XENIA — Incumbents Peter Bales and Charles Curran retained their spots on Beavercreek City Council and will be joined by newcomer David Litteral.
In a separate race, current council member Don Adams defeated Joshua C. Ison to become mayor.
According to unofficial results from the Greene County Board of Elections, Bales received 10,528 votes, followed by Curran (8,238), and Litteral (8,166).
Others on the ballot were Sunder Bhatla (6,961) and Edward J. Maloof (4,874).
Adams had 9,375 votes, while Joshua C. Ison received 6,934.
According to Adams, while the city has some concerning issues, overall it’s in a good place.
“I’m not going to say we’re comfortable, but we’re in really good shape,” he said. “Obviously, the biggest problem we face here in Beavercreek is funding, because we are a property tax city. I want to get in there and try to come up with some alternative solutions to help fund the city.”
Along with addressing the property tax issue, Adams said he’s supportive of the new park, Spring House Park, and believes it will “be a destination place.”
“We don’t have a downtown in Beavercreek to speak of, and I think that could be a gathering place,” he said.
Overall, Adams said he doesn’t want to make any drastic changes out of the blue, and he’s optimistic about the future of Beavercreek.
Bales said the most pressing issues in Beavercreek are maintaining the 40-year-old infrastructure and bringing down property taxes for residents.
“My platform is pretty comprehensive,” he previously told this newspaper. “The biggest thing I want to address is the growing problem we’ve got with property tax increases.”
Along with the maintenance of roads and waterways, Bales said he wants to put effort into the beautification of the city to attract more businesses and residents.
“A lot of people come to work in Beavercreek, and I think making a positive first impression is very important,” he said. “I also feel like maintaining our parks is a really big deal, and so we’ve got to focus our efforts and make sure they’re well maintained.”
Curran wants to continue to work together with other members of council and target a few major issues the city is facing.
“Working together is one of the things I want to continue to do,” Curran told Greene County News. “No one person makes a change.”
The changes Curran hopes to make in the future are many, including a solution to Beavercreek’s property tax problem, infrastructure reinforcement and a more robust police force.
“I want to see a new building for the police,” he said. “What we have now, it’s not really built to be a police building.”
Curran also noted that while the city is allowed to hire five more officers, they have yet to take action. Curran wants to make sure Beavercreek has those five positions are filled.
Litteral, a retired law enforcement officer, said he has always been involved in public service.
“I’m not looking to change anything, I think Beavercreek City Council has done a great job,” Litteral told us. “I want to continue working with the council, I think there’s some challenges coming up just like any other city.”
Litteral also pointed to the high property tax as an issue for Beavercreek, and said he wants to find a way to “alleviate some of the pressures that are put on citizens.”
Litteral said it’s all a matter of “finding a way to diversify our funding for the city.”
According to Litteral, the police station is another area he wants to focus on, potentially giving them a new building in a better location.
“I think it’s very important to maintain a strong law enforcement,” he said. “It’s served it’s purpose for many years, but it’s time for use to look for something new.”
On top of property tax and the police force, Litteral said infrastructure is a priority in Beavercreek.
“A lot of infrastructure for Beavercreek has been here for a long time,” he said. “Maintaining it is number one.”
Reach Scott Halasz at 937-502-4507.
