Latest news with #SharettaSmith
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smith speaks out on energy cuts
May 13—LIMA — Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith touted the city's floating solar panels as examples of the value of Direct Pay tax credits in a press call with Power a Clean Future Ohio and two other Ohio mayors Tuesday. Smith, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson and Solon Mayor Ed Kraus spoke about projects the Inflation Reduction Act provision has made possible in their cities and expressed worry with an expected tax package markup set to go through the House Ways and Means Committee. "The IRA has allowed Lima to pursue floating solar panels on two of our reservoirs," Smith said. "This project would not be feasible without the clean energy tax credits. Powering our water treatment plant through electricity saves us $1 million per year." The draft text from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce calls for cuts to spending on several Inflation Reduction Act programs, including rollbacks to tax credits through the Direct Pay program. In Smith's December 2024 year-end report ( the city said the array of 3,444 panels would have a power output of two megawatts and would generate enough clean energy to power 400 to 500 homes, saving the city nearly $10 million in electricity costs over its lifetime. Smith announced an Ohio BUILDS Grant and a Department of Energy grant to go toward the solar array in June ( Executive director of Power a Clean Future Ohio Joe Flarida said the issue makes projects like the solar array affordable for local governments everywhere. "When we reached out to mayors across Ohio, we were not short on options," he said. "This is a cost-cutting issue that affects local government. They are critical tools in our tax code that help build the economy of the future and there may be no better state across the country that stands to benefit than Ohio." "This project is leveraging $890,000 in Direct Pay tax credits," Smith added. "We would not be able to do this without this program. (Cuts) threaten us being able to be innovative and it's not just about the current project, it's about the feasibility of future projects." Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tree planting celebrates milestone anniversary
Apr. 25—LIMA — It is a term few may be familiar with now, but with 2026 drawing closer, Americans may be encountering the word "semiquincentennial" more frequently as it describes a 250th anniversary. With the United States preparing to celebrate that milestone, a ceremony Friday morning at Lima Stadium Park kicked off the festivities a little early. Friday's Heritage Trees ceremony was organized by America 250-Ohio, the commission tasked with organizing the state's commemorations of the nation's 250th anniversary. The Heritage Trees program involves the planting of a white oak tree as a living memorial to commemorate the anniversary. "Trees are living history, and there is a way to honor our history by planting a tree," America 250-Ohio commission member Leslie Wagner, a historian at Newark's Dawes Arboretum, said. "It's really showing the public that history and horticulture are not as siloed as people may think." The goal of the Heritage Trees project is to plant at least one commemorative white oak in each of Ohio's 88 counties by the end of 2026. Lima's ceremony, also sponsored by the Lima Cenovus Refinery, saw the first of these trees dedicated. "Although the 250th anniversary isn't until 2026, we are not waiting until then to get the party started," Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith, a member of the America 250-Ohio commission, said during her remarks. Native to Ohio, a white oak is a hardy tree resistant to disease and having an average lifespan of 200 to 300 years. Organizers are hoping that as this tree grows and flourishes, it will remind them of another historic tree. "We're thinking about the Liberty Tree that was so symbolic of the American Revolution, and so we wanted to do something a little more Ohio-style," America 250-Ohio Executive Director Todd Kleismit said. "We're thrilled to be kicking this off here today in Lima." The Liberty Tree in Boston became a symbol of the American Revolution as it was the site of meetings for those involved in the revolution as well as the site of numerous protests, including one against the British-imposed Stamp Act in 1765. For Ohio Speaker Matt Huffman, the site of the planting also prompted him to reflect on some of Lima's local history and the impact that motivated people can have, including the example of Leo Hawk, who purchased and donated the properties that became Lima Stadium Park in 2016. "Most great things that are happening, like what's happening here today, don't simply happen as the normal course of history," he said during his remarks. "It's because an individual or a small group of individuals decide, 'We have to do something.' That's how you get a great park like this." Other events the America 250-Ohio commission are planning include an Ohio Creativity Trail exploring various artistic styles in the state, an Air and Space Trail commemorating the state's aviation history, and "Ohio Goes to the Movies," a program that will include screenings of various films featuring Ohio-based talent. For more information on these and other projects, go to Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lima's Smith joins pedestrian safety program
Apr. 9—LIMA — Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith announced she will join a cohort of 12 mayors from across the country for a national pedestrian safety leadership program. The mayor will join the 2025 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety for the Mayors Innovation Project to learn best practices and hear from peers about how to design streets to increase pedestrian safety. "It's a series with a two-day, in-person workshop in Washington D.C., and then there is a series of virtual workshops that we are participating in over a number of weeks," Smith said. "Smart Growth America sponsors this, so it will not have a direct cost on the city's budget." The institute will see participants work alongside national experts and fellow mayors to address safety challenges over six months. Smart Growth America Director of Transportation for America Beth Osborne called the institute essential through the city. "Whether you're a business owner or the parent of young child, safety is absolutely fundamental to thriving communities," she said in a press