[1:36] Good evening and welcome to the Defiant City Council meeting for tonight,

[1:39] February 24th, 2026. As we get underway, we have Pastor Scott Williams from the

[1:45] Church of the Nazarene to lead us in [snorts] prayer before we get underway.

[1:49] Thank you for being our guest this evening.

[1:52] » Thank you for allowing me to come and pray for you all. Let's pray.

[1:56] God, it is an honor and a privilege uh to be able to be in a country that we

[2:00] can come and we can have meetings like this where we can make decisions and

[2:07] care for our people and our community. So God, tonight we just come before you

[2:11] and ask for your hand upon this meeting. God, I don't know everything that's

[2:15] about to happen. I don't know what even's on the agenda tonight, but God,

[2:19] you know what needs to happen. God, you put these people in place, everybody

[2:23] who's here, God, you put them in this place for this time and all of all of

[2:27] eternity. God, I pray you give them wisdom. I pray you give them insight. I

[2:32] pray you give them compassion and empathy and uh give them the ability,

[2:37] God, to make wise decisions with with everything that they have to do. God,

[2:43] they're in the they're in the place that they have to for so many people and the

[2:47] responsibility of that is great. So God, I pray that you just be with them that

[2:52] uh you take care of their families as God they've got issues there that maybe

[2:56] that are weighing them down tonight as well. God, I pray that you just give

[2:59] them comfort in the midst of those things so that they can have clear minds

[3:04] to do your business here in our community. God, thank you for uh the

[3:08] privilege you give us to pray in this country and for all that you give us in

[3:13] Jesus name. Amen. Amen. [clears throat] Thank you very much.

[3:18] This meeting is now called to order. Let the record show that all the members of

[3:22] council are present except we are down Mr. Waxler and Mr. Mast who are unable

[3:28] to make it this evening. Do we have a motion to excuse Mr. Waxler this

[3:32] evening? >> So moved.

[3:34] » Second. >> Second. Mrs. C Miss Kaufman. All those

[3:37] in favor of excusing Mr. Waxler say I. >> All those opposed.

[3:42] » And do we have a motion to excuse Mr. Mr. Mass.

[3:44] » So move. >> So move.

[3:45] » Second. >> Second. Miss Kaufman. All those in favor

[3:49] of excusing Mr. Mass this evening also respond with I.

[3:54] » All those opposed. All right. [clears throat] Hopefully we'll see them

[3:56] next time. Would you stand with me for the pledge of allegiance?

[4:03] » I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[4:08] republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[4:14] justice for all.

[4:18] [snorts]

[4:21] As we get underway, I have reviewed the index minutes for our last meeting of

[4:24] February 10th, 2026. Do we have a motion to correct or amend

[4:29] the index minutes as they're presented? Without such a motion, I'll approve

[4:34] them. Do we have any liaison meeting reports

[4:38] or requests? [clears throat]

[4:42] And do we have any comments from council this evening?

[4:45] » Miss Kaufman, >> I'd like to thank the administration for

[4:49] sending me to the uh newly elected council training seminar that the Ohio

[4:53] Municipal League puts on. They picked up the registration and I gave my time uh

[4:58] all day on Saturday, but it was worthwhile. Very well [clears throat]

[5:01] done and I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

[5:06] » Thank you, Mrs. Crutch. >> Um, this past Saturday was the Shanghai

[5:10] circus that the straight put on. It was a great little event that they had. A

[5:14] lot of people showed up and it was a good cultural um awareness for a lot of

[5:19] the children and and the parents, too. So, it was a great job. And then also,

[5:23] have you heard any news on the 1918 building?

[5:27] » Anything updating on that? >> Got a little water issue. I heard that.

[5:33] » But it was a it was a water line that we didn't know existed. That I don't want

[5:38] to say it froze and burst. It may have froze and burst. It just failed. But

[5:42] something we took care of. >> Any interest? Have you heard?

