DAYTON — The Dayton City Commission passed a resolution Wednesday morning dedicating $1 million from the city’s general fund to support neighborhood improvements.
The funding allocation is intended to improve living conditions across Dayton’s 65 neighborhoods by supplementing existing local and federal housing resources.
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During the public comment period before the vote, Dayton resident Rodney Stark questioned whether the allocation would be sufficient when spread across the entire city. Stark noted that dividing the funding equally among the city’s 65 neighborhoods would limit the impact on individual areas.
“I guess I don’t understand how this is going to be implemented, given 65 neighborhoods; we know the value of money,” Stark said. “One million dollars is equal to about ten thousand dollars in spending in neighborhoods.”
Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss addressed those concerns, explaining that the $1 million from the general fund is meant to build upon funding already in place rather than serve as the sole financial resource for neighborhood work.
Turner-Sloss noted that the allocation adds to existing general fund dollars as well as federal Community Development Block Grant and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding.
“It will complement dollars that we have from our general funds, our CDBG, our HUD dollars - our housing and urban development dollars- the dollars that we do have available right now, currently,” Turner-Sloss said. “And so again, it was just a matter of us working together.”
In addition to the spending resolution, city officials reviewed updates on the Age-Friendly Dayton Initiative action plan.
The city committed to the five-year initiative in 2023 through a resolution with AARP Livable Communities. Survey data gathered from residents ages 55 and older indicated that many community members desire more suitable housing options for aging adults.
Ellen Sizer, a representative from the Dayton Planning Committee, outlined potential housing strategies discussed during the meeting.
“That can mean dedicated senior housing; that can mean having a good development that comes in, maybe make room for an accessory dwelling unit in the back; there are a lot of different creative ways that can work,” Sizer said.
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