds or notes are outstanding, and other legal indebt indebtness of the authority has been discharged or provided for, and notice of such determination has been provided to the city commission and mayor at least 30 days prior to the consideration of the board of formal action on dissolution.

So it is possible to dismantle this tool, but I do not foresee that occurring.

Like I said, we want to utilize this tool for many years to come.

This is going to be critical for our toolkit or our development options for incentives.

And on what terms?

So, like I've stated, a powerful tool for this NCA is to utilize bonds to offer debt service.

This debt service is covered through community development charges.

So it is possible in the future that this tool could be utilized.

It really just depends on the project coming before us.

Things to note from the statute, bond maturity cannot exceed 40 years.

Um bonds are made payable solely by the pledge authority revenue.

The city will not be on the hook for any of this debt.

Funds from the city will not be utilized.

The NCA is its own quasi-government.

Okay, so I want that to be noted as well.

And then the last two additional questions, um, what projects are eligible and what is prohibited?

So eligible projects include land acquisition.

Let's say there's a blighted property uh located next to some of our businesses.

It's possible for the NCA to use its CDC assets and um purchase this land in the hopes of getting it development ready.

So I think that's a pretty critical and interesting way to utilize this tool.

Um we all know what blighted properties do to the businesses in the area.

So if this is something that we can do to alleviate some stress, um I I see a lot of benefit in that.

Uh that then includes land development, um, and then we can get into some of our um community um facility items, such as streets, lighting, um, parking, pathways, parks, plazas, community and cultural buildings, utilities, and site work.

Um, one thing to note then the authority has no power over zoning, subdivision regulations, fire, police protection, or water and sewer.

So all of our current zoning ordinances stay in effect.

It cannot go above those.

And then my last question: who appoints the board for how long, and when do residents um get elected.

So board members are to be appointed by both the commission and the city manager.

The commission will initially nominate three citizen members and then continue to select successors as terms expire instead of elections occurring.

The city manager will also initially nominate three development members and continue to select successors as terms expire.

The commission is automatically establishing the alternate method of selecting successor members as part of the petition.

Due to the fact that majority of our parcels that are being adopted into the NCA will be in commercial districts.

There's not a large residential district that will be getting added into the NCA, and therefore those types of elections are with ballots with votings, are gonna be very difficult to do due to the low amount of residents living in the added parcels.

So since this is mostly a commercial tool, um we are selecting this alternative method towards adopting new board members.

Um and with that, I have my conclusion of the presentation.

Thank you.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any citizens who are registered to speak?

On the petition to establish the city of dates and citywide new community authority.

Yes, Your Honor.

There are six citizens registered to speak on the petition to establish the City of Dayton Citywide New Community Authority.

I would like to state that there is a three-minute time limit.

As you address the commission, we ask that you state your name and address for the record.

At that time, I will turn on the green light.

When the green light comes on, you will have three minutes to speak.

After you have spoken two and a half minutes, a yellow light will come on and you will have 30 seconds remaining to speak.

When the red light comes on, you will be asked to cease your comments and to take your seat.

So the audience in attendance, please be mindful this is a public hearing, and we kindly request you refrain from any hand clapping, finger snapping, and conversation that would prevent the city commission from hearing the speaker's comments.

I call to the podium.

Mary Sue Gaminer.

Mary Sue Gaminer, 1418 Arbor Avenue.

Good evening.

Thank you.

That presentation answered a lot of questions that I still had that was much better than the first one, so I appreciated that.

Boston's Ujima project gave me a glimpse into a wonderful urban concept presented in a photo exhibition by Dominic Molden.

Do the people have a right to the city?

What would such a right entail?

A right to housing, municipal education, a right to green space, a right to build, a right to livelihood, and a life outside of livelihood.

I hear that cry every week at these commission meetings.

People want a larger voice in what's happening in our city.

By continually highlighting downtown investment and downtown projects, all done without citizens' voices, residents get the impression that they are being simply tolerated by the economic engines of the city.

I like going downtown.

I wish the buses were a little more frequent and that there was a free bus that did a circuit around downtown, and I wish there was more retail.

But I don't want to sanitize downtown.

Poverty is not a crime to be pushed out, but a problem to be solved.

Everyone has a right to the city, including the downtown space.

So I have two concerns about the NCA.

First, it's clear that working on this project for a year, bringing it eventually to commission, took a lot of hours of work by the city manager and her staff.

