Ravenna Council Meeting: Weighs Safety Center Levy, NDS Housing Debt, and Data Center Bans

The Ravenna City Council met for a series of intensive committee discussions to chart the city’s legislative and fiscal course for the upcoming year. Dominating the agenda were critical decisions regarding the timeline to resurrect a failed safety center income tax levy, a request to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars in affordable housing debt, and an aggressive stance on regulating data centers and cryptocurrency operations in Northeast Ohio. Resurrecting the Safety Center Levy for November Setting the Ballot Strategy for the Ravenna Safety Center Project Ravenna leaders are moving quickly to place the safety center project initiative back before voters on the November 2026 ballot. The measure previously failed in the May special election by a 62% to 38% margin. Because the request involves an income tax increase rather than a property tax levy, legal counsel Amanda Hopkins confirmed to council members that the ordinance does not require a public hearing or three separate readings. Council members expressed a desire to bypass traditional delays and hold an official vote during the regular July meeting. This accelerated timeline is intended to grant the city a full summer and autumn to canvas neighborhoods, distribute yard signs, and execute an extensive public education campaign. Addressing Fire and Police Facility Deficiencies During an emotional address to the planning committee, Fire Chief Mark Chapple detailed the increasingly hazardous and deteriorating conditions inside the city’s 50-year-old fire station. “I got eight guys sleeping in a room a third of the size of this council chambers with no separation,” Chief Chapple stated. “One bathroom with one shower with a urinal that doesn’t work and you can’t flush it because it floods all over the floor on a regular basis. Something needs to be done. And not tomorrow, not next week, not a month from now.” Chapple added that a new $1.9 million emergency apparatus is scheduled for delivery in eight months, yet the current station lacks the physical space to house it, forcing the department to store secondary engines six blocks away. Council members universally agreed that a unified public front is mandatory to avoid replicating past ballot failures, noting that prior income tax increases for Ravenna streets and sidewalks also required multiple attempts before passing. Debating City Investments and Cannabis Revenue A core point of contention centered on how the city can demonstrate “skin in the game” to skeptical taxpayers. Council representatives shared resident feedback indicating that the previous levy felt like a “hard sell” due to Ravenna already possessing some of the highest income tax rates in the region. Proposals were floated to siphon incoming municipal cannabis revenues—estimated by some members to hover around $27,000 to $30,000 monthly—or a portion of the city’s general fund carryover to directly pay down the principal on future 30-year bonds. However, finance officials cautioned that the city’s general fund carryover is already on a downward trend, projected to decrease by $2 million this year. Furthermore, using unpredictable, non-tax revenue streams like marijuana funding could negatively impact the city’s municipal bond rating, potentially offsetting any upfront savings. Debt Forgiveness Request for Low-Income Housing Examining NDS Portage County Housing Notes The Community Economic and Development Committee evaluated a request from Neighborhood Development Services (NDS) regarding outstanding debt on the Portage Housing 1, 2, and 3 programs. Developed in the early 2000s utilizing the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s low-income housing tax credit program, the project constructed 85 single-family homes across Portage County, including 25 units within the City of Ravenna. To anchor the original subordinate financing, Ravenna loaned the project a total principal of $340,000 across three distinct phases ($90,000, $100,000, and $150,000). Representatives from NDS requested a formal satisfaction of the notes and mortgages, effectively asking the city to forgive all remaining principal and accrued interest. Balancing Tenant Equity and Revolving Loan Funds The compliance structure of the low-income housing tax credit program mandates that these properties transition into affordable homeownership opportunities for tenants starting in their 16th year of existence. To date, NDS has successfully sold 14 of the 25 Ravenna units to existing residents, leaving 11 units operating as affordable rentals. Phase Original Principal Loaned Total Repaid to City to Date Remaining City Units Phase 1 $90,000 — — Phase 2 $100,000 — — Phase 3 $150,000 — — Totals $340,000 $422,048.92 11 Units Because federal tax credit rules required the subordinate debt to carry compounding market interest rates, the total debt continues t