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Episode 33 - HB 331, Village Dissolution, and a Conversation with Rex Parsons

We open with a look at Ohio HB 331 (now enacted) and what it changes about village dissolution, from petition rules (now limited to even-numbered years) to the new “lack of services/candidates” trigger after each census. We also talk about what actually happens if a village dissolves (debt, taxes, assets, and who takes over services).


Then, we talk with Rex Parsons, incumbent candidate for Batavia Township Trustee.

We get into:

• Township–village relations and how to lower the temperature
• CRAs, annexation, and school/fire funding (including CJFED)
• Growth, density, and what “preserving character” could mean in practice
• Parks, green space, and quality-of-life investments
• Transparency, meetings, and engaging residents
• Rex’s track record (former village council member, former township clerk & administrator) and why he’s running again

Tips, guests, or events? info@letstalkclaremont.com

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[00:00:11] Unknown:

We've been living in it since so long.  

[00:00:14] Unknown:

All  

[00:00:21] Unknown:

Welcome to episode 33   of Let's Talk Claremont. I am your host, Patrick,   and thank you for tuning in. I'm happy you're here. I'm I'm happy so many people have been listening to these, candidate interviews. We've gotten really great responses, and I've I've you know, it's kinda humbling. It's flattering that people are, are listening to this. So I appreciate,   honestly, I appreciate your trust in, in, you know,   listening to me interview these candidates and trusting me to give them a fair shake and and give you good information on, you know, who they are and why they're running. So thank you for that.   We are gonna keep the election train rolling today. And if you are new, this is normally when we talk about, you know, news from around the county, then we get into the interview, and then we talk about events.  

Because we're on this, accelerated publishing schedule, making that push to the fourth, We are going to do something a little different today before we get into the interview.   We have been in prior episodes   going over some of the house bills not house bills. I guess it could be house or senate bills that are currently making their way through the legislature.   So we're looking back at some of those to see where they're at,   see if there's been any movement on them, and to just refresh our memory because some of these things will have an impact on elections and, you know, how we live our lives here in Ohio.   And today,   we're gonna do somewhat something similar, but we're gonna talk about house bill three thirty one. Now this is not currently in the legislature, and in fact, it was passed   and was enacted of April.  

But   it has to do   with township dissolutions. And in the interview today with Rex Parsons,   we talk about villa village dissolutions   because currently, there is an effort to dissolve the village of Batavia.   I think people are actively trying to get signatures, and they want to put village dissolution   on the ballot.   So I thought we'd revisit house bill three thirty one and see what had changed and also look at village dissolution   a little bit more.   So let's let's get into it. How do you dissolve a village in the state of Ohio? Well, there are a couple ways pre house bill three thirty one.   The main route is voter petition. So you get a petition together, you get 30% or more of the electors to sign that, then dissolution   goes on the ballot in the next general or special election. And, again, this is pre house bill three thirty one because there's a bit of a change to this, and we'll talk about that in a minute.  

The other way is a fiscal emergency dissolution, and this is court ordered. It doesn't require any kind of petitions or anything like that. If a village and this is gonna become important later. A village has a population of less than 5,000.   So if a village has been in a fiscal emergency   for four or more consecutive years, and its plan can't reasonably fix it within five years,   the attorney general files in common police court to dissolve the village.   There is also a tiny village dissolution. This is also court ordered, and this is for villages with less than with 500 or fewer residents.   A court can dissolve the village if it meets at least two statutory red flags, and these red flags are gonna be things like   repeated election law failures,   repeated   unauditable   findings,   failure to provide   at least two basic municipal services,   failure to adopt the tax budget,   or repeated theft in office convictions   of officials.  

So those are the three ways you can dissolve a village in the state of Ohio. Now   post house bill three thirty one,   all the those three ways are still there. There was a slight tweak to the voter petition route in that this vote only happens in even numbered years. So if you get your petition,   you get more than 30% of the voters to sign it.   That will go on the ballot in an even numbered year. So it couldn't go on the ballot this year, for example, because it's 2025.   But next year, 2026,   it could.   It also added one more route to dissolution, and that is lack of service or candidates.   So this is gonna happen after each federal census, which is 10 every ten years, and I believe the next one is twenty thirty.  

County officials will review villages.   If a village does not provide at least five basic services, stuff like police, fire, water, sewer, things like that, or   failed to field candidates for office, the county board of elections must place the dissolution question on the next on the next general election ballot, and that can be any year. That doesn't need to be an even numbered year. And then it's on the ballot, so it's voted on, and if the majority approves it, the village is then dissolved.   And I mentioned it above, but a village has less than 5,000 people. Once you pass that 5,000 mark, you can become a city, and it is much more difficult, if not impossible, to dissolve a city.   So what happens if a village is dissolved? What happens if the people who want Batavia Village dissolved, what happens next if it actually does get dissolved?  

Well, the village ceases to exist,   which should, you know, that's pretty obvious. All the officers terms end, and the territory reverts to the surrounding township or townships if it's in multiple townships.   There is a transition supervisory   board,   and it appoints a receiver trustee to wind things down. And that's gonna be things like debt, property, utilities, records, stuff like that.   Taxes may temporarily continue, but that is only to retire outstanding obligations   like debt, and a final audit is required.   So if we look at the village of Batavia, if that were be to be dissolved, it would then be kind of, I guess, you would say, enveloped   or consumed by the township. It would become the township.  

And their income tax, which I believe is about 1%,   would remain until any debt has been paid off, and then there'd be a final audit. So that's how that would how that would happen.   Now there's also something I've heard this said before   that you cannot dissolve a county seat. And I looked into this because I was curious,   if that's true or not. And so as you may or may not know, the village of Batavia is the county seat for Clermont, which is kinda like the capital of the county.   But more specifically, a county seat is a location for county institutions.   It's a seat of justice,   not a municipal status, and it isn't tied to whether a place is incorporated.  

That is whether it's not a whether it's a village, a township, or city. So it's not tied to the village. It's literally just a place where justice is done from and, again, this is from my research. I'm not an attorney or anything like that, so   keep that in mind.   So from what I could find, Ohio law doesn't carve out any kind of special protection for a village if it is the county seat.   A village that serves as the the county seat can be dissolved through the same paths that we we were talking about earlier.   So what happens if a county seat or perhaps more accurately,   if the village, the county seat is located   dissolves?  

Well, everything kinda goes on as planned. I mean, county operations don't vanish with the village. By statute,   commissioners meet at an office in the county seat. The sheriff's primary office and general division of the court of common pleas, they're all located in the county seat under Ohio law and attorney general opinions.   So all of those obligations   attached to the seat, not to the village incorporation.   So that's   kinda what I found. And   the territory   just reverts to the township, and the county buildings and functions at the seat continue   unless the county seat is lawfully moved. And there is a procedure to do that,   but I don't think anybody's talking about moving the county seat. So   and, again, I'm not an attorney. I'm I'm doing my best Google job over here, and I think I did a pretty good job. But if you have conflicting information in this, let me know, and I'll look into it more. From what I could find, though, it does not matter if a village is a county seat. It can still be dissolved.  