Those are hours that could just as easily have been directed towards work in the neighborhoods or legislation that would improve the lives of residents.

We need stronger tenant protections.

We need more affordable housing.

We need jobs at all economic levels, not just engineers in the military industrial complex.

These are the policies that require attention.

Second, the NCA is supposed to have a secondary benefit of directing dollars from the general fund that would have gone downtown to the neighborhoods.

I don't see any numbers, any guarantees that that will happen.

So if the convention center hotel raises a million dollars through its NCA, will you guarantee that the equivalent million dollars will be spent on the neighborhoods?

There need to be guarantees, and the residents need to be involved every step of the way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

She is the CEO of the city and therefore stands in the developer position.

I want to name what that means.

When a private developer petitions for an NCA, they are risking their own capital.

When the city acts as the developer, it is risking public capital, which is our capital.

And under that logic, the commission that re the commission that residents elected, not an unelected city manager who is already retiring, is the legitimate represent representative of the public interest.

Every other Ohio City knows this.

Beaver Creek, Huber Heights, London South Bloomfield.

Council appoints their board.

Dayton is the only city calling its city manager, the developer, to justify concentrating appointment power outside the elected body.

Legal, maybe.

Right?

No.

This is not Dayton's first NCA.

The Dayton Arcade has one.

What was collected?

Remit it.

Delinquent and enforced.

Is it solvent?

The Commission passed an emergency resolution on July 1st.

They said that this emergency is that the convention center needs a hotel.

That is not an emergency.

An emergency is a fire, a flood, a shooting.

A hotel is a business deal.

Calling it an emergency is how you skip the line and skip the public.

Here is what the NCA does, and the presentation confirmed it.

It creates a new pot of money.

Property owner pays extra fees on top of their regular taxes.

A board decides how to spend it.

It is the second government inside the first one, which its own with its own bank account.

Here's the part that should make every resident pay attention.

The city manager, not the commission will pick three of the six board members.

She might sit on the board herself.

That gives her four votes out of seven.

She controls the money.

And here's what hurts.

Residents stand at this podium talking about roofs falling in, foundations cracking homes, graded four and five.

The city says we're working on it.

The Crown Plaza set empty for years, nothing.

But the convention center needs a hotel, and this commission passes an emergency in one meeting.

West Dayton has been waiting for decades.

No emergency, no new board, no new money, just waiting.

Meanwhile, downtown gets nearly a million dollars in tax breaks.

Downtown pays less.

West Dayton pays full, and we are told there is no money.

Before this commission votes, I want five things.

Where's the RK CDC assets data?

Show us the tax breaks down that downtown has received and what businesses actually paid it back.

Take the city manager off the board.

Let the commission appoint every member.

That is how every other city in Ohio does it.

Tell the people who live in these parcels what it will cost them.

Delay the vote.

This hearing should not be closed until there is a quorum.

Thank you.

I call to the podium Alec Johnson.

My name is Alex Johnson.

I live at 3206 Linden Avenue in Dayton.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor and Commissioner Joseph.

Last week, in response to the mayor's request, I submitted 10 questions concerning this proposed citywide community authority because I wanted to understand whether it will genuinely serve the people of Dayton.

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in any effort the city makes to answer those questions.03.

First, to provide regular public reporting on the authorities' finances, projects, and measurable outcomes.

Second, ensure that investment is geographically balanced.

Much of the discussion surrounding the authority has understandably focused on downtown.

Downtown is important, but so are the neighborhoods that have waited decades for sustaining public investment.

I think more than a West Third Street corridor is required.

For that reason, I asked the commission to publicly commit to work with West Dayton residents to evaluate and advance neighborhood-led development proposals for West Dayton.

If this authority is truly citywide, then West Dayton should see a visible path to future investment, not simply the hope that prosperity will eventually spread out.

Third, adopt strong labor standards, including local hiring, apprenticeship opportunities, prevailing wages where appropriate, and respect for workers' rights.

Fourth, include meaningful anti-displacement protection, so revitalization benefits existing residents.

Finally, establish continuing public oversight so residents continue to have a voice after the authorities created.

If these commitments become part of the public record and are reflected in implementation, I would be prepared to support this proposal.

If there remained aspirations without accountability, my concerns will remain.

All of Dayton.

A citywide authority should produce citywide opportunity.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I call to the podium Rodney Stark.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor.

City Commissioner.

