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YE L LOW SPR INGS NEWS 2 0 2 1 Y E A R I N R E V I E W DECEMBE R 30 , 2021 PAGE 7 Top stories CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE Village Council CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE moving forward with a K–12 construction plan, and in June and July took the neces- sary actions to put a levy on the November ballot. The ballot measure combined a 6.5-mill property tax, to continue up to 37 years, with a 0.5% income tax, which had no end date. In November, voters rejected the mea- sure by a 61% to 39% margin. The superintendent expressed disap- pointment in the vote and said that the district would regroup after the three newly elected school board members take their seats in January. —Carol Simmons Kingwood Solar talks ongoing Opposition to Vesper Energy’s large- Planning CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE phase when presented. • In July, Planning Commission approved a conditional use application submitted by local business partners Pat - rick Lake and Andrew Drew to renovate the 1940s-era lumber yard located at 108 Clif f St. into an indoor public market with eight to 10 vendors selling prepared foods and goods, possibly creating 20 to 30 jobs. The project’s design, completed by archi- tect Max Crome of Crome Architecture, includes renovations to the 12,200-square- foot main building, where tenants would rent stalls to sell their wares. • A conditional use application was approved by Village Planning Commission in September, allowing for the renovation and construction of comedian Dave Cha - pelle’s planned comedy club and restau- rant, located at 225 Corry St., the former site of the Miami Township Fire Depart- ment. The future restaurant, dubbed “Fire- house Eatery,” with the attached comedy club, “Live from YS,” will feature a perfor - mance space, full bar and restaurant, an outdoor patio, and will have an estimated capacity of 140 people. —Cheryl Durgans Municipal broadband After receiving a grant from Broadband Ohio, the Village moved to create a public utility for municipal broadband in Septem - ber. The grant monies, paired with CARES Act funds, allowed the Village to build infrastructure to add up to 300 homes to the fiber network that the Village started building out in 2020. Income discrimination banned Yellow Springs landlords cannot refuse a tenant housing based on their source of income, according to legislation passed in September. This means that prospective tenants cannot be turned away if they want to use a Section 8 voucher, or other alterna - tive income, to pay their rent. Building department created Over the course of the summer, Village Council approved several measures to create a building department for the village after hearing complaints about the county scale Kingwood Solar project continued in 2021. The Texas-based company has spent the last several years securing 43-year farmland leases comprising 1,500 in Miami, Cedarville and Xenia townships on which to build a 175-megawatt solar photovoltaic array. In April, the solar firm submitted an application to the Ohio Power Siting Board, or OPSB, to have the project approved. Meanwhile, individuals and groups like Citizens for Greene Acres, Miami Town - ship trustees, Greene County Commis - sioners and Tecumseh Land Trust, as well as technical staf f of the OPSB itself, have expressed opposition to the project. In November, the OPSB held a public hearing in Xenia. Around 300 people showed up to the hearing, which lasted nearly five-and-a-half hours. Most of those present were opposed to the project, but supporters spoke as well. Concerns about the project included system. The new department allows for a streamlined process for villagers seeking to build structures on their properties. Council member censured Village Council voted to censure member LauraCurliss inOctober after several negative interactions between Curliss and members of Village staff. Curliss, who voted against the measure, said the move was politically moti- vated in regard to the upcoming election. New members welcomed After the conclusion of the Nov. 2 election, Council will welcome one new member, Carmen (Lee) Brown. Brown ran on a platform that included representation of service workers on Council and eyeing ways to make the village more affordable. Incumbents Brian Housh and Kevin Stokes each won another term as well. Village to purchase apartments Village Council approved a resolution to purchase an apartment building located at Lawson Place from the Brown family. The action was taken to help the village main- tain its af fordable housing stock. —Jessica Thomas environmental impact; noise during con- struction and operation; appearance; the effects of harsh weather events; and nega- tive interactions with Vesper officials that have prompted distrust. Supporters stressed the environmental benefits of green energy; financial benefits to landowners; tax benefits; and the expec- tation that landowners be allowed to use their properties as they choose. While area officials have no power to approve or reject the Kingwood application, the OPSB has indicated it will consider their positions when making its decision, which has been pushed back to spring of 2022. —Lauren “Chuck” Shows PHOTO BY CAROL S IMMONS An estimated 300 people crowded into the Expo Center at the Greene County Fairgrounds Nov. 15 for a public hearing conducted by the Ohio Power Siting Board about the proposed 1,500-acre Kingwood Solar project that, if approved, will encompass land in Miami, Xenia and Cedarville townships. PHOTO BY MATT MINDE The Village approved a resolution to purchase an apartment building at Lawson Place in order to make more affordable housing stock available. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please contact yscf@yscf.org or call 937-767-2655. To donate to the Foundation, visit www.yscf.org/donate P.O. Box 55 Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 Jeannamarie Cox Executive Director Kat Walter Program Manager Melissa Heston Outreach Manager Harvey Curran Volunteer Project Manager Misty Gill Administrative Asst. Sara Miller Gray Miller Program Administrative Asst. BOARD MEMBER TRUSTEES Lisa Abel, President ; Richard Bullock, Vice President ; Matthew Denman, Treasurer ; Todd Leventhal, Vice Treasurer ; Kayla Rothman-Zecher , Secretary ; Theresa Graham, Angie Hsu, Artie Isaac, Ellis Jacobs, Joanne Lakomski, Joshua Mabra, Kathryn Van der Heiden This is a reprint of the Yellow Springs Community Foundation newsletter that was emailed out Thurs., Dec. 23. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, email kat@yscf.org . DID YOU KNOW? WE ARE GRATEFUL! While our staff was eating lunch together last week, we were overcome with gratitude for each other, our board, our community, and with and for all of you. As busy as we have all been this year, we have so easily been swept along our individual and collective currents, such that acknowledg- ing gratitude has been left for the future. Today we stop and share a deep, heartfelt and skin-tingly THANK YOU TO YOU ! Gratefully, The Staff of the Foundation Kat, Kim, Melissa, Misty, Sara and Jeannamarie Fig. I : A chrysalis reminds us of possibilities. OPEN NEW YEAR’S EVE, 9 A.M.–7 P.M. | CLOSED NEW YEAR’S DAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS! 237 XENIA AVE. | 937-767-8291 | WINTER HOURS: M–F 11–6, SA 9–6, CLOSED SUN Wishing you a healthy and happy 2022! –Steve, Karyn & Staff CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE FOR OPTIMAL RESULTS, INSERT HERE ... Go where the News goes for about a dime per insert! 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