And I'd I'd also wanna make another note. I know we've been talking about Batavia Village and Batavia Township a lot, And there are a couple of reasons for that. One is I live in the township, so I'm very familiar with what's going on here. And it's also the the way the village is growing and and the tensions between the village and the township. It's kind of a hot button issue, and there's a lot of noise around it. So it's kind of easy to find stuff out about it.   And, you know, in talking about what's going on between the village and the township, we've really only had people on that are not in favor of the village's approach to growth.   And I I wanna be very clear. I have asked people from the village to come on and give us their case   for the CRAs that they're doing and the way they're developing in general. And to date, I've had no response.  

I I think it is very important to note that there are many reasons you wouldn't wanna talk publicly about what's going on, and only a handful of them are because something unethical or illegal is going on or because you're trying to hide something. So I don't want it to seem like I'm accusing anybody of of, you know, shady dealings.   I don't know, which is frankly why I'd like to have somebody on.   And I still wanna have somebody on to hear the pro argument.   And I think, honestly, a lot of people would like to hear the pro pro argument.   And I can promise that it'll be a fair interview. I'm not gonna it's not gonna be a softball interview,   but I promise it'll be a fair one.  

And I'm sure there are issue other issues like this around the county   that perhaps aren't receiving the same amount of attention.   And I'd love to know about them, which is all the more reason to write in and let us know what's going on in your neck of the woods, and then we can turn our attention over there and see what's going on in your village or your township or whatever the case may be.   So that will bring us to that's all we got in terms of house bills and stuff like that, and it's gonna bring us to we want to thank all the producers that donated under $50 for reasons of anonymity.   We really appreciate the donations. It helps us keep doing what we're doing. And if you're new and wondering what this is all about, we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is that if you find value in what we're doing, we just ask for a little value in return, and that can be in the form of   time, talent, or treasure. Like I mentioned before, for time and talent, write in. Let us know what's going on in your community.  

We want to hear about it. You know? Are are there similar things like what's going on in the township and the village?   Let me know. I'd love to talk about it. Also, let us know who we should talk to. There's lots of really interesting people doing lots of really interesting things all across our county. We just gotta find them. So if if it's your neighbor or, I don't know, it could be a really good teacher at your school, whatever the case may be, Write in. Let me know who you'd like to hear from. I'm sure other people would like to hear from them too. And keep thinking about that question I've been asking. What's the character of our county? In all these zoning talks that we've been talking about every I hear a lot about we wanna preserve the character of our county,   or our township, our village, whatever the case may be. But we gotta know what that character is if we know what we're trying to protect against all this development. So write in. Let me know.  

And if you're interested in sending in a high school sports rundown, get in touch. I think that'd be a nice little segment to add. I just don't have a lot of time to do it.   So if that's something you're interested in and you'd like to send us a little report or record yourself doing it, whatever the case may be, shoot me an email, and we will figure out how to make that happen.   Now for treasure. You can go to the website, www.let'stalkclairemont.com.   Click donate. You can donate via PayPal or Stripe. And PayPal, you can do reoccurring donations.   You know, if the shows work a buck worth a buck a month to you, great. That'd be wonderful. Reoccurring donations will really help us sustain what we're doing here.  

And any dollar amount is appreciated.   Any dollar amount. It it really does help us. It takes a lot of time to put these episodes together, and it'll help, help me keep doing it, frankly.   Any dollar amount, very appreciated. But   for donations, $50 and above, you will get a special mention on the show. And for donations, $200 and above, you will get an executive producer credit for that show. That is a credit I will vouch for, and you can put wherever you like. And I'll read a note that you write on air, and that note can be anything. And I've said it in the past. It can be what's going on with you. It could be what's going on in your town. It could be anything. It could be an ad read for your business, or it could be one of those nasty grams that I really wanna give just the best dramatic reading of. So   and I wanna note again, if you do choose to donate $50 or above, please email info@let'stalkclaremont.com   with your name and donation amount so I can match that up on the back end. If you don't do that, I will know who you are, and I won't be able to mention you on the show.  

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Let's Talk Claremont podcast, on Instagram at Let's Talk Claremont, and we got the newsletter. Go to www.let'stalkclaremont.com.   Click newsletter. Put your email in there. We only email you once a week when a new show comes out. And   for the purposes of this, we'll email all the episodes that come out in the week.   And after the election, I'm gonna try to spice up the newsletter a little bit, give you some things that aren't necessarily in the show that might be interesting, some fun stuff.   And, of course, follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever it is you happen to use for podcast.  

It really helps the show out, and it helps you out because you'll be notified   anytime a new show comes out.   And if you just wanna get in touch and say hi, we'd love to hear from you. Info at let's talk claremont dot com.   And I know I've been going over this with every episode, but just so you know, we are on an accelerated posting schedule. We're trying to get all these candidate interviews out and all the people who have levies on the ballot, talking about why the levies there and all that good stuff. So we are just getting episodes out until the fourth, and we're gonna keep publishing them until I've got nothing left.   So we're still gonna do our full news rundown on Thursdays. We're gonna refresh our events on Thursdays, and the newsletter will only come out on Thursdays. But like I said, it will have all the episodes for the week. So that's what we're doing up into the fourth, and   whoo, it's I'll tell you, it is a lot of work.  

But let's talk about who we're talking to tomorrow.   That will be October 23, and it's Michael   Kenner.   Her rhymes with the winner. I'd unfortunately, in a previous episode, I think I mispronounced his name, and he politely let me know. So, Michael, Mike, I hope I hope I got that right this time. But he is a candidate for Batavia Village Council, and we talk about why he's running and a little bit about his background, his professional background, and his background as the village's zoning administrator in the eighties and nineties.   And you you might guess it, but we talk about development, transparency,   and better township village relations.  

He also talks about his economic development vision a little bit, which I thought was was nice to hear, and I enjoyed the interview. I I think Mike's a nice guy, and I hope you tune in tomorrow to hear   it. But today, we are talking with Rex Parsons, incumbent candidate for Batavia Township trustee.   Like I said in the last episode, this is the second time we talked to Rex. First time, it was kinda more general about what the trustees do and how township government works.   And once I got into these candidate interviews, I said, you know, you're welcome to come back if you wanna talk specifically about your candidacy,   and he took me up on that.  

