Rayce Robinson, president of the Paul G. Duke Foundation, introduced a workforce affordable housing initiative targeting a specific site in Piqua — a full city block on Nicklin Avenue — with a specific price point, a specific timeline, and a specific set of partners already at the table. It’s an amibitious plan from a foundation that isn’t looking to make a buck, it’s looking to make a difference.

The commission took it in. Nothing has been approved. No resolution or ordinance is pending. But the plan is now on the record, and residents deserve to know what’s being proposed.

The Problem the Initiative Is Responding To

Robinson didn’t open with the solution. He opened with the data — six years of community surveys, including a 2020 city survey done with the Troy Foundation and a 2023 workforce assessment from Miami County Momentum.

The picture is consistent: affordable housing is the foundational challenge holding back Miami County’s workforce. Thirty-five percent of workers are hourly and economically insecure. Sixty percent of residents commute out of the county for work. In Piqua specifically, nearly half of all households fall into the ALICE category — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — or below the poverty level. Working people who cannot cover basic living costs, including housing.

What the Duke Foundation Is Proposing

The initiative targets a site on Nicklin Avenue — a full city block made up of approximately 18 originally platted parcels dating to the 1940s and 50s. This is not a greenfield site. It was previously developed as a school, demolished about ten years ago, and environmental remediation has already been completed. The site is clean and ready to build on today.

The goal is 16 single-family, detached homes priced between $200,000 and $220,000 — excluding land acquisition costs. The Duke Foundation plans to purchase the land itself and contribute it to the project, which is what makes that price point achievable. The homes would be primarily single-story with some two-story options, three to four bedrooms, and between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet. Front porches, rear-load parking via a restored historic alley, and facade variety are built into the design principles. The goal is for the homes to feel like they’ve always been part of the neighborhood.

Half of the 16 homes are committed to Habitat for Humanity, which would build six to eight houses over four years using their standard model — 0% interest mortgages for qualifying families, built with volunteer labor and local materials. The other half would be developed by for-profit local builders.

Who’s Involved

The partnership structure is a public-private-nonprofit collaboration. The Duke Foundation would fund land acquisition. The Miami County Land Bank would serve as the conduit, purchasing the property from the city of Piqua and then transacting individual parcels to builders as homes are ready to go. Habitat for Humanity is already committed. Choice One Engineering has completed initial feasibility work and has not identified any significant obstacles. The city of Piqua’s role — including potential utility hookup subsidies — is still being defined.

Robinson was explicit that the framework is designed to be replicable — if it works in Piqua, other communities in the county can follow the same model.

The Timeline

The foundation’s target milestones are aggressive but structured. Site acquisition and replat approval through the planning and city commission are targeted for the third quarter of this year. Infrastructure work on utilities and alley access would follow. The first building permits could be issued as early as this fall, with a groundbreaking ceremony and start of construction on the first homes potentially in September. Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to have a first home completed by the end of the year, with a holiday dedication ceremony to mark it.

Full buildout of all 16 homes is targeted by 2029, with 2030 as a realistic buffer.

What Comes Next

Nothing moves without the city of Piqua’s formal participation — on land transfer, utility infrastructure, and any incentive tools the commission chooses to deploy. Robinson was clear that the commission’s partnership and approvals are essential.

The commission has not yet been asked to vote on anything. That ask is coming. When it does, it will be worth paying attention to how Piqua responds to a plan built around its own stated needs.

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Earlier this week, the Huber Heights City Council adopted an annexation agreement with Bethel Township, though the agreement still must be approved by the Bethel Township Board of Trustees before it takes effect. If Bethel Townships adopts the measure, the deal would establish a 25-year framework governing future annexations between the two governments and bring a measure of stability to a fight that has simmered for decades.

What This Agreement Really Does

At its core, this agreement is less about one annexation and more about stopping the next round of them. Bethel Township has long sought a durable way to prevent Huber Heights from continuing to expand deeper into the township, and this agreement appears designed to accomplish exactly that. Under its terms, Huber Heights agrees that, aside from specifically mapped “Annexation Eligible Properties,” it will not annex, accept annexation petitions for, or help process annexations of land in the agreement territory without written permission from the Bethel Township trustees.

That matters because the protected geography is substantial. As framed in the current discussion, land outside the State Route 202, State Route 201, and U.S. Route 40 boundary would effectively be shielded from future Huber Heights annexation efforts during the 25-year term, unless township trustees agree otherwise. For a township that has repeatedly tried to stop incremental city encroachment, that is a meaningful concession from Huber Heights.

What Bethel Township Gets

The biggest benefit for Bethel Township is certainty. Instead of fighting annexation battle by battle, petition by petition, the township would have a formal agreement in place that blocks most future annexation attempts for a quarter century unless trustees sign off. That gives the township more control over its long-term boundaries and makes it harder for annexation pressure to continue spreading north and east over time.