Um thank you, Mayor, for the walk.

And thank you, City Manager, for the meeting.

Mr.

Stark, can you state your name and address?

Oh, we still have to do that.

Okay, Rodney Stark, 4526 Alfred Drive, Dayton, Ohio, 45417.

Okay, I thought we were in a little different meeting here, but nonetheless, thank you all.

Appreciate it.

And just want to say my prayers is with uh Commissioner Fairchild also, since he couldn't be here.

I know he would be here today.

However, we're missing a commissioner, and that's a very important person that sits on the board of the MCAA.

And also I'm glad Miss Lofton is here also.

Um, it's a shame about this whole NCA.

And the only reason I think it's being developed is because of this hotel, right?

You have a funding gap over at that hotel.

About 17 million dollars.

It started out at the price of that hotel started at 660 million.

Then it crept up to about 77 million all of a sudden.

Here's the document.

Here's your FAQ right here.

I have it right here.

And I'm not gonna really talk to you all because I know what you're gonna do.

You're gonna pass this anyway.

I want to talk to the residents that's here to let you know that in this FAQ, it states already that you let me give you the date on this.

June 5th, 2024.

It says in here, you already know you're gonna have a funding gap before anyone turned any proposal into you.

You already understood that you're gonna have a funding gap.

How do you know that?

That you're gonna have a funding gap with someone that hadn't even gave you a price yet.

So it's all baked in here together.

It's it's it's it's almost criminal what you guys are doing.

It's almost criminal.

And I'm a little upset and a little shaken today because I decided to go a little further back and see about the hotel.

You didn't want the hotel downtown.

I don't think Dayton hardly owns anything anymore.

You gave the uh the hotel away, right?

Not only did you just give it away, you gave it away, and then uh and then add a little added extras along with it.

That property right now, you have a contract with MCAAFA for renting that property for one dollar.

One dollar a year.

That's one dollar a year for a contract for 40 years.

That means in 40 years, Dayton only gonna receive 40 dollars from that property.

This is what's happening in Dayton.

Talk about uh funding gaps, and we don't have money.

Of course, we don't have money because we're not collecting money.

Let me tell you what else they're doing.

We don't need an NCA because guess what?

This same organization that Miss Lofton sits on and Shawslitz sits on, is collecting three percent taxes on motels and hotels throughout Montgomery County.

Your time is up, thank you.

Throughout Montgomery County, and guess what Dayton did?

Dayton said we can match you there.

We're gonna get we're gonna turn over a hundred percent of our lodging fees to the same organization.

Thank you.

I called to the podium Asha Parson, Asia Parson.

Okay.

Tara Campbell.

Hello, good evening.

Sarah Campbell, 2224, Chamberlain Avenue, Dayton, Ohio.

Hello, Mayor, Commissioner Joseph, City Manager.

Of course, you um I kind of prepare some information to talk about today, but I really want to be, you know, I'm I'm really understanding what he said and a lot of things I'm hearing.

You know, as I look here today, transparency and accountability and participatory, but democracy is not just simple principles.

Um, of good government.

It really speaks to where we've left the people out of this equation of how myself and others are not really understanding what's going on, and just really trying to understand where we go today.

And even as of today, we may not have a quorum, but I want to be clear that I will send another letter with these same questions for a follow-up answer.

Our concerns regarding the recent approved uh new community authority is not simply about the development.

We do not know whether this will this tool will work or not.

It is intended to be delivered the benefits of it being promised.

We don't know that.

But what we do know is that the Dayton residents, the taxpayers, and communities should be involved from the inception, the inception of anything that potentially is significant that deals with our neighborhoods.

Working on this for over a year and just now trying to hear something about it is not transparency.

At the July 1st City Commission meeting, the city manager acknowledged that approximately $1 million in development funding could be available for the neighborhoods.

Then the presentation from JT development also indicated that the NCA designation would free up development dollars for neighborhood investments.

We wanted the people in Dayton, the residents of Dayton want to ensure that this becomes reality.

Where would the million dollars go?

Which neighborhoods would benefit from it, how will priorities be determined, and most importantly, will the residents have meaningful voice deciding how those resources are invested?

Those are my questions.

Will the information and the financial information around these NCAs be really available for the community to understand?

But to support participatory democracy means residents are engaged before decisions are made, not simply informed at after decisions have already been made.

The people he live here, pay taxes, raise families, operate businesses, and experience consequences of residents.