And much like   many, many of these interviews, we talk about development, transparency,   and specific to the village and the township, township village relations, and how those might be able to, I don't know, get mended or get a little bit   better. We also talk about some of the accomplishments he's most proud of and some of the things that he thinks the trustees could have done better.   I'll also add a quick note here. There is a spot in this interview where I completely blank on what I want to ask him.   It was terrifying, and, truthfully, I don't think it's ever happened to me like that in an interview I've ever done. My mind went completely blank,   and I think I started to panic a little bit.  

It might be because I'm getting older or because I didn't have my coffee, or frankly, this election schedule is frying my brain a bit. But regardless of the of the cause, I wanna apologize to Rex again and thank him for picking up the slack.   But I also wanna let you know I had a thought to edit that bit out, but I decided against it.   Because I think it's more important that you trust that I'm giving   you these interviews in their totality, and I'm not editing them to make make somebody look better or worse. And when it comes down to it, I'd much rather look foolish and have you trust me than look like a genius and have you distrust me. So there's gonna be a spot in there with a little bit of dead air, and frankly, I I don't look too great. But   I'm leaving it in there because I want you to have these interviews   uncut, and I want you to   trust that I'm giving you the full story here.  

Alright. With that said, we'll get into the interview, and I hope you enjoy it.   I I guess I'll keep starting them like this. Just tell us who you are and what you what you do and what you are doing.  

[00:17:25] Unknown:

Okay.   My name is well, first of all, I'd like to say,   I'm so proud   to to be able to have the opportunity to maybe serve the residents of the township for under four years. I'm I'm excited about the opportunity. Mhmm. And thank you for interviewing me. Oh, thank you for your So You're our first two time guest. Oh, boy. Yeah. Okay. Alright.   I am Rex Parsons, and I am a Batavia Township trustee  

[00:17:49] Unknown:

and trying to get reelected this year. Excellent. So it was I know you we probably talked about this in our first interview, and I'm sorry if I forgot. I did forget.   Was this last term your first term as trustee, or how long have you been a trustee altogether? I started in 2020.  

[00:18:06] Unknown:

Okay. There was a vacancy on the board, and the trustees appointed me, amongst the other candidates that apply.   And so I finished that, and I I I ran in,   2021. I had to run, and then I had to run again in 2022   Okay. Which puts me here at 2026,  

[00:18:23] Unknown:

essentially. Okay. So you've been a trustee for for a little while? Five years. Five years. Okay. So why did you decide to, to run again?  

[00:18:31] Unknown:

Well,   I think we've got a lot of,   lot of   unfinished business in the township. There's a lot of growth that's happening. Mhmm.   It's it's kinda in my blood to run. I'm my father was on village council in Batavia for a number of years beforehand, and I remember when I was a kid, he'd come in home and talking about how the meeting went, and I found it interesting. Mhmm.   And then   he passed away suddenly in '72. And then later on, I got on village council   and ran served for eight years, and then I moved on to the township as as first as township clerk.  

[00:19:07] Unknown:

So   So, you brought up the township and the village.   And I think with the other   candidates I've I've interviewed for trustee,   You know, that the relationship between the village and the township seems a little strained right now.   I guess my question is, how would you work to kinda mend those those riffs?  

[00:19:29] Unknown:

Well, it it hasn't always been that way. We have worked together in the past, and and I really   feel, that that can be fixed.   I believe it's gonna take   a different   approach from the top down to get that to happen. I think the village council members   have to want to be part of the township, and we want to be a part of them. So we have to work together to make that happen. And,   it has to start hopefully, with this election, we'll see a little change in that. Mhmm. What do you think the main  

[00:20:01] Unknown:

points of contention are between the township and the village? Where do you think that that disagreement, you know, fundamentally lies?  

[00:20:07] Unknown:

Well, I think that we as a township, we understand that the village,   needs to grow and annexations are are little little contentious. Mhmm. But we understand that that's how they grow, and that's, you know, what they would do.   The problem is is they've redirected their monies for the CRA,   and they've put everybody in a pinch with   the the agencies that serve our community, whether it's the fire department, whether it's the school,   MRDD.   All those folks are all,   all their funds are are are are I don't wanna say stolen, are redirected   away from the residents. They're voted levies. Yeah. So that money is not going to what the voted purpose was, and now it's going into the village at which they are using,   to reach agreements with developers   and sell bonds and stuff and pay that those Yeah. People to annex to the village. So I think the contention probably is more about money than it is about anything else and the lack thereof in certain places where it should be going. Sure. And I think when I interviewed,  

[00:21:11] Unknown:

Karen and Taylor about the whole CRA thing,   they said that the village still hadn't   gotten in touch with the fire chief, and they still haven't made a a deal with the schools. Is that still true? I haven't.  

[00:21:24] Unknown:

To my knowledge, they haven't not reached an agreement or had discussions, but I am not certain of that. Okay.  

[00:21:30] Unknown:

And so I think development is probably   another kind of issue.   How do you see the township   developing?  

[00:21:40] Unknown:

Well, I feel we're gonna continue to grow.   You know, we do have a growth policy plan that that we are, we follow.   There's certain areas of our township where we expect that neighborhoods are gonna grow. There's certain areas of the township that we expect that that will be business or commercial areas there.   And we've been following that. I know that the there's more density or more,   residents than what we had originally planned when we did the plan,   back in 1737.   But, other than that, we have followed the plan.   So,   I I see it developing pretty much like we have in our plan. There are commercial areas, which I I feel in my heart that those will start to develop as we have more residents,   both in the township and in the village because that's gonna be more rooftops.  

But we want that to be a part of the character and part of to complement the Batavia Township as it grows.  

[00:22:39] Unknown:

And I think I've heard as a critique of the current trustees is that they'll just say yes to any development. How would you respond to that? Well, we don't say yes to every development, first of all. Second of all, we do try to,  

[00:22:52] Unknown:

developments that we do approve, we do make sure   that we are we feel like we're getting the best deal we can.   A lot of times, they'll come in and want a lot more density   and a lot more,   a lot smaller lots than sometimes we're willing to approve. And so we work with them and say, you know, we're not gonna approve that. You're gonna have to to to well, you're gonna have to make some changes before we'll approve it. So the ones that we do approve,   we've been through the the mill with them a little bit to make sure that that happens, and and it's gonna complement the township. The ones that we turned down, though, well, like,   I don't know that Airport Views is the true name of the development. I've heard Sugar Ridge Yeah. Up by Balmond.  

That developer brought that property to us. And and and we sat down, and we said, you know, we can't approve the density that you want.   So   that one, we said no. And where did that one go? To the village of Batavia, and it's being built it's gonna be built, I imagine, at some point in time.  

