Council approves Hilliard Historical Society grant — $47,500

Hilliard Historical Society grant — $47,500

0 yes, 0 no

Hilliard Arts Council grant — $55,000

0 yes, 0 no

Home and Hilliard grant — $35,000 with scholarship condition

0 yes, 0 no

Hilliard Food Pantry Plus grant — $26,000

0 yes, 0 no

Patches of Light grant — $2,500

0 yes, 0 no

Approval of October 12, 2026 Committee of the Whole Minutes

0 yes, 0 no

Adjournment

0 yes, 0 no

Heritage Trail Extension land acquisition

Hilliard is putting $4.8 million into buying the nine-mile rail corridor for the Heritage Trail extension, connecting downtown to the stadium area with Upper Arlington, Marble Cliff, Grandview, and Columbus. State grants knock the cost down and COTA's transit tax fund pays Hilliard back over time.

What it means: $4.8 million up front in 2027, mostly reimbursed through 2031.

Road, culvert, and intersection projects

Big-ticket 2027 street work: Cemetery Road culvert ($1.27M), Cosgray/Hoffman Farms intersection ($1M+), $6.165M for street resurfacing around Britton Parkway, and design for a new roundabout at Hayden Run and Wilcox tied to a potential development site.

What it means: Roughly $10 million-plus across transportation projects in 2027.

Street lighting and light pollution

A new $75,000 street light maintenance program starts with Fairway Commons, and Council Member Vermillion raised whether the city should address light pollution — staff confirmed there's no dark-sky ordinance but agreed to study it.

What it means: $75,000 budgeted for street light replacements in 2027.

Hampton Reserve Ditch Maintenance

The city is starting its first comprehensive water master plan since 2001 ($175,000), fixing dead-end water lines on Roberts Road, rebuilding Old Hilliard water lines, and ramping up a new sanitary sewer inflow-and-infiltration reduction program.

What it means: Several million dollars across water, sewer, and stormwater projects in 2027.

Pedestrian/bicycle mobility and safety program

Council is weighing options from public engagement on Davidson Road and Norwich Street — residents are sharply split on speed humps and raised crossings. Staff will narrow alternatives to two and return next year, and is studying slower speeds on the Main Street/Hilliard-Rome corridor.

What it means: $150,000 for traffic calming planning in 2027; $100,000 for the Main Street corridor study.

Senior Van Program Eligibility

Home and Hilliard helps seniors age in place but charges $300 memberships some seniors can't afford. Council funded $35,000 and required at least ten scholarships, while noting only 85 service requests were made last year.

What it means: $35,000 in city grant funds, down $20,000 from the prior year.

Grant program criteria and accountability

Council wrestled with fuzzy rules all afternoon — whether salaries can be funded, how to verify Hilliard residents benefit, and whether repeat applicants become too reliant. Next year's applications will need line-item budgets and resident-service numbers.

What it means: Future applicants get clearer rules, and taxpayers get better assurance their money serves Hilliard residents.

2027 Community Grants Program distribution

Council decides each year how to split $200,000 among local nonprofits. This year it gave out $166,000, favoring long-standing Hilliard institutions and food security, and declined requests that would pay individual salaries or fund service clubs, churches, and media.

What it means: $166,000 of a $200,000 city grant fund was committed for 2027.