We deserve a seat at the table.

We also have concerns regarding the NCA governance established by the framework appointed by the NCA Board of Trustees, including the appointment by the developer, which would be the city manager.

We want to ensure that there is true representation of the community, and the community has the voice.

As we oh, that was quick.

Okay.

Well, thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes speakers on this first public hearing, Your Honor.

I will now close the first public hearing.

We are now opening the public hearing for the addition of parcels to the City of Dayton Citywide New Community Authority.

I will now turn it over to Ms.

Dixteen.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um the presentation for the Dayton Convention District.

And I'd like to call forward Pam Plagman from the Montgomery County Facilities Authority, Convention Facilities Authority to come forward for the presentation.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Hi, Pam Plegman with the Convention Facilities Authority.

Um good evening, and Mayor Turner Sloss and Commissioner Joseph and City Manager Dixtein and all of our public attendees today.

I wanted to thank you for letting us speak today as a the first participant participant to the new NCA.

And I want to begin by recognizing the significance of the proposed formation of the new community authority.

While this funding tool is vital to continuing convention district development, it's important to remember that the benefits of the program extend far beyond downtown into our neighborhoods, our districts, and our corridors.

It's a common tool utilized in over 55 Ohio communities today.

The NCA represents an opportunity to invest not only in major destination projects, but also in the neighborhoods and commercial corridors that are the backbone of Dayton.

By making this financing mechanism available citywide, we're creating opportunities to support redevelopment, encourage private investment, revitalize aging real estate, and strengthen the places where residents live, work, and do business every day.

A thriving convention district can certainly serve as an economic engine, but it's only successful, it's great as successful when it's connected to vibrant neighborhoods and healthy business corridors throughout the city.

The formation of the NCA provides a framework to ensure that growth is not isolated to one area, but can let be leveraged to create lasting equitable investment across Dayton.

And I mean the clicker, sorry.

Thank you.

This slide tells a story.

And it really shows over $700 million in improvements that were made are made up of residential, retail, arts and culture, and accommodations that attract our young professionals, our families, and large group convention business.

I also want to acknowledge that whenever we discuss a project associated with downtown, there are understandable questions about who benefits and whether that investment will reach the rest of the city.

Those are fair questions, and they deserve clear answers.

The new community authority is not simply about supporting one development or one district.

It is a financing tool that gives Dayton another way to encourage investment where it's needed most.

Every neighborhood deserves the opportunity to attract new business, to redevelop vacant properties, improve commercial corridors, and create places where community pride is reborn and residents are proud to gather with their families.

The NCA provides another tool to help make those investments possible.

A stronger downtown and stronger neighborhoods are not competing priorities.

This is not about choosing one part of Dayton or another.

It's about giving our city the flexibility to pursue economic development wherever opportunities arise and ensuring that we have the tools to compete for investment in every corner of our community.

And Ohio's new community authority is one of the most flexible tools that becomes available when participation because participation is voluntary and the revenues are generated within that development itself.

So I want to share a timeline with everyone that really gives you a pathway, just a snapshot of the work that is leading to today.

It really demonstrates why it's critical to get the NCA set up getting distressed and underinvesteas revitalized.

So I'll just take you through this.

Everyone knows that.

It's pretty evident.

So but we were forced to pivot.

We need a headquarter hotel that's of a national brand, and that's what our meeting planners and our groups coming in expect for us to be able to compete with other communities.

So it's not being ignored.

We are on weekly communications for a path forward, and that's taking place every week.

And again, that uh that area had been you know kind of vacant since Chins left, and it's really uh in need of investment and trying to get that land reactivated and uh streetscapes in place was really important to our new center and the district.

So but the agreement at that time did contemplate the CFA being uh able to establish their own NCA.

Um and so in 2024, we did run an RFQ process seeking a developer for the hotel site.

We had five firms that we interviewed, and Concord Hospitality was selected, and then that budget work and the design work started happening shortly after.

Um in 2025, um, we were informed that the the city wanted to do an exploration on a citywide NCA and framework, so we paused while that work happened, um, but kept with the renovations in 2025.

We we did a grand reopening in June of 2025, and the community has a beautiful new convention center that now can compete on on a regional level.

Um March 2026 Concord Development Agreement uh was put in place.

We are doing our due diligence with our partner budget, design, and timeline all in the works.