[00:23:51] Unknown:

Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my train of thought.   Oh, this is terrible.   Rex, I'm so sorry. I had a question right in my head, and it just completely flew out.   Oh, I might have to I might have to, for the first time, actually cut this out so I don't look like a fool.   Let let me, let me continue maybe. Yeah. That'd be great. I'm so I'm really sorry. I I'll pick you up. I got you. Thank you. It's a little early. I haven't had too much coffee. So,  

[00:24:23] Unknown:

one of the things that we have noticed with the village is they're using that CRA,   legislation   to redirect the funds. And the way that law is written and and the Ohio Department of Development actually, I believe,   reviews the applications. And their applications   are supposed to be for virgin property. Mhmm. Excuse me. Or not for virgin property, but for property that's distressed,   like an old manufacturing plant or plant something area that's run down.   And then that incentive is supposed to be what caused it to to to spur that development on.   But,   the c r the the village has done the CRAs, and they've done that on virgin property where there's been no development at all. So they're redirecting that to themselves.  

So because of that,   Adam Bird, who's state rep,   for our district here, and another rep, and I cannot remember his name, they have presented,  

[00:25:14] Unknown:

house bill one thirteen Mhmm. Which would change the annexation law and some of the verbiage. Is it is it one thirteen or one twenty four? That's one thirteen. Okay. I might I might have gotten that right. Because I   I've actually overviewed that in a previous episode. So I have to go back to the Yeah. I can probably I'm sorry. Probably. But that's the one that'll change the expedited,  

[00:25:34] Unknown:

annexation. So what it does is a couple of things. So first of all,   the monies,   that come from the CRA, they have to make the school whole. Mhmm. And I think that's that's a key point there. The schools have really gotta have their mind. They go, we gotta educate our kids. We've gotta have a future. Mhmm. And if we don't we're not doing that with our kids, then, you know, it's we're gonna have big problems down the road.   So among other things, this the schools have to be made whole.   And, also, it would,   enable the county commissioners to actually   and and they're the highest elected officials in the county. Mhmm. It would it would   enable them to look back and say what's good for the whole community. Because the type type, I believe,  

[00:26:16] Unknown:

two one and two, I think, there is no common good   check.  

[00:26:21] Unknown:

Actually commissioner level, I think. Expedited is when there is no check. Right. And the other the other way there is, the county commissioners do get to review with the check. Maybe it's like two and three where there's no I know there's three types of expediated   annexation. Yeah. So this would give the commissioners the ability to step back and say, hey. Wait. This is not good for the whole the whole area. And,   if you remember on the airport views or the Baumann property, they're next to the airport, they had there was two annexation attempts. Yeah. The first one failed because the county commissioners could step back and say,   this is not good for the community. It's not good for the airport and the areas around it. Yeah. It doesn't fit.  

Well,   then they went back and got a little sliver of land, 25 feet long, 1,100 feet. And that's to increase the border between Yep. Yeah. And And then they did the expedited type two and that, and then the county commissioners could not. They no longer had the ability to review that. Yeah. So we feel, and Adam Bird feels as well, through this legislation, that should be changed.   So all three of the trustees went up to Columbus on the morning of, April 30 to testify in front of the the committee that was hearing that. And that's I think it's still in committee. Is it still in committee? It is. I don't think it's moved on yet. Yeah.  

[00:27:33] Unknown:

I finally remember the question. I'm so sorry about that. That's that's actually the first time that's happened. Okay.   Another critique I've heard is that there's no it's for the village mainly, but that there's no vision for growth.   What is your overall vision for the township? What would you like it to look you know, I asked this question. I've been asking this question on the podcast because you you hear this phrase a lot. We wanna preserve the character of our county, our township, or whatever.   And my question   to my audience and to you right now would be, what is what character are we trying to preserve in the face of all this development pressure?  

What are we actually trying to preserve? What would you think that is? Okay. I I think our character  

[00:28:13] Unknown:

is ever changing.   I remember the sixties.   Batavia Village had   small shops   that you could just stop and visit and get everything. Most of them were mom and pop, but, you know, there was just a lot of activity. There was and the the people were welcoming. Not that they're not now.   But, you know, you had places that, you know, that really cared about the community and and and went around, and   and you could get the things you needed. And if you couldn't get the things, there was somebody that would get it for you. Mhmm. And those   it seems like that character changed. Mhmm. And it and it ever it changes all the time. Sure. And it's it's part of the and, really, the character of the people that live there.  

And that changes. Mhmm. I mean, you know, my my father started the Ben Franklin store in Batavia in 1938,   and,   and I remember those days. I don't remember '38, but I remember I remember in the sixties and and the seventies, and it was completely different place than it is now. So it it changes all the time. I would and and that was a small town quaint feel. Mhmm. And I don't think that we're gonna get that   ever again. I think we can it can be modified where it's still a welcoming place that you go, and and maybe there's a maybe there's a, you know, microbrewery.   Maybe there's a, you know, a a place to get your nails done or your hair done like there is now. And and it's a place for services and stuff and a place you can gather,   but   and kinda relax.  

But,   you know, it seems to me that,   we we just   our society has changed now. It's a different place than in the sixties.   Right. You didn't have Amazon,   that way you could just call up or get click on something, and it gets delivered to your house in a matter of hours. Mhmm. So,   you used to be you know you you know your milk milkman that came to your door. Yeah. Bright and bringing you milk or bringing the dry cleaning. I remember those fellows. You know? Yeah. And the hell of a quite like that anymore. Yeah. It's not like that anymore. So it's changed. So   I would like to see Batavia still be a welcoming place that and it's a place that you would wanna go, that you wanna raise your family   and work there and   and, have your family stay close by, you know, at some point in time. I I think   I think Batavia Village and Batavia Township can can really to me, they should be working together Yeah. So that,   it's a because we really when you when you think about government,   what we do is we work for the township residents and the village residents, and we're all   doing the same thing just at different levels. And there shouldn't be a competition between us, but there is.  



[00:30:55] Unknown:

Well, I'm talking about competition. I'd I've also heard a lot about dissolution   of the village. It seems like there's some people who really want that to happen.   As a township trustee,   is that something you'd like to see, don't like to see, and different?  

[00:31:09] Unknown:

Well, I have personal feelings because I grew up in the village, and I I really don't wanna see it dissolve. Mhmm. But   having been through the dissolution of the village of Amelia Mhmm. If the residents in Amelia spoke to dissolve   and if the residents of the village of Batavia speak to dissolve,   the township will be ready to take them on Okay. And provide them governmental services.   Okay. And my personal feeling is that I hope that that that doesn't happen.   But if it does,   we will take we will give them he'll have them government service services just like the people in the township. So you so in at least in your from your perspective, that wouldn't be an ideal  

[00:31:49] Unknown:

situation?  

