January 2026

Brian O. Martin, AICP

MVRPC's Top Accomplishments in 2025

Pictured Above; MVRPC Executive Director, Brian O. Martin; MVRPC Chairperson and City of Riverside Council Member, Sara Lommatzsch

Each year, I compile a list of MVRPC's Top 10 Accomplishments, and 2025 was no exception. Narrowing it down is always a challenge because our staff achieves so much. Here’s a look back at an extraordinary year of growth and progress for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Regional collaboration remains at the heart of everything we do, and I want to thank our members, partners, and stakeholders for their continued support. I also extend my appreciation to our Officers and our Chairperson for their leadership throughout the year. Your collective efforts have been instrumental in advancing the Miami Valley region.

1. Board of Directors Adopt the Community First Energy Plan for the Miami Valley as a Part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant

• August 7, 2025: The MVRPC Board of Directors, after earlier informational briefings, adopted the Community-First Energy Plan at their regular meeting. The plan report, and its Technical Report (Part 2) will be forwarded to US EPA for review and acceptance as meeting the requirements of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant's second required deliverable - a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan.

• Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant Compliance following Desk Review

• Dr. Aaron Wilson, Assistant Professor – Ag Weather & Climate Field Specialist; The Ohio State University, presents at the February Board Meeting on Ohio's Climate

2. MPO Transportation Planning Process Certification

• Commendation for the for the 5310 Process - Congratulations to Serena Anderson!

• Progress although short handed

• Compliant with Federal guidance

• Still waiting on report

3. Age-Friendly Miami Valley Growth in Members

• In 2025, we welcomed Jefferson Township and Xenia Township to the Age-Friendly Network

• The total amount of Age-Friendly grants awarded in 2025 is $162,685.05

• Del Mar Encore Fellows Visit MVRPC

• Age-Friendly and Advancing Active Living Workshops

4. Board Recognitions

• MVRPC welcomes new members Village of West Alexandria, Preble County; Village of West Manchester, Preble County; Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC); Downtown Dayton Partnership (DDP)

• Orientation held for new and returning Board of Directors

• MVRPC hosts Annual Spring Dinner and awards Judy Dodge, Montgomery County Commissioner as Regional Steward and Mike Bowers, Darke County Economic Director as Regional Partner (pictured above)

• Departing Delegates: Brian Housh, Village of Yellow Springs; Sara Lommatzsch, City of Riverside; Marvin Moeller, Sugarcreek Township; Rick Dobson, City of West Carrolton; Don Burchett, City of Moraine; Debborah Wallace, Beavercreek Township. Will Urschel, City of Xenia

• Salute to Matt Parrill, ODOT District 7 and Keith Smith, ODOT District 8

• Institute for Livable and Equitable Communities Annual Progress Report Presented to Board

• City of Sidney, Shelby County presents on their short range plans and construction

• MPO and RTPO Roadway Functional Classifications Updated (June)

5. Areawide Water Quality Planning

• Areawide Plan Modification for Tri-Cities and Bethel Facility Planning Areas (June)

• Areawide Plan Modification for Piqua and Troy Facility Planning Areas (December)

Good planning is needed in order to protect our drinking water resources, promote recreational activities, and provide a high quality environment for fish and wildlife. MVRPC has worked to do this since 1974 through the development of the Region’s Areawide Water Quality Management Plan.

6. SS4A Resolution Adopted Toward Zero Deaths and nearing the end of the planning study

In September the Board adopted Resolution 25-24: Adopting a goal to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Miami Valley roadways.

MVRPC is committed to creating a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system that eliminates

roadway fatalities and serious injuries, targeting a 50% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries by 2040. This will be achieved by engaging with the public, developing fundable and planned projects with designs that incorporate proven safety countermeasures and education, and enhancing connectivity for all users across all modes – including walking, biking, and transit.

MVRPC was awarded grant funding by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U. S. DOT) Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program to develop a regional Safety Action Plan. The SS4A program aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways. To achieve this, the SS4A program makes funding available for planning and implementation efforts.

7. Hosting Two Youth Group Homes Workshops

MVRPC hosted two Youth Group Homes workshops this year. The goal of these workshop was to have a discussion on all of the concerns from the increase in youth group homes in the Miami Valley. MVRPC convened discussions with all of our partners in this space: city, township, and village leadership; group home administrators; first responders including police, fire and sheriff; zoning officials; and county and state children and family services experts to gain a better understanding of the impacts of youth group homes on our communities, schools, children, and neighborhoods. While this space was new to MVRPC, our most impacted members are impacted and looked to our agency to provide leadership.