The agreement also preserves some tools for the township outside the annexed area. Bethel Township can still use tax increment financing in the agreement territory beyond the 2025 annexation parcels, and both parties agree to work together on infrastructure, utility, and economic development matters when interests align. In practical terms, the township is trading some immediate leverage for longer-term territorial protection and a clearer set of rules.

What Huber Heights Gets

Huber Heights gets finality and predictability as well. The city secures the benefits tied to the annexed acreage and resolves its relationship with Bethel Township under a 25-year agreement rather than continuing an open-ended conflict. It also gains Bethel Township’s agreement to waive statutory compensation payments tied to the annexation and to rescind the township TIF legislation covering the annexed parcels within six months.

That is the cost side of the agreement for Bethel Township, and it should not be ignored. But the agreement suggests township leadership may view those concessions as the price of finally drawing a meaningful line against future annexations. Whether residents agree with that trade is the central policy question still ahead of the Bethel Township Board of Trustees vote.

The Real Trade

This deal is best understood as a boundary peace agreement. Huber Heights gets certainty over the annexed area and relief from some financial obligations, while Bethel Township gets something it has wanted for a very long time: a legally binding pause on further annexation across a broad swath of township land. That does not mean the agreement comes without cost, but it does mean the township is not walking away empty-handed.

If Bethel Township adopts the agreement, the annexation fight does not disappear forever, but it certainly changes shape. For the next 25 years, the township would have stronger protection against further expansion by Huber Heights than it has had in the past. For many township residents, that may be the most important part of the entire deal.

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Last month, this publication noted something worth watching: early voting in a quiet April primary was outpacing 2022 at a rate that didn’t make obvious sense. No Senate showdown with national attention. No hotly contested governor’s race. Scattered yard signs and no billboards. Yet voters were showing up to the Miami County Courthouse in numbers that suggested something was pulling them in.

Seventeen days later, that something has become undeniable.

As of last Friday, 1,618 ballots have been cast in-person — and the daily pace is accelerating, not flattening. The most recent five days logged 127, 141, 128, 138, and 203 ballots. That last number, 203 in a single day, is the kind of figure you’d associate with a primary election featuring statewide races with real competitive energy. In reality, this is a primary anchored by one ballot question.

The 2022 Comparison No Longer Holds

When this publication first reported on early voting nine days in, 2026 was outpacing 2022 by nearly three to one. Through seventeen days, that gap has only widened.

Through the same seventeen-day window in 2022 — a primary with a nationally watched Republican Senate race and competitive gubernatorial contests in both parties — Miami County recorded 578 in-person ballots. This year: 1,618. That’s nearly three times the participation at the same point in the cycle, in an election that looks pedestrian from the outside.

Here’s what makes that figure even more striking: the entire in-person early vote in 2022 finished at 1,833 ballots — 1,355 Republican, 475 Democratic, and 3 non-partisan. With more than a week of early voting still remaining before Election Day, this cycle has already logged 1,618 and is on pace to surpass the full 2022 in-person total before Election Day arrives.

Where the Votes Are Coming From

The community-level numbers are worth sitting with.

Troy leads with 668 ballots — 360 Republican, 270 Democratic, 5 Libertarian, and 23 non-partisan. On the first day of early voting, Troy had contributed 119 of the initial 257 county-wide ballots. The city remains the dominant source of early votes, which tracks given that Troy holds the largest share of registered voters in the county and is the home to the county courthouse, making early voting pretty convenient.

Piqua now sits at 141 ballots, with a notable partisan profile: 81 Democratic, 53 Republican, 1 Libertarian, and 6 non-partisan. Seventeen days ago, Piqua had 19 early ballots and this publication called it a cause for concern. At 141 and climbing — with Democrats leading the count — Piqua voters appear to have answered that call directly.

Tipp City has recorded 103 ballots, split 56 Republican and 45 Democratic. Bethel Township, smaller in registered voters, has cast 59 ballots with a 37-to-22 Republican advantage. Every community is running well ahead of its 2022 pace.

The Partisan Story Has a Headline

Countywide, the 2026 partisan split through seventeen days stands at 938 Republican, 614 Democratic, 9 Libertarian, and 57 non-partisan ballots.

Compare that to 2022’s final in-person totals: 1,355 Republican, 475 Democratic, and 3 non-partisan. Democrats in Miami County have already surpassed their entire 2022 in-person early vote total with more than a week left. Republicans are at 69% of their 2022 final figure and accelerating toward it. This isn’t a one-sided surge — it’s broad-based participation across party lines.

The 57 non-partisan ballots deserve a separate mention. These are voters who drove to the courthouse, declined a party primary, and voted on the issues ballot alone. In 2022, that category finished at 3 total. The jump to 57 isn’t noise. It’s a focused civic act, repeated dozens of times, by people who have one specific thing on their mind.

Voter turnout is one of the clearest measures of civic health a community has. It tells you whether residents believe the decisions being made around them are worth weighing in on. The early data in Miami County says they do.