[00:31:50] Unknown:

No. It would not. Okay. But,   again It's up to the people. It's up to the people. Yeah. If they want that, then then,   so be it, and we'll we'll give them governmental services. You know, we're, you know, we're a statutory government, so we're about we're about less government, not about more. Yeah. So,   in that process, though, because the same thing happened in Amelia, I will tell you that the debt has to be paid. The debt is the responsibility of the residents of the village of Batavia, not Batavia Township. Right. So I know you're a township resident as am I. Yep.   I will not we will not have to pay any of that debt that the village has incurred. Okay. So the income tax will continue to run until that debt's paid off, and then it'll come off. And that's the same thing that happened at Amelia. Okay. It did have to run for, you know, a year and a half, two years, I think, at at Amelia. And so,   we'll be ready if it happens. Okay.  



[00:32:45] Unknown:

If we can switch gears just a little bit. The other and this is   in common amongst the candidates I've interviewed from Loveland or school board candidates, whoever it's transparency in local government. Mhmm.   How do you feel the current   trustees do you feel like current trust or I'm sorry. Township government is transparent, and how would you try to make it more transparent?  

[00:33:07] Unknown:

I think we are transparent.   I I believe,   I mean, for instance, I I took some some training, and I actually have it on my,   on my,   Facebook page where I took, you know, I took the training that's required of   township trustees   during their term in office about the Open Meetings Act, about making sure everything's done and and the Sunshine Law training. So I took that training, and and and I've understood it, and I follow that. And I think and all of us do here.   We we encourage people to come to our meetings,   and we're very it's a   we don't limit how long you get up and talk. Mhmm.  

A lot of discussions we have in the meetings are,   what do I wanna say?   Or just I don't wanna say off the cuff. What I wanna say, it's it's,   it's a back and forth. Yeah. And and we we do engage the people. So it's not like somebody just comes up, says something. You say, thank you for your time. Yeah. If you go Yeah. We we take it to heart what they come up and talk to us about.   So, because of that, I think I think we're we're very,   you know, transparent about it. I know there's been a push by some people to   to stream them the meetings or something like that, and that's something we we've talked about it briefly. Mhmm.  

And I imagine someday we'll end up doing it, but, you know, we don't really have the resources right now to do that. We and we would have to   or the staff, we would have to make sure that we if we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it right. Yeah. We're just not gonna   stick a cell phone up there, and you can't hear them, and you can't see real good. And you know? So, anyway.  

[00:34:42] Unknown:

So and this is kind of in the same line as of transparency because a lot of the candidates that I've interviewed have talked about that I've talked to them about because in the marketing world, you have something called voice of customer where you're trying to understand, you know, the wants and needs of your customer.   In the political realm, I guess, I call voice of constituent.   How have you in the past, you know, heard from your constituents and then translated that into action   and given   I guess, you call it technological advances. How would you like to see that kind of encompass more people? Does that question make sense? That was a long question. So It does. You need me to break it up, I can. No. I I think what's happened, Patrick, I think people have kinda gotten in the mode of staying home and  

[00:35:19] Unknown:

sometimes working from home. Mhmm. Yeah. I work from home. And, and because of that, some people wanna be able to stay at home   and come to our meetings. Yeah. And,   we we really need the engagement of people because when you do that, you're not really engaging people. Yeah. Because,   we we don't have a method to to do teams   Yeah. For instance, or what do they call that? Zoom. Zoom. Yeah. Yeah. So we don't really have a a method to do that, and and I don't know that the ORC even even permits that, to be honest with you. But you really need to be at the meeting to be engaged in your government, in my opinion. Okay.  

[00:35:58] Unknown:

So this isn't, this obviously isn't your first rodeo.   And we talked a little bit about this off mic, but all the people I've interviewed previously,   they haven't actually been in a political office before or an elected   position.   When you first became a trustee, what was that transition like? What were the things that as a candidate,   you thought I can absolutely do this and then you get in and it's, you know, maybe perhaps a little eye opening. Yeah.  

[00:36:26] Unknown:

Good question. I actually because I had served as an administrator here for nineteen years, I had a little feeling about about   how it worked to be a trustee. So   when I was administrator, you know, I gathered information,   and I pushed it across the table to the trustees,   the three trustees, and and and and I was ready to ask to to be ants to ask to be ask ask questions,   and then I would have an answer for them. But   as a rule, you know, I was asking   them, here's the information. What do you want? What's your desire? And I'll make sure that it happens. That's why I was kind of the role of the administrator.   And so I had a little I had a little background as to what it would be like to be in that position as a trustee.  

And, you know, it it's not hard.   It's inter it's very interesting.   The hardest part probably is some of the people that you know. I mean, I know quite a few people in the community,  

[00:37:22] Unknown:

and and they know me. Mhmm. And That was evident when you showed me around the park. I tell people all the time. It's like he knew everybody.  

[00:37:29] Unknown:

Yeah. It, it just, sometimes you have to tell somebody that you know and done all your life, no. You can't do that. Yeah. Or yeah. I I agree with your point. However,   I think I have to do what's best for the other people in the township and maybe rule against what you feel I should do. Yeah. So it's a little it's a little difficult at times. But I I think it's very to me, it's very interesting in,  

[00:37:53] Unknown:

being involved in government. And I'd like I said, it's been in my family, and and I've just really enjoyed it. Well, it's funny. I have to you know, getting into interviewing candidates for office and things like that and kinda getting more into local politics.   For me, at least, you realize   there is just as much drama and intrigue at any level of politics, whether it's national or local. Yeah. Like, it's it can get a little wacky. Yeah.   So my next question is and this is gonna be an opportunity to just let you brag about yourself and your accomplishments.   But beware my next question is gonna be the things that you might have failed at. So Okay.  

If you just tell us what what you're most proud of, you most you know, your best accomplishments as trustee.  

[00:38:33] Unknown:

Well,   I I'm gonna have a hard time defining the line between trustee and when I was an administrator here. Because when I was an administrator, I'll tell you, getting this park   and getting this property and building a building here   and,   some of the things we've done at this bill at this property, 71 acres has been it's been amazing.   I remember,   to kinda back up a little bit, I was,   I was the administrator, and we were needing space. And we were over at 2401   Old State Route 32, which is kinda like right behind the hospital by the big water tower. Mhmm. We shared that building with the fire department   and also the maintenance department was there. Probably built in the eighties, early eighties, I would say, by the trustees at that time.  

We were cramped. We had people working in closets. Matter of fact, our   our first deputy at the township was deputy, Chris Stratton,   who's the sheriff now. Oh, okay. And he actually was in a we had him in a closet. There was no ventilation.   You literally had him in a Oh, he was he was in a closet. He was in a closet. They couldn't even put a full size desk. Yeah. He put like a folding thing up in there.   And that's that's where he was. So we we ended up, you know, deciding that we needed to build, and we went through a couple different sites.   And at the last minute, we we saw this site come up for sale, and so we bought it. And it wasn't at the center of our township. There was nothing really around it. There wasn't any much housing around it.  

