December 2025

Brian O. Martin, AICP

MVRPC Honors Outgoing Board Chair, Departing Delegates, and Recognizes Staff Achievement

During the December Board of Directors Meeting, MVRPC Board members and staff recognized Chairperson Sara Lommatzsch, City of Riverside Council Member, as she prepares to retire at the end of the month. For more than 40 years, Sara has exemplified a commitment to regional collaboration across the Miami Valley through her active participation in MVRPC.

Chairperson Lommatzsch’s contributions were recognized in 2019 when she received MVRPC’s Arthur D. Haddad Regional Steward Award presented to individuals who innovate in addressing regional challenges, inspire broad support for a shared vision, and help advance the region’s economic, social, and environmental vitality.

Her impact extends through her longstanding service with MVRPC. She was among the original MVRPC representatives when the City of Riverside was established in 1995 and has served on the MVRPC Board of Directors since 2014 and on the Executive Committee. Over the years, she has helped guide and elevate key regional initiatives such as US 35 improvements in Greene and Montgomery Counties including Riverside’s front door at the US 35 and Woodman Interchange. 

In addition to honoring Chairperson Lommatzsch, during the meeting we also recognized the dedicated service of departing Board members:

• Donald Burchett, City of Moraine
• Rick Dobson, City of West Carrollton
• Brian Housh, Village of Yellow Springs
• Marvin Moeller, Sugarcreek Township
• William Urschel, City of Xenia
• Debborah Wallace, Beavercreek Township

Lastly, we recognized the dedication and commitment of six staff members who have hit milestones in their MVRPC Careers:

• Martin Kim, Director, Community and Regional Planning, 25 Years
• Ana Ramirez, Director, Transportation Planning and Funding, 25 Years
•  Matt Lindsay, Director, Regional Environment and Economic Development, 20 Years
• Kathryn Youra-Polk, Principal Planner, 15 Years
• Milo Simpson, Planner II, 5 Years
• Serena Anderson, Regional Transit Programs Manager, 5 years

Our Region and agency are collaborative, inclusive, innovative, transparent, equitable, and diverse because of our outstanding team of staff, delegates, and partners. We thank everyone for their contributions toward strengthening the Region and we wish you a restful and merry Christmas and Holiday season with family and friends.

• RPC (Regional Planning Commission) Members adopted the following Resolutions:
• Resolution 25-32: Authorizing MVRPC to Apply for Ohio Department of Transportation Funds

• Resolution 25-33: Amending the Areawide Water Quality Management Plan to Update Boundaries for the Piqua and Troy Facility Planning Areas

• Resolution 25-34:Recommended Approval of FY2027 Transportation and Government Services Priority Development and Advocacy Committee (PDAC) Projects

• RTPO (Regional Transportation Planning Organization) Members adopted the following Resolution:
• Resolution 25-38: Approving the Recommended CY2025 Regional Surface Transportation Program Projects

• MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) Members adopted the following Resolutions:
• Resolution 25-35: Approving the Recommended CY2025 Regional Surface Transportation Program Projects

• Resolution 25-36: Proposed List of 2050 Long Range Transportation Participation Meetings; and Financial Analysis

• Resolution 25-37: Recommended Adoption of Revision #6 to MVRPC's SFY 2026-2029 Transportation Improve Program (TIP)

• The following information Items were presented:
• Proposed New Projects Requesting MVRPC's STP, TA & CR Funds, Presented by MVRPC Short Range Planning Manager, Paul Arnold

• MVRPC Website User Survey, presented by MVRPC Public Outreach Coordinator, Chanda Davis

Our 2025 Board of Directors roster lists each voting delegate and alternate for every MVRPC member jurisdiction. **Please note, this list is subject to change as new delegates are appointed. If your organization's delegate is blank, please contact Savannah Diamond at sdiamond@mvrpc.org

New to our Board or want a refresher on your role as an MVRPC Board member? Check out the 2025 Orientation for Board of Directors to learn more.

MVRPC is preparing to update mvrpc.org with improvements focused on ADA accessibility, navigation, search functionality, and overall user experience. As we begin this process, your feedback is essential.

We invite anyone who has visited our website to take a brief Website User Survey to help guide the redesign and ensure the new site serves our Region effectively.

Please share your input by December 31, 2025. Contact Laura Dent at ldent@mvrpc.org for more information.

MVRPC Shares Regional Tornado Recovery Success Story at IAEM EMEX 2025

MVRPC staff recently had the pleasure of presenting at the 2025 International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and Emergency Management & Homeland Security Expo (EMEX) Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. This international event brings emergency management professionals together yearly to provide professional development opportunities and share best practices, knowledge, and expertise.

During the conference, MVRPC staff hosted an educational session featuring the 2019 Tornado Recovery Monitoring System to highlight the story of how MVRPC coordinated and collaborated with many governmental and non-governmental agencies during the regional recovery efforts.  

