I-Team: ‘It's important that this event go well;' millions spent on security as NATO comes to Dayton
The State of Ohio is spending millions of dollars to protect our community during the Spring 2025 NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
The event starts on Thursday and runs through Memorial Day in downtown Dayton.
According to data News Center 7 got from the Downtown Dayton Partnership, on average, downtown has 180,317 visitors per week. The Downtown Dayton Partnership says that number includes residents, employees, and visitors and says it defines downtown Dayton as a 0.5-mile radius from 6 N. Main Street.
The News Center 7 I-Team's lead investigative reporter, John Bedell, looked into security measures, the public money price tag and talked to some of the people impacted by the changes people will notice downtown put in place for the NATO event.
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Earlier this month, we talked to Lewis Roberts in the middle of one of his regular walks through downtown. His normal route takes him through RiverScape MetroPark.
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'It's good to keep this old body moving,' Roberts said with a laugh.
On that same day, we met Jessica Nenn, a downtown resident, sitting on a park swing enjoying RiverScape – and the view along the banks of the Great Miami River on a sunny Friday afternoon.
'It's beautiful,' Nenn said. 'It's peaceful in the evening time after work.'
Beginning today, enjoying RiverScape won't be possible for a few days. The park will be contained within a secure perimeter, part of the security measures for the NATO event.
People will notice things like barriers and fencing around the border of the NATO village. It's a roughly 16-square-block area of downtown Dayton with restricted access and increased security.
'We know there's a lot of opportunists who will come here that necessarily aren't coming for positive reasons, and we have to keep everyone safe,' Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein told the I-Team.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is providing state troopers to help the Dayton Police Department with security.
That way, Dayton officers can handle their normal daily patrols across the community while also having to focus on the NATO event for several days.
'The security plan, which is being funded by the state, largely depends on a large number of (state troopers) coming from (the) Ohio State (Highway) Patrol who will come in and work NATO village for us and do the security at the other ancillary sites along with Dayton PD,' Dickstein said. 'So we will still have full coverage of the rest of the city – for our policing, for our fire, for public works. So we're pleased about that.'
In an interview with the I-Team about state aid for the NATO event, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said, 'I don't want to talk about the numbers (of state troopers), but we're going to put whatever number of people in there that are necessary.'
Event planners have told the I-Team that NATO does not reimburse host cities for expenses related to the event.
But $2 million from the federal government will help support holding the NATO assembly.
Additionally, the Ohio Controlling Board approved releasing $4.3 million through the Ohio Department of Public Safety to help the City of Dayton and Montgomery County with costs associated with safety and security for the event.
$2.8 million of that will go to the City of Dayton 'to reimburse costs incurred for policing, fire, public works, and equipment expenses.'
$1.3 million to provide security for the event went to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
And $100,000 each went to Montgomery County and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA) for county and state emergency operations center activation costs.
Federal, state, county, and local leaders have spent months planning for the event.
'From the beginning, it was always framed as the federal money would go towards the program, along with business sponsorships – our local business community is really stepping up and sponsoring a lot of the programming activities,' Dickstein said. 'And the state would take care of the security.'
Aside from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Gov. DeWine told the I-Team the Ohio National Guard will be involved.
'We've got the highway patrol,' DeWine said. 'They have air assets, they have ground assets, of course, intelligence units. So they're going to all be involved. We also have the National Guard. The National Guard, again, has other expertise in different areas. We probably won't go into the details. They have specialized expertise, and they're going to be very much involved.'
During the interview with the governor, Bedell asked DeWine what he thought when he first learned the NATO event was coming to Dayton.
'Well, I think it was great news, and this is a big event,' DeWine said. 'We like to have big events in Dayton. But it's also a security issue. And so as the governor, that's one of the things I first started thinking about. I think about you've got people from dozens and dozens of countries, important people, coming to one place, coming to Dayton. So, you know, that was my first thought: how are we going to handle that? The security.'
The I-Team asked Dickstein that same question. 'Oh, I thought it was an exciting opportunity,' she said. 'It's not every day that somebody comes to us and says, 'hey, Dayton's going to get a chance to be on the international stage and have an international spotlight.' Of course, there are a lot of questions and a lot of, 'oh, OK, and what does it entail? And when is it happening? And what do we have?' You know, all that preparation. But it ultimately is a great opportunity for Dayton.'
Dickstein said later in that interview with the I-Team: 'It's important that this event go well for Ohio, too. I mean, Ohio is under the international spotlight. So we are very pleased and excited for the partnership with the state, and we couldn't have done this event without it.'
In all, Gov. DeWine told the News Center 7 I-Team, 'seven or eight different state agencies, different departments' will be involved in securing the event.
The NATO village closures will interrupt downtown life in spots, like the hustle and bustle of a pizza shop.
Wednesday is the start of a six-day break at Flying Pizza at the corner of First and Main Streets.
'I guess we get a vacation,' Tony Graci, with Flying Pizza in downtown Dayton, said. 'If there's no foot traffic, if customers can't come in to pick up their pizzas, that's tough. So, we don't really want to be in here for that time.'
Flying Pizza isn't the only business within the NATO village to close during the NATO event.
Right across the street, Hotel Ardent and Bistecca will be closed to the public during the event.
A spokesperson who said they handle public relations for the hotel and restaurant told the I-Team in an emailed statement:
'In support of the upcoming NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which will take place in Dayton from May 22 to 26, and in coordination with relevant authorities and security measures, Hotel Ardent and Bistecca will be temporarily closed to the public during this period. We view Dayton's selection as host for this important international gathering as a positive and exciting opportunity for the city and region. While this temporary closure may affect public access, we are proud to play a part in supporting a secure and successful event.'
People who enjoy visiting and live in downtown Dayton will have to navigate the road closures and extra security measures for a few days as officials work to protect the event and our community.
'It shouldn't bother you to find a new route,' Roberts said. 'It shouldn't take you long. You know, Dayton is not that large.'
Nenn, whose downtown apartment is within the NATO village boundary, said, 'As citizens who live here, we'll just have to try to make it work.'
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