And,   heck, the school, West Carmont School hadn't been built. So but we put this we bought this and and put it in and started a park,   and,   and then housing came around it, and and it's just been fun to develop it over a period of years. We've done it slowly   as we could afford it. You know, we've we've spent,   we applied for grants for the walking trail   and various other grants for the picnic shelter and for the playground and things, and it's just been   it's just been fun to watch it grow. And nobody was saying, you know, go over there and put your administration building, put a park in, and we'll come we'll come visit. It just you build it, and they've come. Yep. And,   and I think that's what's so important about the township as we grow. We we need to set aside space like this. Okay. And, this is what you call an active park. You know, we have very active things, soccer and baseball and and, Frisbee golf I mean, disc golf. We have various things going on. And you don't wanna make the, disc golf people mad. Yeah. I don't wanna make them mad. Yeah. But,   so,   but there are also passive parts of our park. We've got some wooded areas in the back that there are trails walking through the park. So,   I think that's what we   what I would like to see us continue is is I if I'm elected, I think I would like to work more on   getting some more property so that we can have other kinds of parks in other parts of the township. Would you work with the parks department at the county level?  

Well, yeah. We actually have done quite a bit of that in the past. I work with them on the the hike bike trail, which has started from Williamsburg. It's gonna head down to Batavia.   It's kinda hit a little bit of   a pause here, it seems like.   Worked quite a well with Chris Klingman when when he was the service when he was the director there. I interviewed Chris. He's a nice he's a real nice guy. Good guy. And, Very humble. Yes. Very humble. Yes.   So, we worked quite a bit with with them to develop   that hike bike trail, and I would like to see that tie into a park.   I mean, it goes through one of the largest park in Clermont County, which is this,   you know, with East Fork State Park Yeah. Or William Harsha. That that, that's the largest   park here in the in the county. Yeah. And it goes through that. That's partly in our township, partly in Tate Township, I think a little bit in Williamsburg Township.  

So, I'd like to see us, you know, in that direction   is to set aside more green space and have more parks and more more recreational opportunities for folks.  

[00:42:28] Unknown:

Alright. Well, let's talk about I don't I don't know if I wanna classify as failures, but things that you wish you would've done or done   better. Well, this is like one of those terrible HR questions you get when you're interviewing for a job. Yeah. Yeah. Let's see. How can I stab myself in the back?   I'm sorry. You're the only one who's currently in office, so I I can't ask any of the other people this question. I gotcha.  

[00:42:51] Unknown:

I guess,   in nineteen ninety nine, two thousand, we formed the the CJ Fed Fire District.   And I think we had hoped let me back up a little bit. So at the time when I was clerk in 1999   and '2 or February,   previous to that, we had three different   fire departments in the village or in the Batavia Township. Mhmm.   The service was provided by BMOP on the South side, which is Batavia Monroe, Ohio, and Pierce Township. There's a private fire department right on 125   that serviced all of those areas, and they serve as part of Batavia Township to the south.   To the north, there was Batavia Township fire and EMS, and then and then in the middle of that was Batavia Village fire.  

So we had essentially   three different   three different services providing residents at Batavia Township and Batavia Village with different so we tried to get,   we tried to kinda unify that a little bit, and we had so we decided it'd be best that you know, because there was a little duplication of services, whether it was equipment   and fire fire personnel. We tried to combine it, so we did that.   Well, when we combined it, we they formed what they call as a joint as a joint fire district. Yeah. BCJ FED. Right? Yep. CJ Fed. And that's a that's a collaboration between the village of Batavia and Batavia Township.   And we did that because partly because of the duplication, but partly also because people were paying different amounts of money for that. Mhmm.  

So we put in one district, and they're all right now everybody's paying the same, and they're getting service from the same stations and and and the same people.   But now what's happened because of the CRAs,   their the the residents of the the village and the new parts of the village are not paying   the same  

[00:44:41] Unknown:

as the people in the township. And I think that it's if I recall my numbers correctly, it's 17Percent of the calls,   7% of the budget  

[00:44:49] Unknown:

is paid by the village. Yeah. So the budget is determined by the valuation of the property in those low   so 7%   as the township has grown,   we we have been   we have been contributing more and more to the to the, to this the district. Right.   So they currently operate on,   8.4   mills of of service Yeah. Or or levies.  

[00:45:13] Unknown:

And that is well below the county average. Do you know do you know what that translates into per 100,000?   Sorry. I do not know. Okay. No. That's fine. Yeah. I don't know. Mills are they're funky. Yeah. They are. They are. I've I've got looked into mills, and it's   it's basically, like, a thousandth of a cent or something like that. Yeah. On evaluation. Yeah. So  

[00:45:34] Unknown:

so,   so where was I going with that? Okay. So,   the the residents of the new parts of the village are in the CRAs are not paying into the fire department. Well,   that's created some problems because now we've got to the point where,   we have grown, and we need more personnel. We need more more locations for them to put that. We have need to to work out of. We need   another firehouse.   So we have to to make some   some big investments in our community. And I think that's the big problem here is that we haven't, we aren't contributing.   The township and the village aren't contributing towards that. I kinda feel like   seems like the village thinks that they're,   just not a part of the of the fire department anymore Yeah. When it's a very vital service.  



[00:46:23] Unknown:

Do you think that is   well,   do you think the CJFED agreement needs to be   looked at? Would you would you want to,  

[00:46:33] Unknown:

you know, redo that agreement? Well, there's really nothing to redo because what it is,   they they're a joint district.   So under the Ohio Revised Code, they're equal partners. Mhmm. And I think that and looking back, it probably should not have been done because   equal partners need to contribute equally. Mhmm. And there's not a contribution   there equally.  

[00:46:56] Unknown:

Was there a way  

[00:46:58] Unknown:

to draw up a new agreement? Or Well, again, there's no agreement. No way. It's There's no way. It's just okay. So they they put a levy on, and and and the the voters   approved that levy for fire service. Mhmm. And that's what it goes for is for fire and EMS service. Okay. And if they aren't paying,   then everybody else, they have to they're getting by with less money Yeah. And everybody else is still paying.   And it's not equitable. It's not fair.   And that's where I think   we we're gonna have to make a decision on that long term, what it's gonna be like. Is there a possibility that CJFED would break up again and there'd be a township and a village fire department? I don't I don't know. I mean, I guess, well, we'll have to look and see if that would be a viable thing. I mean, but because you can't just if you dissolve CJ Fed, then their voted levies go away Yeah. Yeah. And there's no revenue. Right. Man, that would be sounds like that would almost be more difficult than So yeah. I mean, I actually wish it was as easy as sitting down and negotiating.   Yeah. But it's not quite that way. Okay.  