In this session, attendees learned about:



• The 2019 Memorial Day Tornado Outbreak
• Recovery partnerships and investments
• Development of the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Monitoring System
• Collection and management of recovery case data
• Utilization of GIS based dashboards for transparency and collaboration

Though winding down, MVRPC’s recovery efforts continue to stand out as a best practice in post-disaster recovery efforts, regional collaboration, data driven decision making, and utilizing GIS to create a transparent disaster monitoring system. MVRPC’s experience demonstrates how strong partnerships and geospatial technology can help improve recovery speeds following a disaster.

To learn more about MVRPC’s disaster recovery efforts following the 2019 Memorial Day Tornado Outbreak, please visit https://www.mvrpc.org/regional-initiatives/long-term-disaster-recovery. 

MVRPC hosted another successful GIS training session on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at Wright State University’s GIS Lab. This is the third training session conducted this year and MVRPC’s 16th training session since the start of the program in 2016. Titled “Building Interactive Reporting Web Apps Using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online,” the training session covered hands-on learning modules on how to work in both the ArcGIS Pro and the ArcGIS Online environments, and creating a SmartForm application to collect data from the public.

MVRPC staff served as instructors to nearly a dozen of participants from all over the region. The training provided detailed written tutorials and other materials that attendees can continue to use after the session.



MVRPC’s GIS staff provides 3 training sessions per year for our members using commonly used GIS programs such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. For more information about MVRPC’s GIS program and training opportunities, visit our website at mvrpc.org/data-mapping/gis-mvrpc or contact Tom Harner, GIS Manager at tharner@mvrpc.org.

In November, MVRPC hosted three in-person open houses and one virtual open house to share important project information related to the development of our regional Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan. The in-person meetings were held November 18 – 20, 2025, in Fairborn, Carlisle, and Piqua.

If you were unable to attend an open house, there are still on-line opportunities to review project materials and provide input. From November 17 – December 17, 2025, you can review study information and share your feedback on safety countermeasures at www.publicinput.com/safestreets1.  



To learn more about the SS4A Safety Action Plan, please visit: www.mvrpc.org/ss4a. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Whitaker at 937.531.6541 or by email at ewhitaker@mvrpc.org.   

More About How Your Community Can Benefit from Microgrids

Green Energy Ohio will host an educational series on clean energy for municipalities: Municipal Microgrids - Distributed Energy Resources for Resiliency, Savings and Security.

Municipalities are facing higher energy costs now more than ever, and increasing outages due to hotter days and big data center usage. Municipalities need options to reduce their energy costs and ensure resilience for the communities they serve. Green Energy Ohio is hosting a one-hour educational session every other week in the first quarter of 2026 to discuss how microgrids provide a solution for this historic set of challenges.

The series provides a complete education on the topic; however, you can register just for the sessions of interest.

The series schedule is as follows:

• January 6, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Microgrids for Municipalities: The What and the Why
• January 20, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Microgrid Value Stacking
• February 3, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Microgrid Technology
• February 17, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Microgrid Development Process
• March 3, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Microgrid Financing Strategies
• March 17, 2026 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Microgrids: Putting it All Together



The series is FREE. Registration is available at this link.

On a monthly basis, MVRPC highlights several funding opportunities for eligible cities, counties, and townships on our website that could benefit communities in the Region. We include a description, contact information, and program links. We have also listed other valuable resources for funding opportunities for our regional jurisdictions and organizations. See more at: mvrpc.org/grant-and-funding-opportunities

This month, we are featuring information on:

• Ohio Environmental Education Fund – Deadline: January 9, 2026



• Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grants – Deadline: January 16, 2026 



If you have any questions, please contact Kathryn Youra Polk at kyourapolk@mvrpc.org.

Online Safe Streets for All Safety Action Stakeholder Meeting

MVRPC is developing a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan to enhance safety and prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries in the Miami Valley. 

In order to collect input and provide project updates to our MPO communities, MVRPC is inviting all elected officials, engineers, motorists and other interested parties to participate in an on-line stakeholder meeting to review the latest project information.

This stakeholder meeting will be held virtually on Thursday, December 18, 2025 from 9:00 – 10:30 am.

For more information visit our website: www.mvrpc.org/safe-streets-all-safety-ss4a-action-plan-stakeholder-meeting

The SS4A program makes funding available for planning and implementation efforts. In order to be eligible for implementation dollars, jurisdictions must be covered by a compliant safety action plan. MVRPC’s Safety Action Plan will allow local jurisdictions to access future implementation funds. MVRPC’s Safety Action Plan is expected to be complete in early 2026.



To learn more about the SS4A Safety Action Plan, please visit: www.mvrpc.org/ss4a. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Whitaker at 937.531.6541 or by email at ewhitaker@mvrpc.org.  

December Meeting Calendar

Please check the agency calendar on mvrpc.org or contact Savannah Diamond at sdiamond@mvrpc.org for the status of your meeting.

MVRPC emails are produced through Constant Contact. We have negotiated a group rate for all of our MVRPC members and partners to join Constant Contact. You could save more than you could joining the platform on your own, and even if you are already using Constant Contact, you can apply our discount to save even more. Best of all, the MVRPC communication team is here to help you get started! Visit our unique Constant Contact link or contact Laura Dent, MVRPC Director of Marketing and Public Outreach to learn more at ldent@mvrpc.org.

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