Um, and then fast forward to today in July, where uh the citywide NCA is being is being um studied and it's on the commission's agenda.

But I just want to pause there and say, you know, that that lull in time um, you know, did affect us, uh, but because our plan of finance and our due diligence that has to happen to close on the development with Concord is is the clock's ticking.

So in uh October and November of 2026 is when we have an obligation to help Concorde solve the uh financing gap we're talking about, and the NCA is a critical part of that revenue source.

So, quarter four 2028, we're expecting the grand opening of the new Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel, which really will allow Destination Dayton, our CVB, to book an additional 25 million in regional economic impact.

That's regional countywide economic impact.

John Oney's going to speak a little bit more about that shortly.

So I wanted to put this slide up as well because everybody wants to know why.

Why not the attached hotel?

I gave a little bit of background on that.

We need those rooms.

Those rooms are important to have in our inventory, but a quick review of the why behind us needing a national brand headquarter hotel.

We you know, we have two market studies that point to that data.

Eighty percent of convention planners require an adjacent headquarter hotel that is of a national brand.

Eighty percent.

Um and meeting attendees that travel from outside the area when we book we are able to book those groups, spend three and a half percent more in our restaurants and our attractions, they extend their hotel stays and and they shop.

So they're spending their money here.

So it is impactful economic impact.

Um this slide really talks about the hotels that are you know adjacent to us, and uh, you know, our hotel partners downtown and countywide really benefit from large group bookings due to what's called compression.

So when our hotels fill up around the center, then we have big groups that come in like Winter Guard International and the first four.

They fill all our hotel rooms, right?

They even go into Green County and other counties, and so the need is there when we have these big groups and to be able to continue to attract these big groups.

But you know, our beautiful Hilton Garden Inn at the arcade, um, the very impressive Hotel Ardent, our friends at the AC Marriott, UD Marriott, Fairfield, uh, those properties are really important to our portfolio of properties to be able to book business.

But as I mentioned, like Winter Guard International, who's booked through 2031, um, they bring in over 60,000 attendees into our area for weeks at a time, spending their money and using our hotels and and uh you know spending money at our small businesses.

Um again, uh the first four, 24,000 attendees.

So uh the need is there, um, and I just wanted to call that out uh as well.

So the MCCFA is responsible for developing and investing in convention facilities that drive growth, create jobs, and give destination Dayton the assets to compete and win large group business.

Umcord hospitality recognizes that smart investment and believes in Dayton.

Um so just for uh, you know, people have seen this budget, but I want to just say how grateful we are for the private investment.

73 percent of that investment of the hotel is being borne by Concord, right?

So they believe in our community, they're here, they they've helped with um UD Marriott and Courtyard, and they manage and they invest in their properties and believe in their communities that they work in.

So we're very grateful to Concord's partnership, and if it's appropriate now, I'd like to call up my next speaker, um, Carl Hryn, who is the EVP of executive vice president of development for Concord.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks, Pam.

Good to start.

Please.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager.

My name's Carl Renn, Executive Vice President of Development for Concord Hospitality.

On behalf of Concord, I want to express our appreciation for the partnership we have built with the City of Dayton and the many organizations working with working to bring the Convention Headquarters Hotel Project to fruition.

Concord has a long history of investing in communities where we see opportunity.

The University of Dayton Marriott and the Courtyard by Marriott at the University of Dayton are prime examples of those collaborations, and we're excited to continue the long-term investment in downtown Dayton.

As with many transformational projects, as with many transformational projects across the country, there's a financing gap that must be addressed to make this development financially feasible.

The formation of the new community authority provides an important tool that allows the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority to bridge that gap and move this catalytic project forward.

We appreciate the Commission's leadership and thoughtful considerate consideration of this ordinance.

Your support today helps create the conditions for new private investment, multiple jobs, and economic growth that will benefit Dayton for years to come.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Ms.

McClendon, are there any citizens who are registered to speak on the addition of parcels to the City of Dayton Citywide New Community Authority?

Yes, Your Honor.

There are three citizens registered to speak on the addition of parcels to the City of Dayton Citywide New Community Authority.

I would like to state that there is a three-minute time limit.

As you address the Commission, we ask that you state your name and address for the record.

At that time, I will turn on the green light.

When the green light comes on, we will have three minutes to speak.

After you have spoken two and a half minutes, a yellow light will come on and you will have 30 seconds remaining to speak.