So   it   that's probably the bigger failure, I would say, is not looking not being able if we'd look down the road to decide that, you know,   sounds good on paper, but what's gonna happen? And and I don't know that we ever thought all about these   TIFs and RIDs and CRAs back in then. Yeah. But,  

[00:48:21] Unknown:

well, that's one of the things that, you know, you make a decision today,   and it's near impossible to understand how the ramifications of that fifteen years later. Yeah. You know? Right. You do the best you can with the information you got. Right. Right. About to let you off the hook, but   Okay.   How would you define this election? Like, what do you think the core issues in front of voters are when it comes to picking a trustee?  

[00:48:50] Unknown:

Well, I'm sure that,   you've probably seen,   and heard a lot of the, the   speculation about all the growth that we're we're having in in Batavia Township and the village and how that's affecting the current residents of the heard about the Yeah. The one of the zoning appeals meeting on the ninth. Yeah. It seemed like that was a packed house. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, that clearly is,   you know, something of concern,   that   I I expect is gonna be a a big,   you know, a big   deciding factor in the elections.   The way I the way I kinda feel is that growth is gonna happen to us. Mhmm.   I would like to see it controlled, and I think we're gonna do the best we can to control whatever growth.  

But I also feel that   growth is coming.   Yeah. And I not in my lifetime, but there will be a day when   growth in '32 all the way up to Mount Orb and past   is just full   of development. Yeah. It it's gonna happen. I mean, I I I can think Do you see any any way around that? I do not. Okay. I do not. I I think that What do you think that's a function of?   It's just I mean, it's just it's the way I mean, you   know, people have kids. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And kids gotta leave the house and go somewhere and live. Mhmm. And, they need services, and they need places to work.   And so,   if people are building houses,   as development occurs, more and more houses are gonna bring in,   more businesses.  

You know? And then   some of those places are gonna have jobs for people to work. Mhmm. I mean, actually, if you were to look at a perfect area to live, you would actually work and live Mhmm. In the same area. Imagine if you could walk to work. Yeah. I mean Probably not work from home. Yeah. You work from home. I can't imagine that. But you can't. But but imagine if you had a a a job at a I don't know. I don't wanna call it a factory or   someplace   of commerce that you could actually walk there. Mhmm. And then you   would, you know, walk to the park or walk to the grocery and walk back home. Mhmm. Not that not that you can't get in the car and drive if you don't want to. You can certainly do that. But just think if you could if you had a if we had a society where it was like that,   they'd be a little different. Yeah.  



[00:51:11] Unknown:

This was a question posed at the village candidate forum, but I'd like to pose it to you. Do you feel like   the township is at a crossroads?  

[00:51:22] Unknown:

Well, probably to a degree, but I'll I'll I'll I'll let you know that I can remember back in 03/00/2004.   We had a lot of the same concerns. We had a lot of development come in. I think we had almost 2,000 lots that were plotted. Mhmm. It hadn't been built on yet.   And I think there's a lot of growth that occurred then, and and we heard a lot of the the comments then that while the the roads can't handle it, the schools can't handle it, and,   you know,   you adapt. You change. You know? If you think about things,   schools don't build empty buildings Mhmm. And have empty classrooms.  

Yeah. You know? They don't.   And and roads sometimes,   like   two seventy five around Cincinnati. That wasn't put in Mhmm. Until later on when traffic became a problem and more and more cars were coming Yeah. And they put that road in. I can remember sitting in the back of my dad's car,   probably I think it was a '66 Pontiac station wagon, I think.   I believe that's what year the car was. 6664.   And I remember   him giving me his watch, and he had just finished the road from   Batavia to Mount Carmel.   And it previously, that was called '32. Mhmm. Previously, we had to go on Old 74, which wove back and forth, had stop signs. Yeah. Yeah. No stoplights, but stop signs.   And I remember   I gave it he used to tell me how long it takes to get from Patagon to Mount Carmel. Seven minutes. Mhmm. And we thought that was great. I mean, seven minutes. You know? I think he was driving a speed limit. Yeah.  

But, you know,   now now look what's happened. I mean, now we've redone that road two or three times, and now you're back where the road,   is such   a through of I mean, you get through there so easily now. Mhmm. That it has I mean, not like one twenty five where you had to stop every stoplight. And so so  

[00:53:17] Unknown:

I think how long does it take to get to Downtown Cincinnati now? Oh, yeah. It's, like, thirty minutes maybe. Thirty minutes. From the I don't know. I guess it depends on where you are in the township. But Yeah. I mean, you used to go down through Newtown and Columbia Parkway,   drive down that lane that switched in the middle from red to green depending on which direction you're Even not too long ago, I I had to drive in to to Millicron from the city. And even on 32, all the stop lights and the traffic.   And, you know, it's just it's a major thoroughfare now. Yeah. So  

[00:53:44] Unknown:

so   as change occurs, they keep adapting and making the the roads   more suitable for traffic, and,   and the schools keep adapting. And and,   you know, they're educating   kids. No no school has ever come to the township and said,   if you we can't we can't we cannot   there's no place for us to teach those kids if you approve them. Nobody has said that to us.   And we keep that conversation open with the schools when developments do come or or brought into the township.   Okay.  

[00:54:17] Unknown:

Well, I'll be honest with you. I think   I think I'm at the end of my questions.   So I'm happy to just give you the floor, is unless there's something that we didn't talk about that you'd like to touch on before we wrap everything up.  

[00:54:34] Unknown:

I don't believe there is. I I can tell you that   we are proud of our parks, what we've done here and been able to,   develop this property. Mhmm. And   I look forward to the opportunity,   if I'm given that to to maybe do that in the future with other properties.   You know, development as it occurs,   when I was served as administrator, I had a lot of people that found out that a lot of people were moving here from Anderson Township Mhmm. And just move a little bit further east and coming out. Yeah. And they were used to great parks.   And Anderson Township has   a dedicated park levy for their parks, and they have a great park system.  

And people that moved out here from there,   said, you know, what kind of parks you got? Well,   we just started this one at the time when we were just building this building, and we didn't really have a park. And we were getting started. All we really have was a picnic shelter and a little playground and a little bit of a walking trail around the building here. Yeah. Less than a quarter mile.   So we've been proud of what we've been able to do in the short time, I feel, that we've been able to do it.   But it seems like,   as growth continues, we need to set aside land for that so that we have that in other parts of the township.  

Okay. Because what happens is you end up with people with   smaller lots,   and there's no place for their dog to run, for instance. So that's the reason   the park here where we have a dog park is a great area for them to come bring their dog and let it run off the leash in the park.  

[00:56:07] Unknown:

That that is important for dogs. Yeah. It is. It is. Important for people too, really. Yeah.   Alright. Well, like I said, I don't have any more questions. So if you wanna if there's a final pitch you wanna give for why somebody should vote for you.  