[5:46] » Oh, there's a couple things. [snorts] >> The Defiant Society of Artist is going

[5:51] to continue decorating windows if that is still okay with the city that we

[5:55] still do that. >> Sure.

[5:57] » All right. Thank you. >> We appreciate him doing that.

[6:01] Thank you. Any other comments from council this

[6:05] evening?

[6:08] All right. I'm I'm sure we all noticed in our drop boxes that the financial

[6:13] reports for February were included. In the absence of any objection or

[6:20] corrections, the payment of bills and financial reports shall be approved. Are

[6:24] there any objections or corrections? >> January.

[6:27] » I'm sorry, January. >> We're still in February. [clears throat]

[6:30] That's right. >> March.

[6:32] » It's almost over. >> January. Short month.

[6:35] » Yeah. >> If there are none, then they are

[6:39] approved, >> but thank you for sending

[6:43] on to the board of control. Uh, Mayor McKinnon. Not much for me. Other Mr.

[6:48] President, on March 10th, I will not be here. Uh every year I attend a health

[6:54] department meeting that's somewhat mandatory and so that's why we'll be in

[6:59] two weeks.

[7:02] » And that's March. That's all. >> Thank you. Mr. Mack,

[7:08] » nothing for you at this time, Mr. President.

[7:10] » Mr. I would like to request an executive

[7:13] session to consider confidential information related to the specific

[7:17] strategy of an e economic development assistance that involves either public

[7:22] infrastructure improvements or the extension of utilities that are directly

[7:26] related to the economic development project pursuant to higher code section

[7:31] 121.22 G8. >> Mr. O'Donnell's requested an executive

[7:36] session. Do we have such a motion? >> So moved. Second.

[7:40] Second. Mr. Hancock. >> Mrs. Stretch.

[7:43] » Yes. >> Mr. Hancock.

[7:45] » Yes. >> Mr. Corbett.

[7:47] » Yes. >> Miss Kaufman.

[7:48] » Yes. >> And Mr.

[7:49] » Yes. >> Before [clears throat] we adjourn for

[7:51] this evening, we will have an executive session. And is there anything else?

[7:56] » Not at this time. >> And Miss Spre,

[7:59] » um, just a couple of purchase orders. Uh, Mommy Valley Planning their um,

[8:05] revolving loan administration fee 15,000.

[8:08] finance uh workers comp the 2026 true up 17,1

[8:16] water treatment plant the lime sludge contract um that original PO is 350,000

[8:22] they took a draw $9,111 uh UBO um Ferguson Enterprises for

[8:30] meters 20,000 water pollution control uh engineering services with the siphon

[8:37] cleaning 49 9,750 parks and wreck, Smith and Wheeler uh

[8:43] repair and coat tennis and basketball courts at Latty's Veterans Park, uh

[8:49] 35,120. And we also received a grant to help

[8:55] offset the cost of that 35,000 for $10,000

[8:59] from the Defiance Area Foundation. So just FYI on that. in engineering uh

[9:05] sharewood drive payment improvement preliminary engineering $49,950.

[9:12] And then just one other note, um Julian and Groo is the company that's going to

[9:19] be doing the 2025 audit. You would have received an email from them on a fraud

[9:25] questionnaire. So if you haven't, please just click on the link. It's not very

[9:30] many questions and get that back to them. Um but they're going to start

[9:34] working on the 25 a so the regular state will not be coming in

[9:41] that's why >> well thank you very much [clears throat]

[9:46] we do have two items of legislation

[9:54] » we do have public hearing I guess

[10:01] there we >> [snorts]

[10:05] » Uh, we do have a public hearing this evening.

[10:14] There we go. Uh, for the map amendment and resoning

[10:19] request and variance requests and plat review.

[10:23] » Mr. O'Donnell. >> Thank you, Mr. President. This uh

[10:26] involves an applicant requesting what we call a planned unit development overlay.