8. Agency Outreach for Regional Benefit

MVRPC hosted and participated in several impactful events, including:

• MVRPC hosts BEAD Broadband Information Session
• MVRPC hosts EV Charger Ribbon Cutting in Trotwood (pictured above)
• MVRPC attends Ohio Conference on Freight in Toledo
• MVRPC attends the 2025 Imagining Community Symposium
• MVRPC attends MCTA and GCTA Holiday Dinners
• MVRPC attends UD Friends in Government Event
• MVRPC attends and sponsors Miami Valley Cycling Summit in Springfield
• MVRPC attends the Preble County EMA recovery steering committee
• MVRPC sponsors the Miami Valley APA Planning Workshop
• MVRPC sponsors the NAACP October Banquet
• MVRPC attends the NCCJ (Nurturing Communities, Cultivating Justice) Dinner
• MVRPC attends the United Way Greater Dayton Area’s Big Thanks Event
• MVRPC attends the UWGDA Greene County Golf Outing
• MVRPC staff visits Preble County Senior Center
• MVRPC supporting Bike to Work Day
• MVRPC sponsors MLK Day Event
• Air Quality program supports Drive Electric Dayton Events
• Rideshare program attends the City of Dayton Employee Benefits Fair
• Rideshare program attends Sinclair College Employee Benefits Fair
• Rideshare Program at Fortis College Student Resource Fair

9. MVRPC Prepares to Award $19.7 M in Federal Transportation Funding

It takes a lot of money to keep the transportation infrastructure of the Miami Valley in tip top shape. Funding for new interchanges, fixing bridges, re-surfacing roads, paving bike paths, building sidewalks, and helping older adults find rides all depends on a steady flow of funding. This year, MVRPC prepares to award $19.7 million in federal transportation funding to projects that advance our region’s mobility.

10. Agency and Staff Excellence in 2025

• MVRPC & Sasaki Complete the Regional Resiliency Guidebook and Toolkit was awarded the Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
• MVRPC presents Recovery Dashboards at the International Association of Emergency Managers
• MVRPC Releases Healthy Communities Needs Assessment
• MVRPC Releases Miami Valley Economic Base Assessment
• Long Range Transportation Plan Progress
• MVRPC Designated SolSmart Bronze for Solar Energy
• Releases the Regional Food System Dashboard
• MVRPC Publishes the Community Health Mapping Application
• MVRPC Rideshare Program promotes Gohio Commute Commuter Challenge in September
• MVRPC attends UD Career Fair and Fairborn High School Skyhawk Summit
• Staff develop new internal board management system and trackers for agenda items and resolutions

11.Team Celebrations

Our staff continues to evolve, with new training opportunities, the addition of talented new hires and interns who bring fresh perspectives, and farewells to colleagues as they embark on new paths. Our 2025 staff updates include:

• Celebrating Service Anniversaries:
• Martin Kim, 25 years
• Ana Ramirez, 25 years
• Matt Lindsay, 20 years
• Kathryn Youra Polk, 15 years
• Serena Anderson, 5 years
• Milo Simpson, 5 years
• MVRPC welcomes new hire, Bryce Gullett, Agency Operations Technician
• Brian Martin wins Who's Who in Black Most Influential in Dayton Award; Serves as NARC VP and EDC Chairperson and Chairperson for United Way Greater Dayton Area
• Martin Kim receives the Montgomery County Food Champion Community Partner Award; Serves as APA Ohio President
• Savannah Diamond receives Supervisory Leadership Certification from the University of Dayton
• Fabrice Juin wins United Way Future of Philanthropy Award and Miami Valley Urban League 2025 Rising Pillar Honoree 
• Tiffany Thomas to serve as Miami Valley Human Resources Association Treasurer 2026
• Mike Lucas serves on the OARC Finance Directors
• Matt Lindsay represents us on OPWC, OARC Areawide Water Quality Chair
• Laura Dent and Chanda Davis represent us on PRSA, AAF-Dayton, OARC Communications and OARC Rideshare/Air Quality Committees
• Ana Ramirez serves on OARC Transportation Committee
• Paul Arnold serves on the statewide TIP committee
• Brad Daniel with PDAC and TRAC 

Virtual Public Meeting for the Draft Regional Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan

Over the past year, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) has been developing a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan aimed at improving roadway safety throughout the Miami Valley. Supported by a U.S. Department of Transportation grant, this plan seeks to prevent serious injuries and fatalities on the Region’s roadways.