[00:56:19] Unknown:

Well,   I have very conservative values,   and I think that's a a key part   of who I am as an individual.   I I look at the money that is spent here like it's my own money, and I do not waste the the money. You know? I I I look at it like it's my own.   I think that protecting property values is a very key part to what,   I as a candidate would offer somebody so they would know that,   if if I'm elected, I'm gonna try to make decisions that are keep your property values high because a lot of people invest a lot of money. Sometimes   it's their largest investment is their home and their neighborhoods, and I think that's key to keep that going.  

I do support schools through the fair share funding. I think that they should get the levies that are voted for them by the residents   to them, and I don't think it should be redirected away from them.   Nor do I think there should be  

[00:57:18] Unknown:

using any kind of a CRA or any kind of legislation. And the township doesn't have any plans for or do they? For CRAs or TIFs or anything like that? No. No.  

[00:57:28] Unknown:

We we would not,   I I don't think moving money away from and then when you get it in your your hand,   it seems like there's sometimes a little game   to sit down and talk about getting it back from them. Mhmm. And it shouldn't be. I mean, that money should go to me back to the school or where the voted levies go, whether it's school or fire department, wherever it may be.   I think we should, like I said, expand and enhance the parks   and then prioritize I like to prioritize public safety. I think we have a great contract with the Claremont County Sheriff's Department.   And,   they do a great job and and and not just the eight deputies that, that we have,   but also the whole department   would respond and and and should we need that to it.  

So I think that's very important. I would like to also   attract some responsible business growth for our community too. I forgot to ask you about business growth.  

[00:58:26] Unknown:

How how what kind of businesses would you like to see? Well,  

[00:58:30] Unknown:

you know, as as we grow, we we need we're gonna need more services and things, and I think that that I don't know. I'm not talking about little strip plazas. I'm talking about, you know, areas where people can go and get the things they need on a timely basis. And,   I'm not I'd be able to be careful what I said. I don't wanna talk bad about Dollar Generals or something like that. But but, you know, it it we we have to   we have to to bring our standards up a little bit into what we we do need, what the community needs. And then, hopefully, that's a place for a a good place for them to work. Yeah. You know, maybe it's not a lifetime job, but it's a good place to start, you know, something like that.   I am on social media,   Rex Parsons for Batavia Township trustee Mhmm. On Facebook.  

So and and folks, if they can reach me there, they can certainly email me.   My email is raparsons@fuse.net.   Okay. So,   Patrick, I believe that's all I had. Okay. Did you have anything else? No. I think like I said, I've I've run out of questions,  

[00:59:35] Unknown:

so I'm gonna call it a successful podcast. Alright. Rex, thank you so much. I enjoyed it. And we wish you luck in November. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.   Well, thank you again to Rex for sitting down with us and talking with us. I enjoyed the conversation. I've enjoyed all these conversations with candidates. It's been really nice. And I forgot to mention this in the intro, but we will wish him the best of luck   come November.   Alright. Let's go over these events. And like I said in the beginning, we will have a refresh set of events on Thursday, but we'll go over, the ones we've been talking about. And first up is Forged Tea Time and Hike botanical   brewing botanical potions. I'm sorry. This is gonna be on October 25 from 05:30PM to 06:30PM   at Clingman Park. It is an autumn nature program where you will learn to identify and forage local plants to brew a witchy herbal tea potion.  

The event includes a short guided hike, weather permitting,   and encourages attendees to wear fun witch themed attire.   It is a free workshop, but does require preregistration,   and it is designed for ages 12 and up. And if you wanna register for that, I'm sure you can do it over there on the park's website.   Next is the Halloween   dog costume hike on October 25 at 6PM at Shore Park. This is a Halloween themed evening for dog lovers. Dress up your pup in a costume   for a self paced night hike through the park. You can enjoy treat stations for both humans and dogs, photo ops, and meet adorable dogs from the county animal shelter.   Leashes are required, but there is no registration,   and it is free and obviously pet friendly.  

Unless perhaps you have, like, a boa constrictor or something, that'd be an odd pet to bring to this, but   that probably goes without saying.   Alright. Last one. Cincinnati   Nature Center's   Nature's Tricks and Treats on October   25   from 06:30PM   to 08:00PM   at the Cincinnati Nature Center's Royal Woods. This is a family friendly night time fall festival on the nature trails of the Cincinnati Nature Center. You follow a flashlight   lit trail through the woods to encounter tricks and treats at various stations. And these are things like games and crafts   to learn,   this is games and crafts and learning about nocturnal animals.  

Costumes are encouraged for kids and adults, and adventurous participants who complete the whole trail can win a small prize.   It does cost some money. It's $10 for members, $18   for nonmembers,   and it runs rain or shine, so dress for the weather and bring a flashlight.   Oh, man. I'm telling you, this election schedule really is frying my brain, so I'm sorry if I'm flubbing some of these things.   We'll wrap that up with a quick note on events. I've been I've been saying this. I really do my best to find as many as I can, and I know I don't get all of them. So if you have an event or an event you'd like people to know about, just send us an email. I can't promise I'll put everything at the end of this because that could turn into, like, an hour long event section.   But, you know, doesn't hurt to send an email and let me know about what's going on event wise.  

And that will bring us to our last value for value pitch because we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is if you find value in what's going on here, we just ask for a little bit of value in return, and that can be in the form of time, talent, or treasure. For time and talent, get in touch. Let us know what's going on in your community. Let us know who you'd like to hear from.   For treasure,   go go to the website, www.let'stalkclaremont.com.   Click the donate tab, and you can donate via PayPal or Stripe. And any dollar amount is greatly appreciated.   It really helps us keep doing what we're doing over here. But for donations $50 and above, you will get a special show mention. And for donations $200 and above, you will get an executive producer credit for that show,   a credit I will vouch for. And I'll read a note that you send in on air, and that note can be anything. It can be an ad read for your business. It can be what's going on in your life, or it can be one of those nasty grams that I really wanna give a dramatic reading to.  

And please connect with us on Facebook, Let's Talk Claremont podcast, Instagram at Let's Talk Claremont. And we got the newsletter. Go to the website, www.let'stalkclaremont.com.   Click the newsletter tab, put your email in there, and we're only gonna email you once a week when a new show comes out. And like I said,   after the November 4, I'm gonna try to find some more fun things to put in there that you don't get on the show. So a little incentive to sign up for it.   And please follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever it is you happen to use for podcasts.   It really helps the show out, and it helps you out because you'll be notified every time a new show comes out.  

And if you just wanna get in touch, info at let's talk claremont dot com. Love to hear from you.   That is all we have for today. I hope you enjoyed it, and we'll see you tomorrow.