[10:31] uh to a R1 lowdensity residence district. And um you might recall uh

[10:40] passing a pair of resolutions last year where where the board of commissioners

[10:45] for the finance count county ultimately approved the annexation of this u

[10:50] property that looks like the state of Michigan and into the city. and

[10:56] um it does come in as the lowest density uh or or the least or most restrictive

[11:03] use uh for that type of use. So here that would be R1 that that's automatic

[11:08] anytime there's an annexation [clears throat]

[11:10] u based on the most recently adopted comprehensive land use plan

[11:16] and uh the applicant's requesting an

[11:19] overlay. It has a number of advantages. uh you can do zero lot line dwellings,

[11:26] you can have greater housing density for the project and um section 1171.06c4

[11:34] uh for planning zoning code requires a public hearing and that's what you're

[11:38] doing tonight um before we would have an ordinance before you

[11:45] for that overlay. Um, I did want to clarify uh the count the clerks

[11:50] mentioned variances. The planning commission has approved the sole

[11:53] variance that the applicant requested [clears throat]

[11:57] and they are here too. >> Excellent.

[12:00] » Mr. Han. >> Yeah. With this with this development

[12:03] we're looking at how many units do we >> I don't know off the top of my head.

[12:13] » Yeah. Please do 125. 125.

[12:16] » Yes. [clears throat]

[12:18] » Oh, we're asking are they all single single homes?

[12:22] » Yes, single family homes and then also one amenity site for the entire

[12:26] development. >> Okay,

[12:29] » Mr. Hancock. >> And you know the range of cost

[12:34] sales cost you're looking at like 200, two and a quarter, 300, you know.

[12:42] I do not know that number. Okay.

[12:48] Get rolling. >> What's that?

[12:50] » Get rolling. >> Still a year away.

[12:54] The actual home building might be a little premature.

[12:59] » Thank you.

[13:04] » We have any other questions from council?

[13:09] » Another question. Just a comment. Once again, thank you guys for your

[13:12] commitment to defiance and what you're doing with your developments that

[13:16] they're already in place and look forward to seeing the new one go up. So,

[13:21] thank you. >> And any questions or comments from any

[13:26] of our guests?

[13:31] Easily resolved. Thank you, Mr. O'Donnell.

[13:39] » You want me to do it? There we go. >> First reading by caption only an

[13:44] ordinance authorizing and ratifying entry into a contract for the purchase

[13:48] [clears throat] of electricity for street lights and declaring emergency.

[13:52] » Mr. O'Donnell. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh much like

[13:55] the ordinances that you have for the electricity purchases for the city

[14:00] facilities or sort of like the electric aggregation program. Uh we have to get a

[14:06] little creative with this ordinance because of the uh volatility of the

[14:09] energy markets. Um this is for the uh street uh street light network that the

[14:15] city maintains so that all our residents can be safe, visitors can be safe when

[14:20] they're traversing throughout the city. Uh the proposal that we have recommended

[14:25] to you is for a 36-month electricity supply contract uh for that street light

[14:31] network. Uh the our consultants are estimating a cost an annual cost of

[14:38] $52,000. It comes out to about $4,300 a month for

[14:42] the city. Obviously, that's a contract uh that requires your approval. And um

[14:48] due to those the uncertainty of the the energy markets, we are asking for the

[14:53] authority for the city administrator to sign the contract with the lowest and

[14:59] best uh supplier. Uh that can change, but lowest and best we'll be able to

[15:06] determine that minute by minute. Um obviously

[15:11] five members here, so u suspending the rules is not an option for tonight.

[15:17] But you can't do a reading. >> Do we have any questions for Mr.

[15:21] O'Donnell in these regards? Mr. Corbett. >> Motion let

[15:27] motion let lie. >> Second.

[15:28] » Mr. Angel, all those [clears throat] in favor of letting this issue lie and then

[15:32] bringing it up next time we're together say I.

[15:35] » I. >> All those opposed, we will let this

[15:38] issue lie.

