Sydney City manager Andrew Bouchha discussed business development, housing and more during a city presentation held at the Sydney Shelby County Senior Center on Wednesday.
Anna Edmiston | Sydney Daily News
SYDNEY – Sydney Mayor Andrew Bowshire hinted at two businesses coming to Sydney at a city presentation held at the Sydney Shelby County Senior Centre on Wednesday.
Bowsher spoke to about 80 people present about the “absolute game changer” of the company that began planning to move to Sidney. According to Bowsher, he said he is a tech company offering six-figure salaries, although there are other reasons for non-disclosure agreements and ambiguity in mentions. The Weekly City Manager newsletter mentioned additional announcements about what is called Project Galaxy.
This announcement led to discussions on the slowdown of the initial plans of Semcorp and Sidney’s company and the future. The plan has five phases, phase 1 is already complete and the plan is drawn out for the rest of the plan.
Bowher’s PowerPoint slides for Sidney’s Downtown Plan included many plans in new restaurant creations, including a New Deli to replace Amelio.
With the Ohio building construction update, audiences have informed that the units to lease by August this year, along with photos of their progress. There are also plans for parking.
Since he became mayor in 2021, more housing has been one of the city’s Bowshire’s main goals.
“It’s a growth and economic engine. Work needs to fall asleep at night, they need to fall asleep at home, we need to build more homes, and building more homes leads to more affordable style homes within our community,” says Bowher.
1,200 new residential units are being built, including Burr Oak, The Mills and The Vision Development Project. This is a growth Sydney has never seen in over 50 years, according to the mayor.
Bowsher discussed the importance of income taxes, but emphasized the use of city grants to compensate for the costs of the project.
“Our staff are exponentially active and are committed to being able to pursue grants, federal and even private grants so we can fund many of the projects we are going to talk about today,” he said.
The city’s general fund is around $26 million, and Bowsher reported an estimated 60% of its funds will be administered publicly safely.
According to Bowsher, Sidney has about as much work as Piqua and Troy combined. This is “opposite the bedroom community.” This is a suburb with many residents commuting to nearby cities for work. Manufacturing accounts for 46% of employment and maintains Sydney’s long history as an industrial community.
“Sydney has more commuters than Columbus based on population,” he said, adding that there are reported 12,600 people commuting to the city every day, which places a focus on housing and public safety.
To help the community develop, Bowsher said city leaders are working to glorify the city, including highlighting local parks, improving downtown, adding new local businesses, and improving historic sites like the historic Sydney Theatre. This includes adding a silhouette of the city to the overpass of Interstate 75.
The Great Miami Miliburway Bike Pass continues through Sydney, with the latest addition to the Canal Feeder Trail. One of the city’s goals is to work with CSX to bring trails under Big Forbridge.
“We hope (future generations) will come back… You have to bring big city amenities, a range of different housing for those individuals,” Bowsher said.
There was discussion about the renovation of the city hall, and we were hoping it would be completed in about 18 months. City Hall employees have begun moving to work pods where they will stay during the renovation period. Bowsher also mentioned a new fire station that was built on Campbell Road, just south of the public works building, and replaces the existing fire station in the area.
One of the developments mentioned was using Sidney’s airport for NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility Mission, working to provide drone services for people without the need for pilots. According to NASA, the industry hopes to become a popular practice by 2030.
“All they need to do is stay close to Light Putt without falling into the flight pattern at Wright Putt Air Force Base and Sydney Airport. It’s one of three Tier 1 airports throughout the Dayton area,” explained Bowsher.
Bowsher completed the report after examining taxes that voted against this November and receiving a more detailed explanation of the city council’s belief in the importance of improving the community. 0.25% of the five-year street revy will return to the vote in the May 6th election.
The city of Sydney will create a video covering the report, share slides from the presentation, and share some of the questions asked by community members. It will be available in the coming weeks on the Sydney city website.
Contact Sydney Daily News Reporter Anna Edmiston at 937-538-4825.