There’s Still Time to Add Your Ballot

Early in-person voting continues at the Miami County Board of Elections through May 3. Election Day is Tuesday, May 6. This week features extended hours, including hours this weekend:

Tuesday, April 28th - 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 29th - 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 30th - 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 1st - 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 2nd - 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 3rd - 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Early voting takes place at the historic Miami County Courthouse, 215 West Main Street in Troy.

The best way to make sure the final count reflects where Miami County actually stands is to show up before or on May 5 and add your ballot to it.

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Ohio voters already have a crowded fall ballot taking shape — contested statewide races, a U.S. Senate seat, and potentially two constitutional amendments that would fundamentally reshape life in the state. Whether those amendments actually land in front of voters depends entirely on what happens between now and July 1.

The Property Tax Fight Is Running Out of Road

The Committee to Abolish Property Taxes, also known as Ax Ohio Tax, needs at least 413,487 valid signatures from 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1 to make the November ballot . That number is set at 10% of all ballots cast in the 2022 governor’s race .

At a press event last week, covered by the Statehouse News Bureau and the Akron Beacon Journal, group leader Brian Massie disclosed that the effort has collected 305,000 signatures — but their own internal goal is 620,000, a threshold they acknowledge they won’t hit . Massie framed the decision ahead as a fork in the road: risk submitting what they have and hope enough signatures survive validation, or keep collecting and target the 2027 ballot .

That’s worth pausing on. Every successful citizen-initiated constitutional amendment in Ohio since 2018 — redistricting, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform — cleared 700,000 signatures before turning them in . And every single one used paid signature gatherers to get there . Ax Ohio Tax has largely relied on a network of “hosting stations,” asking supporters to seek out places to sign rather than putting canvassers where the people already are. For true believers, that works. For persuadable voters on the fence about something as consequential as eliminating property taxes statewide, it’s a heavy lift.

The political headwinds are also real. A coalition of more than 65 organizations — local governments, unions, schools, first responders — has already organized to fight the amendment if it makes the ballot . And even Republican State Senator Jerry Cirino, who represents the district where the announcement was held, called the proposal “irresponsible” for lacking any revenue replacement plan . The group’s own position is that replacing $24 billion in annual local revenue is the legislature’s problem to solve, not theirs .

That’s a bold posture. Whether Ohio voters see it as principled or reckless is a conversation we may never get to have.

The Data Center Fight Is Just Getting Started

The second potential amendment is moving in the opposite direction — early momentum, not late-stage doubt. Conserve Ohio, the organizing umbrella for a group of residents filing as Ohio Residents for Responsible Development, cleared an important legal hurdle in March when Attorney General Dave Yost certified their petition . That clears the way for signature gathering.

Their target: ban any data center in Ohio consuming more than 25 megawatts of electricity per month from being built . The same 413,487-signature threshold applies, from at least 44 counties, by July 1 — which is now just over two months away .

Co-author Austin Baurichter, an attorney from Georgetown in Brown County, has been refreshingly candid about the scale of what’s ahead . His group has county captains mapped, a statewide volunteer network ready to activate, and a strategy built around putting people at coffee shops, grocery stores, events — places where Ohioans already are . That forward approach — what you might call a go to them strategy — contrasts sharply with Ax Ohio Tax’s come to us model.

The data center industry, predictably, is pushing back. The Data Center Coalition argues the amendment would put Ohio at “a very competitive disadvantage” and would close the door on economic development in communities actively courting it . That’s a legitimate debate worth having — and it’s one that touches Miami County as much as anywhere, as communities across rural Ohio weigh what growth actually costs.

This Isn’t Abstract — Piqua Is Already in the Fight

Neither of these ballot efforts is a theoretical exercise for Miami County residents. Property taxes fund your school district, your fire department, your county services — the levies your neighbors voted for. Last year, residents saw skyrocking property taxes thanks largely to growing property values. Eliminating these taxes without a replacement plan doesn’t make government smaller; it just moves the crisis somewhere else.

But the data center fight hits even closer to home right now. Piqua is currently being eyed for data center development, and residents there are already pushing back. That’s not a coincidence — mid-sized Ohio cities with available land, power and water infrastructure, and lower land costs are exactly what the data center industry is targeting. The promise is economic development. The reality is facilities that consume massive amounts of electricity and water, generate relatively few permanent jobs, and fundamentally change the character of the communities that host them.

That local resistance is precisely why the Conserve Ohio signature effort matters here. Miami County residents who are already organizing against data center development in Piqua have a direct stake in whether this amendment makes the November ballot. If you feel strongly about it, finding a signing station isn’t just civic participation — it’s the most direct tool available before a developer breaks ground.

This is what it looks like when residents stay informed. If you find value in this work, share it with a neighbor, a colleague, or anyone who cares about this community. Paid subscriptions keep it going — $5 a month.

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Civic Capacity runs on one thing: readers who believe local journalism matters. If you want to support this work without a subscription, you can now make a one-time contribution through Buy Me a Coffee — or in my case, Buy Me an Iced Tea. Click the button below. Every contribution goes directly into the work you read here every day.

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