The Civic Capacity Countdown - #5: Bethel Township vs. Huber Heights
A rural township gets transformed by a suburban behemoth
If I asked you what the largest city wholly contained in Miami County is, that’s easy to answer. The county seat of Troy is at the top of the list with a recently announced population of 26,848. But if I asked you what the largest city is in Miami County that might in another county, the answer might surprise you. The answer to that question is Huber Heights.
The Dayton suburb of Huber Heights has a population of 43,313 and a significant portion of those folks (probably about 10 to 15%) live in Miami County. These folks live in a bit of a weird place; they live in Miami County, but live in Miami County. Their kids go to Bethel Local Schools and a Tipp City mailing address, and some still have a landline phone from New Carlisle.
And it’s safe to say that Huber Heights wants that 43,313 to get bigger. The City of Huber Heights is currently discussing a large annexation of over 300 acres that will have an impact on the local schools, roads and infrastructure that will be felt not only in Bethel Township, but the entire county for years to come.
One of our the earlier editions of the publication talked about an annexation agreement that was on the table between Bethel Township and Huber Heights. The agreement was not agreed to by Huber Heights, but this story (along with others), help provide context to this contentious issue.
Thanks for reading today’s Civic Capacity Newsletter! Did you know, for less than $1 per week, you can support this effort to bring local news and information directly to you and your neighbors? If you have not considered being a paid subscriber to this effort, please do so. Through your generous paid subscription, you are helping provide this information to our community!
Feel free to share this information! Through informing and educating our community’s stakeholders, we are creating a stronger community. Civic Capacity is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Also, our reader survey for May is looking for responses! Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas, you can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PF6SPPN