[15:42] » First reading by caption only. ordinance authorizing a contract for the

[15:46] construction of Ottawa eminent corridor improvements project and declaring

[15:51] emergency. >> Mr. O'Donnell.

[15:53] » Yes, Mr. President. Council sat through a litany of ordinances last year and

[15:59] partially [snorts] into 2024 uh from that range from grant

[16:03] applications to the design to over a dozen property acquisition ordinances

[16:10] specifically regarding this project. And it's finally

[16:14] time to execute the construction contract. So I think it's safe to say

[16:17] this will be the last one for Ottawa Avenue,

[16:21] the corridor improvements. Advanced Escavating and Demolition of Mcome, Ohio

[16:26] submitted the lowest and best bid of just over $2.7 million. The uh budgeted

[16:34] amount was $3 million, so that came in lower. And as a reminder, uh the project

[16:41] uh involves Yes, thank you. the replacement of the

[16:46] the water line along Ottawa. That's the red here. Um

[16:52] and then new sidewalks and shared use paths throughout. Could you uh scroll

[16:56] down? Thank you. Um so some of these are are shared use paths right here, the

[17:03] dotted uh turquoise line. And then even down here on Cleveland line, Cleveland

[17:08] Avenue uh this dotted line, that's a sidewalk that's going to connect uh to

[17:13] the Heirsville Avenue project uh that started yesterday. And so when this is

[17:19] all said and done, hopefully at the end by the end of the construction year, uh

[17:23] someone could walk from Deon Road to the YMCA and school facilities. uh they

[17:30] could access East Side Park um and even into uh town there in Kings Kingsbury

[17:36] Park and those other amenities. That was very important uh to the respondents and

[17:41] residents that uh took the time to take the [clears throat] survey for the parks

[17:45] master plan and we want to deliver that. >> Excellent.

[17:51] Any any questions for Mr. O'Donnell in these regards?

[17:55] » Mr. Mr. Angel. >> Motion to let lie.

[17:57] » Second. >> Motion to let lie, Mr. Engel. Second,

[18:00] Mrs. Crutch. [clears throat] All those in favor of letting this issue lie until

[18:04] next time, say I. >> I.

[18:06] » All those opposed. Right. We will also let this issue lie.

[18:12] With both items of legislation addressed, do we have any citizens

[18:15] concerns? Any any questions for council?

[18:20] Did any council members come with any? All right. and we can stretch our legs a

[18:25] few minutes before we enter executive session.

[18:30] » Oh, I'm sorry. I did not see you. >> Is this the time where we can stand up

[18:34] and speak? >> Yes. Please come up to the microphone

[18:37] and

[18:41] give us your name. If you have a a question or comment for council,

[18:44] » it's it's a it's a comment. Uh yesterday on Facebook, this is speaker.

[18:52] » Um Speculation data centers coming to defiance Ohio.

[18:59] Um data centers Ohio now has currently um probably 200 data centers. The US has

[19:07] currently 400 data centers. This year they want to 3,000 data centers put up

[19:14] in the US. Data centers create air, water, noise, health and energy

[19:20] concerns. Um if a data center is coming to our community, we need advanced

[19:28] warning so we can mitigate the risks and there are many data centers do not

[19:35] provide jobs after the construction phase is done. Small data centers use 15

[19:42] to 20 people. Medium-sized data centers use 30 to 40 people and a large data

[19:49] center may use a 100 people. Communities that have that Columbus now has almost

[19:57] 133 data centers. Many of those communities that have those data centers

[20:03] now regret regret that they are there. Um last week Archbold had a meeting on a

[20:12] data center that is they think could be coming to their area. Over 400 people

[20:19] showed up to that meeting and they did not want the data center. Usually when

[20:25] data centers come into a community, it is rushed through legislation and the

[20:32] community and its citizens do not have time to make sure our air, water, noise,

[20:40] health, and energy needs are met. Energy needs are paid by the citizens in that

[20:47] community unless you can really pin these centers down. And you're talking

[20:52] about Apple, Google, Meta, um you name it. They got all the money

[21:00] in the world. Yet they want us, the community, to pay to upgrade the energy

[21:06] grid so these centers can can work. A small data center, one data center can

[21:14] be like running a small 20,000 to 30,000 populated city.