When the red light comes on, you will be asked to cease your comments and to take your seat.

To the audience in attendance, please be mindful this is a public hearing, and we kindly request that you refrain from any hand clapping, finger snapping, and conversation that would prevent the city commission from hearing the speakers' comments.

I call to the podium John Oney.

Good evening.

John Oney, President and CEO of Destination Dayton.

Please state your address.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager, Esteemed staff, members of the uh the public here.

Thank you for being here.

Um really just thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening in support of the new community authority.

Um this initiative will benefit neighborhoods across Dayton, and I'd like to share why it's so important from a destination Dayton's perspective.

Um Pam stole my thunder and she got to say 25 million, and I wanted to say 25 million, but um uh we'll get to that point in a second.

Um but uh just so everyone knows Destination Dayton is the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau of uh Montgomery County and the City of Dayton.

So we work every single day to market our great destination to visitors, uh family friends, uh, for them to come and experience uh all the things that we have here that we're so lucky to have and spend their money.

Um so the proposed Marriott Tribute Collection Headquarters Hotel is one of the final pieces needed to maximize the potential of the newly renovated Dayton Convention Center.

Today we regularly compete for business uh where a connected nationally recognized headquarter hotel is not simply preferred, it's expected.

In fact, the vast majority of meeting planners we work with require that type of hotel experience when selecting a destination.

We already know how tough competition is out there.

Um, since the closure of the Connected Crown Plaza in 2022, its limited reopening as the Dayton vitality in 2025, Dayton has been at a competitive disadvantage.

The new community authority provides an important financing tool to help move this transformational project forward.

It also gives our sales team the confidence to pursue larger meetings and conventions that are currently out of reach.

Those visitors don't just fill meeting rooms.

Yeah, I don't see them over there.

All right.

I don't have a grocery store in my community.

So I just wanted to say about this whole hotel, and I want to give you some contrast here.

And I have nothing against.

I love a beautiful downtown, and I love that hotel.

It looks good.

I have nothing against the Marriott brand.

I don't have anything against Concord.

I believe they build beautiful hotels.

However, the devil is in the details of that contract, right?

If all I's are not dotted and T's are crossed, guess what?

We'll be holding the bag on that 77 million dollars, right?

As hotels do, right?

They stay about five years, and next thing you know, the Marriott brand is gone.

It went down to a Ramada, then it went on down to a hotel six, and next is looking like that thing over across the street called the Vitality over there.

That's what happens.

Vitality is an example what can happen here.

So don't listen to all this she she poo-poo stuff.

It's all sounds nice, but guess what?

The devil is in the details on every last bit of it.

They have not even said what is in the details of that 77 million, and we can be holding the bag on that 77 million dollars.

They come up with a NCA.

Everybody talk about how great the NCA is.

It's a great thing.

I'm glad the NCA is gonna help the other community.

I haven't seen not one dollar.

I can't believe anything you say because I see exactly what you do every single time.

Shout out to James Bowen.

Listen, in a nutshell, that NCA is set up to fund that funding gap of 17 million dollars that they want us to pay.

They are paying these corporations to come in here to build, and we gotta pay for it.

Right?

They're already getting three percent on all hotels and motels.

They're getting that.

We're giving them property, we're giving them all this other stuff just to get people to come in.

The city manager gave five million dollars in the empty building right at 34 uh Main Street.

No one's in that building.

They give it away, and then she wants to sell it for 600 million six hundred thousand dollars.

We're losing four million dollars, but we don't have enough money to pick up the fire piles in my neighborhood.

This is what's happening, people.

The rich keeps getting richer and the poor keep getting poor.

This is about taking care of corporations.

Corporations need to pay their fair share of tax, they're getting tax abatements by the way, also.

Thank you.

God bless you all.

Thank you.

I call to the podium Asha Parson.

Asha Parson, 605 East Fifth Street, Dayton, Ohio, 45402.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioner, and City Manager.

My name is Asha Parson, and I serve as the president of the Oregon District Business Association Board.

On behalf of our board and members, I want to thank the Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority for its collaboration with the ODBA as we strengthen our organization's structure and identify both immediate and long-term priorities for the Oregon district.

We appreciate their commitment to working alongside our business community to support neighborhood improvements and future opportunities.

That concludes speakers on this public hearing, Your Honor.

Thank you, Ms.

McClendon.

Thank you all for your participation in tonight's uh hearing