MVRPC will host a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 5:00–6:00 p.m. via Zoom to present and discuss the draft plan. During the meeting, staff will provide an overview of the plan, explain how to review materials and submit comments, and answer questions from attendees.

Access the meeting via computer, tablet or mobile device using this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82846890891

Or call in to join the meeting by telephone:

1 (646) 558 8656 | Meeting ID: 828 4689 0891

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. Staff will seek approval of the Safety Action Plan by the MVRPC Board of Directors in March 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.  

MVRPC Wraps Up Active Transportation Planning Project with Miami County Public Health

Through the connections made as part of the PLAN4Health – Miami Valley Initiative, MVRPC has been partnering with the Miami County Public Health (MCPH) to conduct an active transportation planning for areas around the City of Piqua since March 2025. The planning efforts focused on inventorying and analyzing existing conditions as well as identifying future goals to improve access to transportation options and address health concerns.

The nine months planning process was completed in December of 2025 with a number of project components and involvement of many community partners including the Miami County Transit, The City of Piqua, Miami County Department of Development, and Miami County Park District. The major planning elements included:

• A site visit to inventory and better observe active transportation conditions in the study area firsthand;
• The Existing Conditions Assessment, which analyzed a number of demographics, land use, and transportation datapoints in the study area;
• An interactive active living workshop to provide stakeholders an opportunity to evaluate the community for assets and deficiencies; and
• A public open house which allowed the residents to provide input on the vision and goals for active transportation in the area.

The Miami County Public Health Active Transportation Planning was funded through the Ohio Department of Health’s Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) grant. To learn more about this HEAL grant active transportation project, visit the project’s hub page here: https://miami-county-public-health-heal-grant-mvrpc.hub.arcgis.com/.

MVRPC is grateful to have been a part of assisting our local public health agencies and looks forward to continued partnerships with them in the future.

For questions or to learn more about the PLAN4Health – Miami Valley Initiative, contact Martin Kim, MVRPC’s Director of Community and Regional Planning, at mkim@mvrpc.org.

MVRPC was a proud sponsor and an active participant at the 37^th Annual Miami Valley Planning and Zoning workshop, held on Friday, December 5, 2025 at Sinclair Conference Center. 

Attended by nearly 400 professional planning and zoning practitioners and citizen planners in the Dayton metropolitan region, this year’s workshop featured a keynote address by Ms. Corrin Wendell, the Founder and Executive Director of YEP! Youth Engagement Planning, twenty educational sessions, and great networking opportunities. 

MVRPC staff members were heavily involved and served on the workshop planning committee for several months leading up to the workshop. During the workshop, MVRPC staff, along with many partnering organizations, hosted three sessions to share our expertise and to speak about many of our important and innovative projects: 1) Planning for All: Accessibility, Age-Friendly, and Active Transportation; 2) Planning for Health in the Miami Valley: Where Do We Stand; and 3) Group Housing for Youth: How Planners Can Make Them Safe and Sound.

The Annual Miami Valley Planning and Zoning Workshop is presented by the Miami Valley Section of the American Planning Association, Ohio Chapter.

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 Residential Economic Development District Program – Deadline: January 16, 2026
• Ohio Fire Department Equipment Grants (Individual and Joint Equipment) – Deadline: January 31, 2026 



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

2026 Board of Directors Orientation

To help our new board delegates and alternates get acquainted with MVRPC’s mission, goals, and responsibilities, we invite you to attend our Board Orientation.

Whether you're new or in need of a refresher, this session will have something for all Board delegates and alternates. It’s a great opportunity to connect with fellow Board members and staff, ask questions, and gain insights into your role at MVRPC.

This year we are hosting two different sessions so you can attend at a time that works best for you. The first option will be in person on January 27th at 9:30 a.m. located at MVRPC Offices at 6 N. Main Street, Suite 400, Dayton, OH 45402. The second option will be virtual on February 24th at 5:30 p.m.

January Meeting Calendar

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

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937.223.6323 | mvrpc.org