release. "Mayors are essential to this work and we are eager to work with this year's cohort to share and implement more of what we know creates safer, more vibrant communities for all." Smith tied the work of the program to the city's traffic calming efforts. "It's timely for us because we have a number of transportation improvement projects in the pipeline," she said. "With respect to our neighborhood traffic calming program that we're working on, the transportation improvement projects through (Lima/Allen County) Regional Planning and the improvements that we're looking at for Cable Road, city engineer Ian Kohli and I are taking advantage of this opportunity to learn how we can continue to design our streets in a way that we put pedestrian safety above car mobility in Lima." Other cities represented in the cohort include Alameda, Calif.; Brevard, N.C.; Evertett, Wash.; Alton, Ill.; Lauderhill, Fla.; Tigard, Ore.; Superior, Wis.; Lansing, Mich.; Little Rock, Ark.; Brockton, Mass.; and Williamsport, Penn. Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lima council approves alley vacation
Feb. 25—LIMA — Resident Thomas Ball was happy to get his questions answered about the alley Lima council voted to vacate at Monday night's meeting. The alley sits between his property and a property that is set to become a Clark Gas Station on the 1100 block of West North Street, but he was relieved to find out that the half of the alley on his side of the block will be unaffected by the decision. "My garage sits on the alley so it's been blocked off, and we just wanted to make sure that nothing would go wrong with that," he said. Council also approved an ordinance to authorize Mayor Sharetta Smith to contract SAFEbuilt Ohio to provide plan review support services for the Lima-Allen County Building Department. "What we're trying to do for the customer is reduce the amount of time for plan reviews," public works director Amy Harpster said. "We're always trying to reduce that time so this will help us in providing an expedited, more prompt response to the owners and design professionals for plans." Council also passed ordinances to authorize the mayor to administer funds from the Cenovus Energy Grant and the Marathon First Responder Fund Grant for the Lima Police Department, accept a donation from the Lima Police Wives Association, to donate extrication equipment to Apollo Career Center and to enter into an agreement for the UAW Local 2075 to sub-lease space from the American Red Cross at 610 S. Collett St. Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smith, community look ahead to State of City
Feb. 4—LIMA — There might not be many surprises at this year's State of the City address, but Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith is set to share an optimistic message focusing heavily on the future. City stakeholders expressed similar optimism ahead of the address. "The Mayor has done a wonderful job leading our city," Central District developer Tracie Sanchez said via email. "Lima is becoming a vibrant destination spot with new shops, restaurants, an amphitheater and housing. There is a lot of private and public investment happening in Lima, which can only be done with cooperation and partnerships with the administration." In past addresses, Smith has presented facts about the progress of development projects, police and fire funding and recruiting, affordable housing and safety throughout the city's neighborhoods. The mayor is happy to keep the message consistent, though. "Something you will hear is how we have been focused on making sure we take care of those things we heard from our residents that they wanted us to focus on and for me, that matters most," Smith said. Councilmen Thomas Jones and Derry Glenn expect similar themes in the address. "I expect the mayor to speak about all the innovation and groundbreaking activities that we have going on here," Jones said. "I'm excited about the community as a whole, especially the vision for a new project at the former VFW building. I believe (Smith) has a lot of great news according to the different ordinances we have voted on in the past year." "I want to hear about the great things going on in the city, from the swimming pool to the economic development dealing with housing issues that we've been working on very hard," Glenn added. "That's what I'm excited about. To hear that she cares about the city and to see her walking the wards is a win-win situation for us in council." While the Lima Community Aquatic Center is still set to open in May, the city has seen a number of projects open in the past year, including Spring and Main, the new Dunkin' on Bellefontaine Avenue and the Fitness Court along the Ottawa River Bikeway. In addition to the aquatic center's opening, Smith said the city is looking forward to the start of projects like the aforementioned VFW and Riverfront One projects, the start of a new traffic calming program, investments into the Arctaris fund and state funding for housing. It is all about improving the quality of life for residents. "I've said before that community development is economic development," Smith said. "When cities focus on things that matter to residents — when they focus on improving livability, we make ourselves more attractive." Sanchez echoed those sentiments. "It is important moving forward that private and public sectors collaborate together to enhance business development," she said. "We are all much better working together with a long-term vision of what we want our city to be. I believe we all have the same vision for our city to be a town we are all proud of and where future generations will want to raise their families and work." That is the ultimate goal of Smith's agenda. "Every dollar and every effort that we make towards improving the quality of life in this community and making Lima better really points back to wanting to ensure that our city is prepared for future generations. In this State of the City, you will see an intense focus on who we are doing this work for. And that is our young people." Smith, who is up for re-election in November, is the only candidate to file to run in this May's primary, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday prior to the Wednesday, Feb. 5 deadline. The State of the City address is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 at Lima Senior High School's Joe Henderson Auditorium, 1 Spartan Way. For more information or to reserve seating, visit Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399. Featured Local Savings