[21:22] that will escalate our energy costs. These data centers put off air

[21:30] pollution, very small, tiny air pollution that gets trapped in people's

[21:35] lungs and respiratory system. One data center can use 5 million gallons of

[21:41] water per day, depending on the size. Where is that water going to come from?

[21:46] What are they going to do with the discharge? And how is our city, if one

[21:51] is planning on coming here, how are we going to mitigate that? Where where

[21:57] would we get this water from? Last summer, we went through five months of

[22:01] drought. I watched our rivers lose more and more water. I could walk across the

[22:08] old glaze river and parts of the Miami River, Mommy River by the end of the

[22:13] summer. We do not have an endless supply of

[22:18] water. So,

[22:22] number one, is this true? I don't know. I Googled it yesterday. I took my

[22:28] computer out, Googled, is there a data center coming to Defiance, Ohio? Guess

[22:34] what it said? Speculative data center coming to Defiance, Ohio somewhere on

[22:40] the road. That's the information I got. But I want to really really stress that

[22:48] if one is coming, citizens need to know about it. We need to be prepared and we

[22:54] need to know h how we're going to mitigate. How are

[23:00] we going to keep our health? How are we going to protect people from the noise?

[23:05] These centers create 247 noise that radiates out two miles. Two miles a

[23:12] constant home. light. There's light pollution.

[23:17] So, you know, these are questions that we need to get

[23:22] in front of rather than behind because believe me, Ohio is fifth fifth in the

[23:29] nation as far as putting into data centers. And and Ohio doesn't care about

[23:34] the science of Ohio. Ohio cares about the big guys. They they're not in it for

[23:40] the little guys. And we are little. And that's why they're coming here. They

[23:44] want the land. They want the water. And they want rural areas because there's

[23:49] very little push back.

[23:54] Has anyone on city council heard heard anything? Have you heard about what

[24:00] happened in Archbold last week? It was in the present news. Your

[24:04] » your time is up. Do you have any wrap-up statements you would like to make before

[24:07] you're done? >> I just want to know if you heard about

[24:09] it. Um [clears throat] I read in the

[24:14] crescent that there was a meeting in Archbold.

[24:18] » Yeah. Three to 400 citizens showed up. >> And and because I I would like to do

[24:23] some homework. Uh I I saw that you were referring to notes perhaps information

[24:28] where you gathered about the air, water, noise, and health pollution. Do you have

[24:32] like a a site that I would be able to go to?

[24:34] » Yeah, I went to the University of uh Utah site. um um

[24:42] uh in in uh in Utah. But this information is all over.

[24:48] » Yeah. It just pops up. >> You made several statements about the

[24:53] range of noise and light and about contaminants that is minuscule but get

[24:58] in our lungs and about 5 million gallons and stuff. And what I would like to do

[25:02] is be informed because I got to admit I am not super informed about this. if you

[25:06] were referring to these statistics. I didn't know if there was a site that I

[25:09] could go to in order to do >> site where I got um the water came off

[25:14] of a um environmental and energy institute data on data centers about the

[25:22] 5 million gallons of water. You can Google this and just

[25:27] » Well, no, I I was specifically wanting to know where the statistics that you

[25:31] quoted. Okay. Well, I'll give you one. This one on the 5 million gallons of

[25:36] water environmental energy institute. >> Okay,

[25:40] » that's the side I was on. >> Got it. And I'm sorry, I didn't even I

[25:43] didn't even ask you your name. >> My name's Barb.

[25:46] » All right. Thank you. And thank you for being our guest this evening.

[25:54] Were there any other citizens concerns before we stretch our legs before

[25:57] executive session?

[26:02] All right. Well, then you can take a short break.

City of Defiance, OH Council Meeting 02.24.2026

Transcript